East African middle class


WEWE una matatizo sana.... where did I mentioned that Kenya is the one who prepared this? Listen young boy.... I always question the info from any source (regardless the credibility of source)....... for your info if you never conduct the household budget survey country wide you cant tell anything regarding upper/middle/lower class, GDP, Per capita, etc....
let me say... how can you quantify (I mean express into monetary term) for people in rural area eating banana from their shambas, drink milk from their cattle, fetch water from kisimani, use fire woods for food cooking etc etc.... the common trend in africa, majority are living this style.... (you cant record their transactions)... from this note (a very plain way of explaining macro economics) how can you say these people living below a $ a day....
It is easy in continental Europe.... kwa sababu the income&expenditure of almost every person is known.... expenditure can be easily traced by payment made for utilities e.g distant (house) heating, electricity, water etc....

 
kama kuwa na kiasi hiko cha pesa ndio unakua middle class basi bongo vibaka wote nao ni middle class, hii topic imeanzishwa kuanzia maeneo ya SSC na imefika huku , watu wanatangaza walivyo matajiri( ie jinsi wananchi wao wana uwezo kutumia 1.25 usd kwa siku ni wengi)
 

The Guardian Newspaper( UK):

Letter From Kenya
Hiring people informally is not without its responsibilities. While the concept of a living wage has yet to reach Kenya, expatriates from Europe cannot say we haven't heard of it. What does it mean in the Kenyan context? How far are you prepared to take it? How many lives can you become responsible for? Most people with jobs are depended on by a brood of children, adoptees, siblings, parents and grandchildren.

What is living in a city(Nairobi) where poverty is absolute? Is residing in a tin-roofed shack with no running water and electricity living? Is being forced to defecate in a plastic bag living? Is spending over 50% of your income on food living? Most of the hired help flocks from filthy slums to work in our posh houses.

Those who live with us, in the staff quarters in the garden, keep their families up-country, or in the same slums. Jobs in expat homes are sought after, providing free accommodation, a better income than many, and often school fees and other perks. Paying double and triple what many (wealthy) Kenyans might offer, you might begin to feel pretty good.

Yet the difficult questions don't go away. Should people be content with the material basics? A tin roof, dark evenings, shared latrines, "clinics" full of counterfeit drugs and the "free" education that has 60 tattered kids per ramshackle classroom.

Read more Source: Letter from Kenya: the servant problem | World news | Guardian Weekly

My take:

Cant agree more with the way a muzungu sees absolute poverty in Nairobi and Kenya as a nation
Click to expand...
 

when the wellbeing is measured by work and income in countries where informal employment and unemployment is high - there is no suprise mentioned to the statistics
 
Hii kweli ni hatari sana, sijui nchi hii inaenda wapi? Tunaambiwa na wanasiasa " maisha bora kwa kila mtanzania"na uchumi unakua lakini hali halisi ni kama hii imavyoonekana, umasikini unazidi kukithiri na hali ya kila kitu ni mbaya. Lakini angalia maisha wanayoishi wateule wachache wa Mh. mkuu ndo utajua sasa nchi inaelekea wapi.
 
Hizi takwimu si za kweli.

Ukiwa na 44.9% ya middle class na 19.72% ya low class ina maana unabaki na 35.38% ya matajiri.

Kenya ingekuwa na population ya 35.38% ya matajiri, kusingekuwa na masikini hata mmoja.

Takwimu haziko sawa kabisa.
 

go revise your notes, come up with something i can respond to then mayb we may go savvy on the economic front. This survey was carried out by the bank on how well people in the common EA region utilise banking services hence come up with whatever figures they did. They didnt have to partake every house bugdet threshold persay to deduce that! thats the function of the national statistics bureau and by large census. Common sense young man, middle class is majorly classified from an urban setting. To be more precise they fall under class/economic zone B of the urban settlement scheme and of any metropolitan setting. Where u derive your rural arithmetic formula to classify people into the middle class lifestyle is worrisome to say the least. This report by its content seems to be centered on urban setting.
Its logical to query a report but figures dont lie. When u say theres lack of adequate data in Tz, u imply most of your transanction arent done by banks or what? Where does that data preciptate to, TRA is sleeping on the job then. Dont turn a blind eye to basic economic indicators when they scream RED. 1) It either means too much informal business or whatever is there isnt generating adequate capital 2) that the populace in the region isnt spending or utilising bank services. Also an indicator of too much informal employment. You taking ma mind to Elementary economics bro, this aint worth contesting.
 
unajua mkuu hapa argument unayokuja nayo haina 'mashiko'. Ukitaka kufanya tafsiri ya moja kwa moja juu ya mambo haya itakuchukua muda kupata majibu lakini chukulia mfano mmoja wa SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises), hizi zipo hata Ulaya, US na Asia lakini hiyo Azam ambayo ni giant firm hapa TZ inaweza isquqlify hata kuwa small firm in UK or US! Pia a small firm in those cuontry inaweza kuwa multinational company hapa!

Kwa hiyo ukubali usikubali Wakenya wametuzidi kwenye mambo fulani (hasa strategic issues) na badala ya kujiridhisha kuwa hawajatuzidi ni bora tukatumia muda kujipanga ili nasi tujue "tutoke vipi".

Mfano chukulia, Kenya wanazalisha umeme kidogo sana ambapo wanaimport umeme kutoka Uganda na sasa wanataka kuutoa Ethiopia, lakini matumizi yao ya umeme (Naomba kukosolewa) ni karibia Megawatt 3000 na sisi matumizi yetu wanasema kwa sasa ni kama Megawatt 500 ambapo tukipata 1000 zinatosha kila kitu. Sasa jiulize idadi yetu ni kubwa kuwazidi Wakenya, huoni kuwa kuwa na matumizi makubwa hiyo kwa idadi yao ni ishara ya 'Maisha bora kwa kila Mkenya"!??

 
East Africa’s second largest economy has good ingredients for business: large geographical size, many natural resources, and a fast growing economy. So why is it proving to be such a hard nut to crack for Kenyan investors?


For many Kenyan companies, going into Tanzania is a mixed bag of fortunes, with some finding the going tough, and cutting their losses by closing down, and others persevering for years before making profits.

Others experience a bumpy ride, with profits fluctuating. One year they make a profit, and the next they are in the red.

“It is true; doing business in Tanzania is harder than in Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda, Infotech Investment Group chief executive officer Ali Mufuruki told The Citizen, our Tanzanian sister publication.

“I have business interests in Kenya, and Uganda and I confirm this to be true in many respects.”

A selected few have been able to grow their profits year on year, largely by entering the market through acquisitions.


The mode of entry, regional business analysts say, could be what makes the difference between failure, and success for companies wishing to venture into Tanzania.

Right ingredients

As an investment destination, Tanzania has all the right ingredients.

It is large geographically, has natural resources, a good economy that is growing faster than Kenya’s, albeit from a lower base, and plenty of opportunities for trade and investment.

In 2012, Tanzania’s economy is expected to grow at 7.5 per cent, compared with Kenya’s 5.6 per cent. The icing on the cake is that Tanzania has a lower percentage of its population classified as middle class, compared with other countries in the region.

Tanzanian has just 12 per cent of its population classified as middle class — they earn between $4 (Ksh332) and $20 (Ksh1,660) a day, according to a classification by the African Development Bank in 2010.

Similar figures in the region are: Kenya (44.9 per cent), Uganda (18.7 per cent), Rwanda (7.7 per cent) and Burundi (5.3 per cent).

Kenyan companies, therefore, look at it from the perspective that as Tanzania reports stronger economic growth, more of its citizens will make it into the middle class, increasing their purchasing power. But plans do go wrong quite often.

Those who have been in the market cite cultural misconceptions, a higher cost of doing business and human resource challenges.

There is also the notion that, Tanzanians take time to embrace Kenyan brands.

​
 

Proportion of people living under $1.25 per day in East Africa in 2010

Tanzania - 82.4%
Burundi - 81.32%
Rwanda - 74.43%
Uganda - 51.53%
Kenya - 19.72%

Despite the fact that Kenya has many slums, we all know that Tanzania is much poorer than Kenya. The only thing that Tanzania is pipping us is the growth rate of their economy 7% compared to 6.5% of the kenyan economy according to the
African Development Bank in 2010.​
 

Asante mkuu.
Huu mjadala utakuwa na maana kwa watanzania wa kawaida kama tutaangalia vigezo vya kawaida vinavyoonekana a mtu wa kawaida.Tukijaribu kung'ang;ania takwimu za kisomi sana na theories basi tutajifurahisha kwa namba na hizo theories which dont make sense kwa mtanzania wa kawaida.Nyumbani kwako ukiwa baba/mama unajitapa wewe ni tajiri una pesa bank wakati watoto wako hawapati hata chai ya rangi ya mkono mmoja unaonekana kama zumbukuku mbele ya familia yako!
Same here, statistics, data, theoretical BS which dont bring bread to the table dont make sense.Wanafurahia data watuambie hizo data zimeboresha vipi maisha ya mtanzania? Mnajua kwanini ufisadi TZ unaongezeka hata kwa watu wa chini sana? Ni kwa sababu "kila mtanzania aliahidiwa maisha bora" ambayo wanayatafsiri kuwa ni kuweza kumudu maisha ya anasa kama wengine.Ni pamoja na kuweza kushop, kustarehe clubs, kula "vizuri"kuendesha gari n.k. = UNAFUU WA MAISHA.
 
you guys seem to be against Kenya and I wonder why so!

The data posted are for East African countries and not among these two (Kenya and TZ).

On red, consider those slum areas and look at their size in comparison with the only 20% of Dar es Salaam city surveyed areas. This gives a picture of about 50% of Dar es Salaam being a slum basing on accessibility and infrastructures.
 

ukweli unabaki, middle class ndio purchasing power in domestic consumption
 
that is what others call 'substance living'!

Unajua kitu kinachoitwa 'MAENDELEO' ni pale serikali inapokuwa na information zote kuhusu himaya yake. Hii inasaidia kupanga na kukusanya kodi ambapo mwishoni inapeleka maendeleo huo. Ndio maana tunasema Ulaya/US na kwingineko wameendelea kwa vile wamemove kutoka 'zama za kale' na kuja kwenye 'modern age' ambapo watu hutumia umeme, magari, simu, nk.

Ukitushawishi tuamini kuwa watu wanaoishi vijijini ni bora zaidi itabidi utujuze pia wanacharge simu zao wapi na wanapataje habari katika ulimwengu huu wa kisasa.

Kwa hiyo mkuu, hapo kwenye red unaongelea enzi za primitive era ambapo hawa Wakenya kwa plan walizonazo ukilinganisha na ukosefu wa rasilimali, wanapiga hatua haraka kutoka huko na kuelekea kwenye era ya planning ambapo uwepo wa systematic shopping systems kama malls nk inarahisisha hata ukusanyaji wa kodi. Mfano sisi kwetu huku kuna matajiri lakini hakuna jinsi unavyoweza kuwalazimisha kutumia machine za kutoa receipt za TRA lakini Kenya/Uganda hata miji midogo na ya kati kama Isebania, Kisii, Kajiado tayari kuna utamaduni wa watu kwenda kununua vitu supermarket
 


Sijui unaongelea kenya ipi.... lakini mimi najua kuna taarifa nyingi sana kuhusu watu na maendeleo (uchumi) ambazo hazija andikwa na kutunzwa..... kwa kiasi fulani wameweza kukusanya taarifa za Nairobi..... na pia kuna watu wengi sana wanaishi kwa kipato cha chini .... ni zaidi ya hizo takwimu.

Halafu kingine cha kukumbuka ni kwamba Nairobi is not Kenya..... i.e what observed in Nairobi does not necessarily represent the moody on the ground of entire Kenya..... Kuna sehemu zinaitwa Pokot, magarini, huwezi amini kuwa wale ni watu ambao inadai eti ina kiwango bora cha maisha..... Au zile sehemu zenye maendeleo duni si kenya...
 

Be broad minded..... the utilization of banking facilities cant tell the living standard of a country, specially in Africa.. you need to have enough number of parameters combine to take into account. If you could know that the majority of people in africa (kenya inclusive) are not living in urban areas and the banking services are not common in rural areas you could kick out the bank report....
Again I insist... household budget survey is the only true indicator of std of living compared to banking utilization variable coz very many people in african towns are not using/accessing the banking services, there are a lot of people have a lot of money but not keeping their cash in bank... I think Nairobi is an example kuna ndugu zenu wasomali wana mihela mingi.. lakin hawaweki banki (live alone machingaz) .... in order to have these data, the bank has to consult the bureau of statistics (N).

So mutu wa watu if you use only and only one variable on measuring the phenomena (like in principles of economics which normally use the phrase ceteris paribas) you'l never get obtain what is the mood on the ground..... so your outcome will hold water..

 
mie nawashangaa mnaobishana na wala githeri na muthokoi. Hawa kokote uendako watataka wajione wako wakat Kiukweli ni makoko tu. wanashindwa wenyewe kujaliana sembuse wajali Nyie. tena mie huwa sitaki hata kukaa nao kwenye safari zangu ni washamba kupita kiasi. Mbona hatuwaoni nchi nyingine wakijisifu kama Wao. Nimesoma kenya from primary to secondary, nimeshuhudia hawa watu walivyowabinafsi. for sure wametuzidi kwa sabab sisi tumengiliwa na viongozi matapeli Ila tukipata a strong leader hata miaka miwili haitachukua kuwapita. analysis wanazotoa ni za nairobi na nakuru mostly. Je Vipi kuhusu maeneo ya turkana? Hiyo class ipo. Yaan Ningekuwa mie ndo jk ningefukuza wote na kufunga mpaka. Bado tutakuwa na alternative ya uganda,congo, zambia,malawi. Mbona waliojenga treni za umeme na wametoka vitani juzijuzi hatuwasikii wakijisifu.
 

HApo penye red.... kwa wakenya ukiwatajia maeneo hayo.... wanaweza wakupige....wanayakana wanasema hiyo si kenya... Ila nairobi na nakuru ndiyo kenya........ nawahurumia sana..
 
je, sasa tunaweza kuunganisha hizi dots na hizo reds?
na endapo ukilink zikakubaliana, je ni ushahidi kuwa uelewa/elimu wa wananchi ni muhimu katika kuendelea!?

 
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