The Anglican Archbishop, Jackson Ole Sapit, on Monday, September 13, shared his thoughts on why Kenyans are poor, despite the country being rich in resources.
Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, Ole Sapit opined that the lack of elaborate policies in crucial sectors like agriculture, health and education, was the main cause of poverty among Kenyans.
The Archbishop explained that the wrong policies set to benefit the few elite, coupled with shrewd and unscrupulous measures set to take advantage of Kenyans were intentionally hatched and politically instigated.
"Whenever farmers are almost harvesting, the elite create food shortages by importing food, flooding the market and forcing farmers to sell their produce at throwaway prices. They do not get a return for their input as prices are low," stated the Archbishop.
"Who is then responsible for making this farmer poor? If we are not managing the health sector properly, forcing a peasant to sell land to afford treatment, then who is responsible for making the poor person landless and poor?"
He explained that the same was witnessed in the education sector, where parents have lamented on outrageous expenses and fees structures as they grapple with the new education system, the Competency-Based Curriculum (CBC).
High taxation, he added, also scared developers, who shy away from investing in the country.
Sapit urged politicians to outline models that benefit Kenyans, address policies, and aid Kenyans in changing their mindset towards politicians.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC, he added, needed to be resourced in good time for the 2022 polls, the Judiciary be impartial, the Parliament strengthened, and the Executive focused in order to win the people's trust.
The Archbishop, who was in the news headlines for barring former Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, and Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader, Musalia Mudavadi, from speaking at a church function on Sunday, September 12, explained the intrigues behind his decision.
"In other countries, politicians are not given an opportunity to speak in church. In fact, the sermon is timed, but in Kenya, we love entertainment. We should not give politicians time to speak in church in exchange for what they give to the church."
"I did not ban anybody from coming to church. I banned politicking in the church. People come to church to hear the word of God and that is the message they should go home with, not the political message," he reiterated.
