|
Narc
Kenya Scandinavia Aganist tax exemptions
The Narc Kenya Scandinavia
requests our Kenyan Government not to exempt the Mps
from paying taxes. We in the diaspora are totally aganist
the tax exemptions of some people while
others keep paying taxes .
We live in a democratic country where all
are equal under the law . In this all abled Kenyans should pay
taxes , there is no one special or above the law.
It is indeed a big shame to see the Mps
asking for tax exemptions when they are at the forefronts
selling their great ideas of national building and visions ,
where do they think this money will come from ? Why
should a poorly paid civil servant be taxed
heavily while an Mp who is paid highly be exempted from taxation
and be allowed to lavish in their riches.
Taxes are for Kenyas growth , if used
apropriately it can help bridge the big gap between the rich and
poor and bring about development .
We talk of change in
Kenya , and if this change has to occur it has to come from the
top with the Mps joining hands with all the Kenyans in paying
taxes .
Narc-KS
wishes to extend our sincere gratitude to the Government and its
Grand Coalition partners in announcing the New Cabinet. Its high
time we stop politicking and start working for the sake of those
affected in the post election violence and to heal the Nation.
We still believe that we can achieve our dream of One Kenya, One
Nation, One People. May the Almighty God bless Kenya and its
citizens.
'I
am a Refugee in My Own Country’: Conflict-Induced Internal
Displacement in Kenya
Internal displacement in Kenya is a complex and multi-faceted
social problem that revolves around and reflects unresolved
issues of land and property, as well as the struggle for the
control of political and economic resources. These intricate
and sensitive issues, manifested in ethnic conflict, violent
cattle raids, and government evictions characterised by human
rights abuses have displaced people throughout the country.
While the different displacement situations are distinct, they
share common trends, and any effort to address them requires a
holistic understanding of the political history of Kenya as
well as the socio-economic and cultural dynamics of affected
communities.
Natural disasters, such as floods and drought, also cause
displacement in Kenya, however this report focuses almost
exclusively on conflict-induced displacement. While the work
of humanitarian agencies and the government to address the
situation of people displaced by natural disasters is indeed
worth recognition, the overall response and information on
conflict-induced IDPs is negligible compared to the response
and information available on people displaced by the drought
or floods. This difference in response and accessible
information highlights the highly politicised nature in which
conflict-induced displacement is viewed and presents the need
for robust engagement from international and local
institutions and organisations on the plight of
conflict-induced IDPs.
Attempting to define or describe the profile of IDPs in Kenya
is highly contentious. In May 2006, the UN estimated that
various forms of conflict have displaced 431,153 (UNOCHA,
Internal Report, May 2006, p.1.) people in Kenya, however this
estimate should be treated with caution as it excludes recent
displacement, and is partially based on a 2002 UN IDP survey
which has not been updated. Nevertheless, research for this
report reveals that due to a prevailing lack of security and
protection for conflict-induced IDPs, the majority of IDPs are
either unable or unwilling to return. This unwillingness to
return is also due to the absence of a clear strategy to
address the underlying causes of conflict. Moreover, with
continued conflict and evictions taking place throughout the
country, it is likely that the above figure holds a certain
degree of accuracy and thus the various IDP situations in
Kenya necessitate an immediate response from both the
government and the international community.
To further complicate matters, in a number of relatively major
displacement situations, different sources provide different
estimates for the number of people affected, illustrating the
lack of a sustained country-wide system to collect accurate
and reliable information on conflict-induced IDPs.
Most of the attention and memory related to conflict and
displacement focuses on events during Kenya’s transition to
multiparty politics in the 1990s. However, clashes along
ethnic lines, largely a result of political infighting over
resources and instigation by local politicians seeking to
secure their positions, continues to cause displacement in the
Rift Valley. Ethnic tensions have also been exacerbated by
government-initiated evictions based on recommendations from
the Ndung’u Report. The Report, issued in 2004, is a product
of a government commission initiated to investigate illegal
and irregularly allocated public land. While many of the
report’s recommendations and findings are positive, most of
them have not yet been implemented. The only tangible
government reaction to the Ndung’u Report has been to carry
out evictions in a manner which is contrary to the procedures
detailed in the Report. The evictions have been politicised
and carried out with violence and human rights abuses, and
caused the forced displacement of thousands of people across
Kenya.
Northern Kenya is a situation unto itself. The region,
inhabited by pastoralists, continues to be marginalised and
underdeveloped. Recurrent drought has resulted in
inter-communal conflict over watering points and grazing
areas, and with the proliferation of small arms in the Horn of
Africa region, cattle rustling has become increasingly violent.
Both the drought and conflict have caused migration into urban
and peri-urban areas, yet the protection and assistance needs
of those displaced by conflict often remain neglected as there
is no sustained institutional mechanism to address needs of
the conflict-affected population.
A virtual absence of actors addressing the root causes of
internal displacement has protracted a number of specific IDP
situations and left glaring assistance and protection needs
unfulfilled. In Central Province, roughly 3,000 IDPs remain
encamped in Kieni Forest and are denied their rights to
adequate shelter and freedom of movement, and endure abuse
from forest authorities. Classified as a “humanitarian
crisis” by the Special Rapporteur on Adequate Housing in
2004, the conditions in Kieni Forest remain bleak despite the
government’s efforts to provide humanitarian assistance.
Pledges of attention and assistance to conflict-induced IDPs
by the government have not yet yielded tangible benefits for
the majority of IDPs. While a number of specific government
initiatives on IDPs have been carried out, they are
uncoordinated and illustrate a lack of political will to
provide IDPs with protection and assistance. Moreover, the
government’s approach to IDPs is linked to land ownership
– the government has attempted to determine “genuine”
IDPs by requiring that they show proof of land ownership.
Owning land is not a defining factor of displacement and thus
should not be a prerequisite for being acknowledged as an IDP
or qualifying for assistance. Overall, the government
continues to lack an institutional framework to address
conflict-induced displacement, and on many occasions the
government has denied the existence of IDPs in Kenya.
The international response to conflict-induced IDPs closely
follows the government response. Assistance is often only
provided during emergencies, and is thus largely ad-hoc and
inconsistent. An ongoing system to determine pockets of need
does not exist. Despite the UN’s commitment to address IDP
issues, its response thus far has been largely fixated on
people displaced by natural disasters. Like the government,
the UN also lacks a system or focal point to respond to and
address the needs of people displaced by conflict or human
rights abuses, and a number of UN programmes on conflict and
disaster make no reference to IDPs. Generally, all actors in
Kenya evidenced a lack of knowledge on IDPs and their rights.
Considering the politicised nature of displacement in Kenya,
the possibility of increased violence and subsequent
displacement is real and likely, evidencing the need for
strong engagement to ensure that civilians are protected from
arbitrary displacement and that IDPs are provided with
protection and assistance. Kenya’s long-term peace and
security is at stake, failure to immediately address the IDP
situation in a comprehensive manner raises the possibility for
continued violence and prolonged conflict over land and
property.
“Our
message to Kenyans is this: there can be no solution without
genuine dialogue; no lasting peace and stability without
cooperation and determined and sustainable respect for the rule
of law and human rights,” Mr Annan said.www.nationmedia.com
Signs
in Kenya That Killings Were Planned.“It wasn’t like people
just woke up and started fighting each other,” said Dan Juma,
the acting deputy director of the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
“It was organized.”
UN
warns Kenya aid need may grow, while the defeated
presidential candidate of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM),
Raila Odinga said they would resume nationwide campaign of mass
demonstrations next week. BBC.co.uk
Raila;
nationalist or tribal chief? Raila has decided to use
violence as a trump card towards his success so as to gain
public sympathy which is very similar to strategies used by
militant forces to gain public sympathy. The
Monitor
Why
ODM’s ‘revolution’ is not likely to succeed. ODM’s
"revolution" lacks the support of middle and
high-income classes. From media coverage of the crisis, one
would be excused for thinking that Nairobi (and, by extension,
Kenya) is made up solely of poor slum dwellers and extremely
wealthy politicians. The
Standard
Flip
Flotsam - Kenya
|
Peace if you want it
Yea, and let it be for real, we are all Kenyans
|
|
|
| |
|