Kenya's Escalating Millitary Spending Get Wrath of Protesters in Nairobi

[Mtazamaji]

At least Tanzania has shown sense in not wasting her meagre resources in arming up and enrinching the rich producers of weapons. This is a status we need to maintain.

Hizo statistic binafsi siziamini sana. Sababu kibongo bongo mambo ya jeshi wanasemaga ni nyeti. na ni siri

Ni kweli inawezekana matumizi yetu ni madogo kuliko kenya lakini kuna data zimefichwa.

Ukisikia mambo ya MEREMETA. sijui jeshi lina miliki mgodi ujue kuna transaction nyingi zainafanyika jeshini hazijulikani na watu wengi. Na kuna wajanja wachache wanatumia mwanya huo kujinufainisha. Tusidanganyike hayo ndo matumizi ya jeshi la tanzania.

Upande mmoja tuwapongeze JWTZ kwa kufanya mambo yao kuwa siri lakini upande mwingine hizo siri ndo zinafanya madudu mengi mengine

Kitu kingine No matter Jeshi la Nchi kama kenya liwe na vifaa kiasi gani kama bado halina umoja ni kazi bure. yaani kwa adui mwenye akili ni rahisi kuwafanya wakenya wauwane wenyewe kwa wenyewe bila kutumia hata kifaru.

 

[Alpha]

Kenya currently boasts of the Third Best Air force in Africa after Angola and South Africa

come on now. first of all. first of all besides what the article claims (where is the source) the true amounts are not public knowledge. secondly i doubt the Kenyan airforce i better than all of these.

Egypt
Nigeria
Algeria
Morocco

 

[Smatta]

am i wrong to say that most if not all of you support your goverments meager expenditure on your defense? i knw that military budget and expenditure can not be questioned, but dont you think that hiding the exact amount alocated to it is an avenue for corruption and misuse, considering the fact that your arsenal has been a well guarded secret and your population is somewhat lethargic to worry about such issues.21 million, are you folks serious?

 

[Ndahani]

hahahahaha... millitary budget ya $29 Milli... enyewe you have no choice ila kuwa wa pole na ku toe line.. hahahahaha.. kwanza mna air force? Kenya should consider selling those tanks and fighter jets to y'all , you never know you might want to use them sometime in the near future.. hahahaha.. let me pause for a smoke then i'll come back later to gloat on y'all

What difference does it make? Will you use those military hardwares to acquire our land or you will just store them for future meuseums?

 

[RAJ PATEL JR]

i think Mzee Kibaki is planning to stay a little bit longer in power like mzee Mugabe, Just BE HAPPY

What a shame on African leaders!
Instead of spending heavily on Science, IT and High Tech sector like what India has done they just spend the little they have in military!
No wonder Africa will continue to lag behind in terms of science and tech.
Look at what all these countries spend in the military sector......the combined budget for the 4 stupid nations can't reach even 1 Billion USD!
That tells me someone is spending on old and very out-dated military technology! The military budget of all these 4 nations combined is not enough to purchase even 10 F-16 fighter jets!!!
Message to you Ethiopians, Kenyans, Ugandans and Tanzanians: Your commander in chiefs and top generals are retarded and on drugs for them to engage in such a waste.
Shame on you all for taking pride on old and out dated tech. while forgetting to feed your hungry and hopeless folks.
Wake up Africa!

 

[Akwaba]

First off, I am pretty sure the Tanzanian budget is way above $21 million. If they tell you thats the number they are lying and you are believing it. You can't run a military anywhere with that. My guess is it is around $100 million. Secondly, research the case of Ivory Coast. They were a strong economy with a weak military and paid the price accordingly. Basically setting up a rebellion became quite cheap as you have to go up against well....Nothing. All strong economies, build strong militaries. Yes, health is extremely important but there is no health without stability. 5-10% of the gov't budget on military is OK. Kenya's budget is @ $7 Billion. Which would give them $350-700 million to spend.

 

[Wacha1]

Unapoimarisha jeshi una nia moja, kulinda mipaka yako kutoka kwa wakorofi wachache au kuvamia nchi nyingine. Manyang'au kama inavyoonekana hapa wana nia labda tuseme ya kuvamia, wale ambao wanafikiri wanaweza kuwapiga. Ili kujua hilo tunawaalika Manyang'au wavamie Tanzania kwa sababu maneno matupu hayavunji mfupa, si wana jeshi zuri na mahiri kuliko Tanzania kutokana na mabwana zao walivyowaambia.

Kuprove wao ni zaidi mpira upo kwao.

 

[nomasana]

it is in kenya's intrest to remain the region's millitary superpower. kenya has a very well trained millitary force and in NSIS(google it) kenya has one of the best spy agencies in africa so it makes sense for kenya to arm itself with good millitary equipment.

and for those of you yapping about kenya spending too much on millitary and ignoring the social issues then i refer you to the current budget where the education sector was alocated the most money more than anyother sector. and you people keep wondering why kenya has the highest literacy rate in east africa.

 

[Kamundu]

why spending, we are going to have American base soon. We are going to be like Japan or German and focus on Economy and Technology

 

[The Quonquerer]

Well, Tanzania is lucky to be surrounded by friendly countries (Kenya, Uganda) or countries that are too poor to wage a war (Mozambique, DR Congo), or countries that are battle weary (Rwanda, Burundi). Did you mean Uganda has never waged a war on Tanzania, how did end.? As for Kenya, nobody is stopping you, go ahead and wage a war on Tanzania, be even hostile to Tanzania if you want. The Tanzania i know, will never start any agression on anyone given the good land and abundant resources..we wait others to start, say if you annex even an inch of Tanzania..we know you need our northern tourist circuit for your tourism business..your favorite!

Kenya has Somalia as its neighbour, a lawless state with extremists running around. Ethiopia has historically been a friendly country, except in pre-colonial periods when Ethiopian tribes (Sidam, Afaan) periodically crossed Abyssinian borders to blood their spears. But its not a country to be trusted. It has 78 million mostly poor people hungry for resources. So, you can imagine the temptation they would have if Kenya discovered oil in Northern Kenya. It makes sense to arm yourself, if only for deterrence purposes.

By the way, Southern Sudan is another wild card. Most people there have known nothing but war all their lives. Uganda sometimes behaves as if Kenya is their enemy. So, probably the only country Kenya regards completely harmless is Tz. There's a rumour though that half of Tanzanian Army is armed with sticks, not guns, Luhehez. Are you out of your mind? You should be using your behind for thinking, maybe you are fitted with an artificial brain!

BTW, I think Tanzanians should be outraged that their government spends so little for defense purposes. Investors tend to develop cold feet on the prospects of investing in places where security is not guaranteed. What if the Somali pirates one day looted Dar's shops? They are becoming more mobile these days. Plus, TZ is one of the countries in the Nile Basin Initiative. The talks have been slowed down these days with both Sudan and Egypt threatening war on anyone who jeopardizes Nile waters. The country (Tanzania) has been threatened by Egypt on its quest to use lake Victoria waters (including those of its tributaries). How can it offer a viable deterrent if it's spending so little in defense? Did Tanzania stop using Lake Victoria, are you aware of Shinyanga mega water project? where water is being pumped form our own Lake Victoria..btw we occupy 51% of it, and you have 9% of it, can you try to annex our share of it, we know you badly need it, but what can you do then?

From strategic point of view, increased defense spending in Kenya makes a lot of sense. Those protesters are just ill informed. Maybe they should reduce the number of children they have so they can pay hospital bills without the governments help.

I hope you respond to that!

 

[Abdulhalim]

Yes, let the fools spend all their peanut money on bottomless pit called 'Army'.

 

[Nyaralego]

At least Tanzania has shown sense in not wasting her meagre resources in arming up and enrinching the rich producers of weapons. This is a status we need to maintain.

Why meagre resources now? I thought TZ was the asnwers to all EAC's problems especially KE and it 's 'nyang'au citizens wanting to go and hijack the vast resources in TZ? I do not see how now TZ has meagre resources and in other instances it's the land of milk and honey where everyone(read Kenyans) is clamouring to go to? WHAT IS?

 

[Abdulhalim]

Why meagre resources now? I thought TZ was the asnwers to all EAC's problems especially KE and it 's 'nyang'au citizens wanting to go and hijack the vast resources in TZ? I do not see how now TZ has meagre resources and in other instances it's the land of milk and honey where everyone(read Kenyans) is clamouring to go to? WHAT IS?

Why r u so paranoid? Ni wapi mdau ameitaja Kenya kwenye post yake?

 

[Nyaralego]

Why r u so paranoid? Ni wapi mdau ameitaja Kenya kwenye post yake?

No, I'm not paranoid it is the general mood in this forum...hence my question, the mdau did not need to taja KE...

 

[The Quonquerer]

No, I'm not paranoid it is the general mood in this forum...hence my question, the mdau did not need to taja KE...

Yes it is the reality, that's many of you are here....and styill come in droves, running away from flying toilets...so what? Meagle resources (governent expenditure) has nothing to do with your quest for your surviving in Tanzania!

 

[MkenyaMzalendo]

...

 

[MkenyaMzalendo]

In 2005, I was assigned by my editors at The EastAfrican to follow up with government officials what they made of an Egyptian threat to declare war on Kenya or any other Nile Basin country that unilaterally violated a archaic 1929 British Treaty giving the Arab nation the right to utilize most of Nile river waters.

I called the then Livestock, Water and Fisheries Development Edward Lowassa and demand the government’s position on the controversy but he said that Tanzania is not yet decided to go to war with the bullying Arab nation.

I perfectly understood him and did not consider his modest response which stressed on dialogue as a symbol of weakness but rather a better way to address the problem created by a former colonial master.

While my Nairobi based editors were less happy because their government had taken a tough stance on the subject with one cabinet minister threatening that the east African nation will go it alone and start using Lake Victoria waters for development work, Dar es Salaam chose the less confrontation path of dialogue.

Over a fortnight ago, four Nile Basin countries including Tanzania signed a new agreement which demands that the archaic 1929 Treaty be scrapped to allow them use waters of Lake Victoria which is the source of White Nile, for development work such as irrigation.

As usual Egypt resorted to threats and verbal military oriented messages warning the Nile Basin countries of the danger of violating the 1929 agreement.

Press reports quoted two senior government officials, in fact cabinet ministers telling their parliament that Cairo will do everything to safeguard its right to unilaterally use the maximum of Nile waters as per 1929 treaty.

Moufid Shehab who is Minister of Legal and Parliamentary Affairs told parliament that the four Nile Basin countries that signed the Nile River Co-operative Framework Agreement a fortnight ago, took a wrong step.
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Mr. Shehab argued that his government will stand firm and affirm it’s inalienable and historical rights over Nile River waters.
Shehab’s peer, Mohammed Allam who is Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation added his voice to the controversy by stressing that Egypt reserves the right to take whatever course it sees suitable to safeguard its share.

Back at home, Minister for Water and Irrigation, Professor Mark Mwandosya as usual, was less aggressive but stressed that several, if not all Nile Basin countries want a renegotiated Nile Treaty and that the 1929 Treaty does not hold any water.

Mwandosya’s soft tone does not mean that we as Tanzanians are cowards, no, no, not at all but prefer to exhaust the path of peaceful negotiations first. People with short memories such as the aggressive war mongering Egyptians may as well go back to search engines are learn something about Tanzania’s ability to fight.

The Ugandans and Libyans have a better understanding of our prowess to strike if our tolerance has been overstretched and definitely the Egyptians may have one of the most modern and advanced military arsenal but certainly will not cow all of us as Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi recently said.

Nile Basin countries including Tanzania need to start making authorities in Cairo understand that time for tough talking military threats is over and that they are entitled to start using similar tough language to make the Egyptians understand.

Continuing handling of this spiraling crisis with kids gloves should end now and Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda should adopt a tough stance against the bullying Arab nation and send a clear message that this will not business as usual.

Although Lake Victoria only accounts for less than 16 percent of Nile River through While Nile compared to Blue Nile which rises from Ethiopian Highlands, the importance of securing a sustainable agreement to tap this commodity in future, is vital.

Obtaining such an agreement with a war mongering and tough talking administration of Hosni Mubarak, we need to boost our war arsenal and work closely with similarly tough talking Nile Basin partners such as Kenya and Ethiopia.

The danger of going to war against Egypt is real and rather than thinking that it’s still far off, Nile Basin governments need to start serious preparations for the war. Although Uganda which hosts the source of White Nile has in recent days retained a soft stance stressing dialogue as a way out of the crisis, arms analysts show that Kampala is boosting its military budget.

In a 2008 report, Swedish International Peace Research Institute revealed that Kenya is ranked fourth out of 23 eastern and southern African countries in military expenditure. Nairobi’s budget defence expenditure rose from US $222 million in 1999 to US $260 million in 2008.

The report also noted that Kenya recently purchased armoured personnel carriers and Y-12 military utility planes from China. But Uganda is also not basking in peace but certainly preparing for a war. The Pearl of Africa’s military expenditure rose from US $173 million to US $237 million between 2003 and 2008.

This is what we need to be doing to change the Egyptians war mentality back to the negotiating table where surely key concessions to address the archaic 1929 British made treaty which is basically denying our countries a fair share of the basic resource.

 

[MkenyaMzalendo]

i posted the above article for ignoramuses such as "The Quonquerer"

FYI, Kenya does not need lake Victoria waters (for irrigation purposes that is) as much as Tanzania and other countries do. The Kenyan side of the lake is quite humid and well watered, reducing the need for any large scale irrigation projects.

 

[Nyaralego]

Yes it is the reality, that's many of you are here....and styill come in droves, running away from flying toilets...so what? Meagle resources (governent expenditure) has nothing to do with your quest for our surviving in Tanzania!

I do not really care... let the KE's come there and get what they want from your "super resources" very soon we will introduce flying toilets to manzese, uwanja wa fisi and tandale...LOL ina ambukiza...Many are still coming, of that you can rest assured. We are coming there just keep on talking about the resources madini, ardhi, na sijui nini!! we will come like the proverbial nyang'aus that we are and proceed to nyakua...

 

[The Quonquerer]

I do not really care... let the KE's come there and get what they want from your "super resources" very soon we will introduce flying toilets to manzese, uwanja wa fisi and tandale...LOL ina ambukiza...Many are still coming, of that you can rest assured. We are coming there just keep on talking about the resources madini, ardhi, na sijui nini!! we will come like the proverbial nyang'aus that we are and proceed to nyakua...

But be sure you are at our mercy!!!!!!! And how much have you nyakured woman you!!!!!!!