Month: October 2017

Majority of us have witnessed it over the TV or Internet at the safety and comfort of our warm cozy homes. Regardless of how bad the situation is, we can’t really empathize enough to understand what’s really going on. The chills and the feeling of our stomachs turning are only periodical, soon we forget and go to bed with smiles on our faces. But the reality is still upon those men, women and children directly affected. The scenes of demolished buildings and cars is nothing compared to the horrific view of lifeless bodies of people swimming in pools of blood scattered all over the place. In some cases, the body is completely vaporized with no remains at all. Fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, uncles and aunties or an entire families is vanquished. The survivors are left with two choices, either to flee or remain and face the devil. This is what modern terrorism has evolved to, something so ugly I luck words to fully describe.

Terrorism! What is really terrorism? It is not as straight forward to define as you may think, besides most of us haven’t really reflected deeply on this issue. Popularly, terrorism is described as use or threatened use of force against civilians designed to bring about political or social change. However, while we think of terrorism as being both a political and irrational act, terrorism can also be thought of as a rational act conducted specifically because of the impact — fear, confusion, submission — it will have. 

To make it more complex, according to both the Department of Defense (DOD) and the FBI, terrorism is “the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.” The DOD definition adds that a goal of terrorism can be “inculcating fear” (thus the psychological dimension), while the State Department is more elaborate, specifying that terrorism may include the use of biological, chemical or nuclear devices as well as the act of “assassination.” Implication of this is that, should the assassination of Osama bin Laden, the use of Nuclear weapons on Japan and chemical weapons on Vietnam during World War II also be classified as terrorism?

The complexity of such a question is brought about by our moral compass and obviously our biasness. This is the grand conundrum of defining terrorism; it is very difficult to separate it from acts of war, just or unjust. We all have heard the saying, “One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.” Remember the Mau-Mau–Kenya– fighter were considered terrorist by British colonialist whereas, the native Kenyans regarded them as freedom fighters. Remember that in 1980s, Osama bin Laden and his comrades were branded as freedom fighters by American government whereas, during the same period the likes of Dick Cheney considered Nelson Mandela–South Africa– a terrorist. Does it make any sense to you now that terrorism seems to be all about the angle at which you view the act? This is dangerous!

How did we get here in the first place? Why the anger and hatred towards fellow humankind compelling us to plot and execute evil schemes against one another? There must but a root to this evil. People have their reasons, Mau-Mau fighters wanted their land back and Mandela was fighting against apartheid rule. Why would Al-Shabaab attack Westgate, Nairobi killing at least 67 people, and later attack Garissa University College, Kenya keeping hostage and killing students, not to mention Mpeketoni attacks? Why is it that some Middle East Arab countries are continuously at war and why would they want to  attack western countries? Such organize acts are not just done randomly and without reason.

Borrowing from Washington State University publication on Roots of Modern Terrorism in the Middle East, published on January 18, 2015 by Calvin McClain, it is not paranoid to conclude that western imperialism is the major contributor to the modern terrorism. We might be in denial but the truth is wide open for all of us to see. The act of European imperialist trying to westernize the Middle East and its citizens and the creation of territorial boundaries across Middle East, has been the root of terrorism coming from Middle East in many decades. The fight for oil and other resources played a small part as well. But one of the most important aspect of this imperialism according to McClain was the creation of Israel following World War II. These people turned to their radical ways because they were frustrated with European imperialism and what was tied with it.

How will you react if someone invaded your home forcing you to conform to his/her own way of life? During the era of European expansion, the Muslim society became discontent with Europeans push for westernization in Muslim homeland, also, following the industrial era the need for oil round the world was astounding and European nation sought to take advantage of the Middle East oil. Many writers and historians agree to this. The European’s quest to imperialize the Middle East has had strong connection to radical terrorism. According to McCain, these people were being forced to change their way of life and become a “civilized” group of people, which seems to be a common goal of Europeans during any of their eras of expansion into foreign lands. After the discovery of the abundance of oil in the Middle East, western Europeans industries came fast and did not stop to look at the destruction they were causing to the Muslim society.

These industries partnered  with some Middle East hierarchy like Abd al-Aziz lbn Saud in the early 1900’s. But were ran by Europeans and no respect for Muslim workers. What began as frustrated workers rioting would turn to a frustrated society where some individuals and small groups would take radical measures to achieve their goals. Most of these western nations and Soviet Russian were quick to turn to military action because of the negative connotation of the Middle East people also known as Orientalism– a way of seeing that images, emphasizes, exaggerates and distorts difference of Arab people and culture as compared to European and the U.S. (it often involves seeing Arab culture as exotic, backward, uncivilized, and at times dangerous). 

Creation of Israel as a state and enforcing security measures in the borders restricting entry, has been frustrating to Muslim due to the fact that Israel is in the heart of the Muslim holy land. This has been a source of religious and political conflicts for decades, some of the Muslim people believed that they were being wronged or treated unfairly, especially concerning the holy land. This hatred is cemented by the fact that creation of Israeli borders by the Jewish after World War II was backed by western nations like the United States of America.

The imperialized laid the foundation for modern terrorism after which several terror groups with personal interests started springing up. Religious was used as fuel, terror sects used brainwashing techniques to recruit people into the sects with promises of reward from higher powers. They also used forceful means like kidnapping and holding hostage family members of a person they intended to use a suicide bomber. Young kids were and are still the most effective assets for the terror groups, not only do they look innocent and thus can penetrate and deliver a package into an enemies’ zone, but also gullible and can easily be duped and trick (some are made to believe that the explosives will not harm them since they explode outwards thus willingly take the role of suicide bombers). They also use human shields as a tactic to slow and confuse their enemies before they attack suddenly. 

Currently there are several terror groups which have sprung up all over the world, but without a reasonable doubt there are a few outstanding ones. To begin with The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, ISIS or simply the Islamic State) — the world most dangerous organized terror group which has attracted the attention of every single country in the world– According to CIA, it has approximately 31,000 fighters. They captured Mosul– the second largest city in Iraq– swiftly and with ease. ISIS has single handedly swept across Middle East controlling an area the size of Belgium. They have achieve this by employing the most brutal and imaginable techniques that even Al Qaeda could not easily accomplish– rounding up and executing anyone who shows the slightest bit of resistance to its domination– At least four cases of mass killings by ISIS terrorists have been documented, including the execution of 250 Syrian troops in August after the group captured the al-Tabqa air base. Not long ago, over 200 Iraqi tribesmen were massacred west of Ramadi in what can only be described as an attempt by ISIS to extinguish any competitor, however passive, who dares to rise up and challenge its authority. They also get a revenue of about $1 million a day on sale of Crude oil. But to who do they sell to?

Boko Haram– a jihadist group in northeastern Nigeria– has killed at least 6,742 people since May 2011 according to The Council on Foreign Relations. They use brutal tactics of razing villages down to the ground, head shots and burning their victims alive. What caught the attention of the international community was when they raided and held captive over 300 school girls of a boarding school in the Nigerian border town of Chibok, threatening them with forced marriage and forced conversion. This group is at war with the Nigerian’s National government, but for what reasons? Then comes Al-Shabab, a Salafist jihadi organization operating in East Africa, predominantly in Somalia. The group is the reason for instability in Somalia, they control a large part of Somalia and continuously attacts and kill people in the Somali government control regions. They have staged attacks in Kenya resulting into several deaths and also involved in kidnapping of both Kenyan citizens and foreign tourists. They are alleged to be funded by powerful people and also involve piracy along the Indian Ocean coast and in illegal smuggling of goods across neighboring countries’ boarders.

Other terror groups like Abu Sayyaf Group Filipino jihadist, Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, Tahrir al-Sham (formerly Al-Nusra Front) formerly affiliated to al-Qaeda and Hizballah or Hezbollah of Lebanon, are currently causing terror in their respective countries resulting into deaths of very many people and shuttered dreams of the many locals. They are increasingly acquiring high power weapons capable of causing serious damages, which are surprisingly manufactured in Western countries and the U.S. The question is, who is arming these militia groups and for what reason? Remember according to reports, The U.S. remains the lead arms supplier and patron of the Saudi regime, and was close to Pakistan during the Afghan war, while the dictator Zia ul-Haq (one of the world’s more ruthless) was in power. The CIA was a main funnel of over $3 billion in funds to the Afghan resistance, which became the core of the current terrorist network. The Soviet Union was likewise a supporter of the previous generation of Arab terrorists, such as Abu Nidal, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and other Palestinian groups.

Just as I mentioned earlier, Terrorism is getting complex. The case of Russian government bombing a market full of civilians including children in Aleppo Syria is an act of terrorism in the eyes of the Syrians. Such careless actions are the contributors of radicalization, the individual affected by such attracts will be vulnerable to manipulation by terror groups due to their emotional breakdown and the urge to seek justice or revenge. So, has the fight of terrorism with terror yielded positive results or has it worsen the situation over the years? Be the judge.

Solving a complex problem like terrorism calls for rationalism. It is important to understand the roots of this menace and surgically eliminate it instead applying remedies which will only make the situation worse over time. Terrorism is a threat and disrespect to humankind and should be treated with a lot of caution since it is also a double edge sword. Countries which were once beautiful like Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan have turned into real hell on earth, they are death traps. Peaceful countries like Kenya, Canada, U.S, France, and England among many others are continuously on the high alert due these terror groups which cause lots of injuries and deaths of their citizens. Respect for humankind is paramount in the war against terrorism. Terrorism is quickly getting out of hand regardless of the point of view you perceive it, something revolutionary must be done and quick, now that fighting fire with fire is not working as expected.  

Taking the advice of Dean Ornish, “… in an era in which war and terrorism– at home and abroad– are often based on racial, religious and ethnic differences, rediscovering the wisdom of love and compassion may help us increase our survival at a time when increasingly divided country and world so badly need it.” We need more than weapons to stop terrorism!

They are woken up by a strong foul smell, amplified by the poorly ventilated tiny single room house, the sewer is overflowing into the house, not again! But this is the least of their worry, the daily challenge is to at least provide one meal a day for the family of five, regardless of the ugly face of unemployment. Accessing clean drinking water here is a struggle not to mention using of washroom is a luxury. This is just a glance of what life at Kibera can be. Just a few kilometres away, the remains of the previous night’s delicious supper has to be disposed off to create room for fresh ones. The hot weather is an indication that the kids will find it necessary to cool off in the huge swimming pool filled with crystal clear clean chlorinated water. They don’t have to do any house chores because the two house helps got the 4-bedroom mansion covered. The life in Karen is all comfy. The disparity between the two neighbouring place is too bold to ignore. This is the state of the nation.

The gap between the poor and the rich has stretched to its widest levels since time immemorial. Economic inequality also referred to as the gap between the poor and the rich, wealth disparity or income inequality consists of the differences in the income and wealth distribution. Typically the term, the gap between the poor and the rich refers to inequality among groups and individuals in the society. The gap between the poor and the rich is related to the concept of equity: opportunity equality and outcome equality. 

This is something that is not visible to the majority. The pace of productivity growth is rising in my country (Kenya) and also in other African countries. However it is only lifting fewer boats. This growth is only enjoyed by the haves but not the have-nots. The rich or the wealthy are becoming richer and the poor, poorer…Why is this the case? Yet the national economy is recorded to have improved greatly. According to the IMF and World Bank reports, Kenya has seen a significant economic growth, the question is, has life gotten any better for the common citizens?

The major factors that we can identify that has contributed to the growing gap include; poor governance, no political good will, poor policymaking and implementation, leaders, culture, education, inadequacy of the elite role, globalization, labour markets, policy, taxes reforms, technological changes, un-employment, ethnicity, nepotism, racism, gender, inequality in salaries and wages, high taxes, exposure, adamant on adapting to life changes, lack of information among others.

It seems bizarre, that we, the so called “modern, intelligent and advanced civilization” are yet succeeded in solving the disparity between the poor and the rich. We are enslaved by the above mentioned factors, the irony of a civilized society. Will we ever transcend greed?

Our Leaders are known to be rich, only in very few instances if not none that a poor person is elected or nominated as a leader. We choose leaders who do not understand our problems, what is the plea or needs of the common “Mwanainchi”. We elect a leader whose interest is addressing the needs of his fellow class. Majority of our leaders use their position to enrich themselves, protect their interests and those of their colleagues, creating policies to protect their wealth and make them even wealthier.  Until we finally accept and appoint leaders who truly and genuinely have their citizens’ interests at heart, then that is the time we will start reducing this gap.

Our government has been taking loans around the world. For this reason therefor, high taxes are imposed on the citizens to pay these loans. Increasing taxes on daily today basic commodities has made them very expensive to purchase. The increase in cost of living result into the poor becoming even poorer. The government should resort to a sustainable model borrowing and also effectively utilize our own resources. The loans taken should also be properly utilized in activities and projects which are wealth creating by promoting socio-economic activities in the country. Huge sum of loan money is lost through corruption thus increase in tax burden is without any thing worthy to show for. Countries like United Arab Emirates are doing better economically, because of zero tax in most of their products.

Unfair distribution of resources is a norm in our country. Regions like North Eastern register almost zero development rates. How do we expect such regions to perform economically? It is obvious that they will not develop economy if they are not allocated enough resource to match their demands. At times we are fooled with bogus projects (poor infrastructure) like substandard roads and bridges like Sigiri bridge in Budalangi which collapsed even before being in operation. Such rip-offs of public funds contribute to increase in poverty levels.

Our education system standards in not completive enough in the current market. It focus so much on exams scores and grades rather than knowledge and important skills acquired. This has led to poor productivity, because we are not trained to practice but drilled to impress. Which is only reflected on the papers but not in the real field. We are not given the exposure required for people to be creative and inventive enough to meet the demand of the standard set in the global market. Majority to not get the chance to nature their entrepreneurial skills necessary to start business and creation of wealth in the society. Those who enjoy such exposures are the rich, who are taken to the best schools. Where they are offered the best when it comes to education and opportunities.

Tribalism, nepotism and racism bring about discrimination and favours. Job opportunities are given based on relations instead of merit. These vices cuts a lot of people out, who end up either unemployment or underemployed. The rich families tend give jobs, contracts and opportunities amongst themselves to keep the wealth within the families, regardless of competency levels. For such reasons therefor, the less privileged regardless of their skills will be most likely discriminated against. As per the Kenyan norm, getting a job means you must know somebody of influence or know somebody who knows somebody of influence, then you’ll get the job without following the right channels; interviews become a formality not a necessity.

We have insisted on cultures which do not give equal opportunity to all in terms of empowerment. Females are restricted on what they are supposed to engage in. Educating a single woman means educating the entire community, this is due to the great influence a woman can have in her community if empowered. Denying women equal opportunities lead to untapped potentials hence reduced productivity. The conservative nature of some people in various Communities such as the Maasai, Samburu, Pokot,  Luo among others, are adamant on adapting to new ways of life and economic activities which are competitive in the current market, away from the traditional techniques of pastoralism and fishing for instance. It is important to be innovative and employ the modern technologies to improve our living standards. Unlike a few people in these communities who are able to explore different ventures and opportunities for economic empowerment. We are raised in such a manner that we limit the establishment of the balance between personal growth and community growth. We concentrate more on developing the community and forget about our own personal development. Hence we end up less or not economically empowered..

Politics has direct influence in the economic statues of a country. This begins with poor and unsustainable policymaking by the government with little or no national economic impact. Misplaced proprieties by the government to invest on projects of less importance rather than investing in sectors like agriculture, health, manufacturing and IT which have a great impact on the economy. Poor governance leads to misappropriation and mismanagement of public resources which would have otherwise been used to improve living standards. These vices have manifested themselves in County governments, which was initiated to bring about devolution. Devolved government was to bring government services and resources closer to the common citizen, but what it has brought instead is corruption closer to the people. The chain of corruption and cartels has exponentially increased with devolution, more public resources are being embezzled. The devolved governance which was meant to alleviate poverty is doing the exact opposite, increase poverty at the benefit of a few individuals.  

The rich and wealthy people are secluding themselves, they are limiting themselves to the number of people they mentor. Transfer of knowledge is important in continuity of expertise in the society. Successful business people, competitive lawyers, engineers, diplomats, doctors, teachers, politicians and many others, should take it upon themselves to support and mentor young professionals which is important for national development. Strive Masiyiwa, a London based Zimbabwean businessman, entrepreneur, and philanthropist, the founder and chairman of global telecommunications group Econet Wireless and Kwese Sports, is known for mentoring and supporting (financial and moral support) innovators in his home country with the objective of improving living standards and eradication of  poverty.

Judging from the statements of Henry George, American Political Economist, ‘’ No person, I think, ever saw a herd of buffalo, of which a few were fat and the great majority lean. No person ever saw a flock of birds, of which two or three were swimming in grease, and the others all skins and bone.’’ Shows that the wealth disparity is a human creation, ironically the most advanced and civilized organism in the planet, yet driven by greed. I am compelled to believe that we really do not understand what being advanced and civilized means, we should learn from the animals.
             

My head up, eyes closed as I breathe gently while a calming cold breeze massages my face. The sense of freedom is overwhelming here, a strange experience I must say. The feeling of the well-formed grains of the white sandy beach pressing against my feet is tickly. I slowly open my eyes to gaze at the vastness of the ocean complimented by a crystal clear blue sky, they are inseparable beauty. Everything seems to be in harmony here, the animals are in synch with the beautiful environment as the Sun smiles down upon the land. This island offer solitude away from all the negativity humanity has created, I am in full control of my actions and behavior here. Unfortunately, all these are just in my head, a mere lucid imaginations! I would have wished for staying in an island free from the influence of societal evil, but everlasting solitude is physically and emotionally strenuous because we are social creatures, besides I cannot afford an Island right now, so I am stuck to this life. A life where the common people have little or no say, a life where large corporates influence and manipulate every angle of our life, a life where a few politicians makes rules for their own interests and gains, a life where your sweat benefits a few, a life where you’ll be faced with huge suctions for standing for the truth, and a life I would gladly give up on with the slightest opportunity.

Democracy is defined as the Government for the people by the people and of the people. ‘The people” being the majority. According to its definition, it gives power to the people to choose leaders and how our nation is governed. However this is not the case, politics is not about 99 percent of us but is about the 1 percent who controls everything in it. Our democracy is a sham. We have no say in the factors which most affect our future. Democracy is frustrated by a process which could just as effectively be decided by a coin toss. 

There is a vicious cycle in our society that involves two things: money and power. Those in powerful positions either have money, or people with money put the person they want to have power in power. The illusion of democracy makes us feel like we put them there, or that we even want them there. We have been deceived into believing there is democracy. We are naïve not to realize how we are being manipulated by the 1%.  The sad truth is that rich and powerful corporates directly influence your state of life by implanting or paying off that leader you think you elected, to push agendas for their own benefit. Tobacco industries which gives us cancer, soft drink industries which makes us fat and diabetic, fast food industries which literally fed us with slow poison to mention just but a few, have in the past and present paid off politicians to make bills to allow them to continue killing us as they make huge profits. This is paramount in a ‘The moat Liberal and Democratic’ country like US.

Some few days I was watching some movie, I think most movie lovers have watched… “Now you see me now you don’t”. This movie is about magic. The characters in it are using conjuring trick that makes people believe in magic, yet in the real sense, they are manipulated. Everything is planned, they just take advantage of their naivety. Such is the similar concept with our democracy. We are duped into believing that we are democratic. My question is; how many agrees to the huge loans taken by the ‘government’ burdening tax payers? Who benefits from multibillion government tenders? Who really benefits from bilateral and unilateral trades? Who are the real beneficiaries of government subsidiaries? Why are you paid so little wages yet your company swims in profits? When was the last time your voice was heard? Why did you really vote for that particular politician, did you really have an option? Do you fall for the side shows of the politicians used to divert attention from real issues? Are you in full control of your life or in autopilot? 

 At least we think… 

“Screw the popular vote, and who has the most support from the majority.” That is what they say. Our political leaders are appointed… NOTE, I said appointed not ELECTED. I hope you did get me right? Or let me further explain, we are made to believe that we elected them, yet in the actual sense, they are appointed by certain individuals in our society. This is by selecting the person who will continue to line the pockets of the rich, the person who will toe the line for “big Pharma,” “Big Oil,” or whatever lobby group that paid enough money to shape the regulations or lack thereof that rule their industry. It is not about the political parties vying for political leadership, it is about money feeding power and power feeding money.

I was debating with a friend of mine on the need to vote. My take was, there is no need for me to vote. My argument was it is a waste time. But why? This is because, of the above mentioned reasons. My vote do not count anyway, so why should I bother. “This should change,” I convince myself. Why then should you vote when the elections are already predetermined? You might not realize it, but the reality is that popular or people’s favorite Politian is pocketed by the real people who rule the country behind the curtains. Paranoid? You might think!

This voting thing we so proudly take part in is about as useful as dangling keys if front of a crying baby, it shuts us up; it pacifies us. We are being lied to. The powerful people want nothing to do with democracy. You see, the problem with dangling keys in front of a crying baby is eventually the baby gets tired of the keys and starts crying again. In the long run, you are going to have to deal with the reason why the baby is crying, not just the act of crying.

In the end, the voices from down below are no longer going to be pacified by illusion of democracy and we will demand it. This has happened before, but the amplified ideology from viewing deck overpowers the ideology of rising from below where the rest of us reside. It is happening right now, we have candidates who are using their platform to advance a revolution, but they are being stonewalled at every turn and blacked out by mainstream media. The ones who stand to lose, the ones who have shook us down, and the ones who fueled the illusion of democracy are drowning their ideology out. 

It is time to stand up for democracy. We the people have been told that our voice matters, therefore we the people need to make our voices heard. We can no longer stand idly by waiting for something to change when it is clear that it’s not going to. We cannot keep thinking that the blue team is any different than the red team because they are not. Democracy is the common people’s rule, the power is in the people not the few manipulative individual using oppression to tame the people. Until we realize the truth that we are the source of power, there won’t be change.

These guys vying for political seats, majority if not all of them are all the same. Marked with greed for power. Fooling us that they have our society’s interest at heart. They are just lying to us by coming up with good policies that they do not fulfill when they get the leadership. All we need is a true government that is marked by actions that explain that it is indeed a government of the people, for the people and by the people. 

Our democracy has been hijacked for a long time, all electoral freedoms in our society are over so long as it’s controlled by selfish corporations. We should not allow these streets to be taken over by the selfish ‘rich’. Because it’s all of us who have built this nation, and we can tear it down unless they give us what we need.  A country like Switzerland is in the act of making this a reality. Its citizens can challenge a law passed by parliament with a referendum. You might just be thinking of your own Island now!

Let us Wake up!

…She is seated under a Croton tree with a traditional stool “orindi”. With her is “othith” sisal and dried water hyacinth that she had collected from Lake Victoria few weeks ago. The sisal and hyacinths are colored in variety of shades. She is half way making a “kiondo” or “okapu” (basket). I am seated next to her on “par” (carpet or mat made from reeds), trying to emulate what she is doing. Beside us, there are three beautiful baskets that my grandmother had already completed.  I must admit, I love them. But this is not the case for a lot of youths, in fact, “kiondo” is uncool and meant for grandmothers, ‘‘shosho,” they say.  Some people also dislike it because of inconvenience, they find it bulky to carry along.

Traditional kiondo, non-woven bags, biodegradable plastic-look-alike bags, woolen paper bags and papyrus baskets, envelopes, and paper bags are the alternatives Kenyan has for the plastic bags. Indeed, Kenya is adjusting to life without plastic bags after a strict ban on the carriers. This is a good move, I must admit. But how good is good? I ask myself.

This measure is adopted because of the effect of the plastic bags to the environment. Plastic bags are often used for a few minutes before enjoying an eternal afterlife, clogging storm drains, stuffing landfills, killing animals that eat them and contributing to the eight million metric tons of plastic that end up in the world’s oceans every year. More than 40 countries, including China, France and Rwanda, have taxed, limited or banned plastic bags. And not to forget a number are also considering the ban

Below is a diagram with details on the countries.

The United Nations, which estimates that, by weight, there will be more plastic than fish in the world’s oceans by 2050 if the world doesn’t act, has begun a #CleanSeas campaign to eliminate the use of plastic microbeads and single-use plastic bags by 2022.

However, countries like Sweden and Norway, are doing remarkably well in waste management and yet they have not adopted this measure (plastic ban). In fact, they are using waste as a source energy. It is becoming one of Norway’s fuel of choice. The waste is turned into heat and electricity for the city of Oslo. According to Mr. Pal Mikkelsen, the director of waste-to-energy in Oslo, “Four tons of waste has the same energy content as one tons of fuel oil.” He also stated, “One ton of fuel oil, could heat a house for half a year.” These waste products include plastic bags which can no longer be recycled any more. The rubbish is pre-sorted. Everything that can be recycled is meant to have been taken out before the process starts. These two countries have zero waste. You would have thought running out of rubbish would be a blessing rather than a curse. Yet in Norway, the lack of waste is becoming a major headache for the waste management business that they resort to importing waste from other countries. Wrap your head around that!

Thinking of my country, where youths got no jobs, yet considering the fact that we still produce inadequate power, why can’t we adopt such a system (waste-energy conversion) and hit three bird with a single stone? I suggest that we should have a balance in terms of percentage of production and the usage of plastic bags and other alternatives to create a sustainable model based on efficiency, durability and environmental friendliness. And this can be enforced and achieved at the production level, by regulating the manufacturing and production of each of these products. Banning of plastic bags alone is not the solution, don’t we still pack several other products ranging from food products like cooking oil and sodas to cosmetic products and industrial products like paints in plastic containers? And yet they are equally harmful is disposed of. Does this demonstrate an element of double standard in our country?

It is important to note that until recently, plastic bags offered the best mode of hygienic packaging solution to the food vendors. Finding a better alternative for them would be a win-win situation for both the vendors and costumers but until then, we are stuck in a limbo.  Remember that the cost of producing alternative bags like paper and cloth bags is also high. Other notable dire consequences of paper as an alternative are; high consumption of energy during its production process thus leaving behind a larger carbon footprint than plastic, deforestation incase of unsustainable production methods, and consumption of lots of clean water during production thus the risk of depletion of clean water reserve. As innocent as they might look, these alternatives would prove to be more harmful than even the plastic bags if no controlled too.

We should however be realistic, the effects of plastic bags in our environment is due to our negligence. We are careless, and we dispose things not mindful of the harm we are causing. This is due to NO or poor measures put in place by our government or relevant institution for such matters. Member of our society also have limited education on waste management and environment conservation as well.

The following are measures that should be put in place, not only in Kenya but by the entire International system. The use of plastic bags should be regulated by ensuring that only a manageable percentage is released to the market, the quality of the bags should be high and the components for producing such bags should be environmentally friendly. These plastic bags upon use should be recycled instead of being disposed, and for those that cannot be recycled, should be converted to other use like making energy just like it’s the case with Norway and Sweden.

The government and other relevant institutions like the municipal or the county government and NEMA, should play a key role in ensuring that there is proper waste management mechanism in place. This is by ensuring there is proper collection and sustainable disposal of waste. They should also carry out activities which contribute to creating awareness of waste management. They should advocate for alternatives for paper bags which are environment friendly and cheaply produced. Measures such as wet and dry scrubbing during cremation should be enforced to avoid pollution of the air in case of waste-energy conversion is carried out.

There should be an evaluation on the amount of paper to produce, ensuring a sustainable production to avoid deforestation and excessive energy consumption. For instance, considering formulation of an integrated production technique in terms of percentages of these products depending on their potential impact to the environment (e.g. 1% will be plastic bags, 2% will be paper bags, 90% will be water hyacinth, fiber, sisal, reeds) Water hyacinth would be the highest because of its potential of helping the reduction of it in our lake.

Our education system should also include environment conservation and waste management as a key subject. This will bring up a generation that is knowledgeable on the importance of protecting their environment. Hence it will lead to a culture or a society of environmental responsibility and awareness.

Plastic bags have become one of the greatest pollutants in the current era. Just as Jeb Barrier said, ‘think about it. Why would you make something that you’re going to use for a few minutes out of a material that’s basically going to last forever, and you’re just going to throw it away? What’s up with that?” Banning of plastic alone won’t save us, we have to evaluate and use all the available option at our disposal. Above all, creating a culture of recycling and conservation like in Norway and Sweden seems to be the most effective method. This is our planet lets save it now, responsibility starts with me and you.