With the Central Bank of Kenya closing banks, whose money is safe? The idea of keeping money in a bank is an old one. Why people have historically trusted other people to keep their money is a psychological paper for those pursuing PhD in psychological theory. However, one thing is clear. Many Kenyans have taken the idea of banking their money seriously. Equity takes the largest share as it is known as the poor man’s bank.
However, very few people know that all banks in Kenya are regulated by the Central Bank of Kenya. This is done in assumption that the Central Bank of Kenya is independent and sovereign. However, looking at the CBK Act of 1997 reviews something that many Kenyans do not know: That Kenya may claim to be sovereign but it is a subjugated entity managed by the super powers. The CBK Act of 1997 forbids the sovereign bank to issue any credit to government institutions. This was done to allow the IMFs and the other international lenders to lend money to Kenya with interest. That is why we have so much debt and the Kenya Shilling continues to weaken against the dollar. The golden rule means, those with most gold, rule!
Think about it. Since the Central Bank of Kenya cannot issue loans to the government, the government has to go outside the country to borrow money for its projects. We can therefore say that many of the projects, maybe even the toilets in Kibera, are funded by the dollar. This is because the government borrows money to fund many of its projects. Why do we have to borrow money outside when we can borrow from the CBK?
Many rich foreigners have historically seen the weakness of the African economic system. Therefore they have worked to milk every penny from our systems. That is why we have banks being closed in Kenya. The latest closure of Imperial bank displays the ill of our economic system. People come from outside, they set up banks under the watchful eye of the CBK. Then they woo unsuspecting Kenyans into depositing their money into these banks. They use the money to fund their businesses in Dubai, London and other places. Then the CBK closes these banks as if it did not approve of their operation.
In all what we do, we are always dependent upon others to show us how to survive. Though the Central bank itself seeks to disqualify these banks, it fails to see the fact that it is also just a channel to monitor money coming from outside source to choke our people. The central bank just monitors money coming in and out. It has no clout to demand that we stop borrowing. When we borrow, then we have to pay back. And guess where the money to pay comes from? You got it! From the poor mwananchi whom through VAT is continuously living in poverty! Recently the IMF encouraged Kenya to add VAT to petroleum products! Really? That will mean that people do not have money to spend on our products. That is why our production level is low. For how do we spend money we do not have? And how do our people get money if there is no production? And how do companies set up production if there are no customers? And how do they set up companies when they are going to suffer from high taxation.
You see therefore, Kenyans are cheated from every direction! If the government itself is cheated to borrow all its money from outside benefiting some billionaire in Europe, how is the common mwananchi going to survive when they do not know that they are banking their money to benefit the invisible big brother? The Kenyan is stuck in the rat either way.
If you are a Diaspora, you are safe keeping your money in your foreign bank. Either way, the foreigners are getting rich. At least in the Diaspora, in the United States for example, your money is secured up to 200,000US dollars.
Timothy K. Nyenjeri. Senior Associate – HTBluff Associates. An EMG Consortium. For Diaspora Messenger.
Contribution:Teddy Njoroge Kamau (PhD)
Kenya cash crisis claims second scalp
