Why Young Kenyans are Protesting the IMF
Вставка
- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- Sign up to Brilliant and you'll also get 20% off an annual premium subscription: brilliant.org/...
This week, protesters in Kenya poured into the streets across the country to violently protest a controversial finance bill aiming to raise taxes. In this video, we're going to take a look at Kenya's debt crisis, the controversial finance bill, and whether IMF is to blame.
🎞 TikTok: / tldrnews
💡 Got a Topic Suggestion? - forms.gle/mahE...
Support TLDR on Patreon: / tldrnews
Donate by PayPal: tldrnews.co.uk...
Our mission is to explain news and politics in an impartial, efficient, and accessible way, balancing import and interest while fostering independent thought.
TLDR is a completely independent & privately owned media company that's not afraid to tackle the issues we think are most important. The channel is run by a small group of young people, with us hoping to pass on our enthusiasm for politics to other young people. We are primarily fan sourced with most of our funding coming from donations and ad revenue. No shady corporations, no one telling us what to say. We can't wait to grow further and help more people get informed. Help support us by subscribing, engaging and sharing. Thanks!
//////////////////////
1 - www.telegraph....
2 - / 1
3 - www.bbc.co.uk/...
4 - www.economist....
5 - tradingeconomi...
6 - tradingeconomi...
7 - tradingeconomi...
8 - www.ft.com/con...
9 - / 1
10 - kenyanwallstre...
11 - www.bbc.co.uk/...
12 - / 1805598808035774970
13 - www.ft.com/con...
One thing this video didn't address, a key driver for the protest is the anger at politicians who are corrupt, openly flaunting their wealth after looting the country and talking down ordinary citizens when they said they can't afford a larger tax burden
sounds like Canada
Politicians in Canada, and most Western countries, are paid a lot to prevent incentivizing corruption.
@@khlapsslightly less corruption is all that did as they have essentially legalized corruption by having the ability to lobby.
Why is the IMF trying to save Kenyans? Let them have China
China Debt are way better and DYE, hair
Great point aren't Kenyan politician's among the highest paid on Africa?
I am from Kenya,
More than 20 people died during the protests,
A rumored 100-200+ people were then massacred that night in Githurai, Nairobi
They are lying about the statistics, many many died all with bullet hole
Its very sad here🥲
Next time Bantu people are the majority they should never elect into power a the same people who used to enslave them in Egypt
No Kenyan is against paying taxes. We're against mismanagement of the countries resources. Imagine a president taking a $1.5 million private jet to the US l, turns around and tell the nation to live within their means! The audacity!!!
So basically we are the same, because I can guarantee no matter where you live anywhere on Earth regardless of your country’s political situation or wealth a politician will tell you to live within your means..
Yes. While they live lavishly
@@LeeKelly-dj4rf It is what you do to avoid actually diving into the problems/circumstances/playing field that your citizens have to navigate.
...which you want to do, to avoid actually changing your society, possibly at the cost of those who have success whitin it.
Because what if, regardless of whatever problems/circumstances/playing fields, some people are slightly more lazy than they could be?
kenya is against i.m.f my brother, those high taxes are proposed by i.m.f if you do not know
government taking private lands is a project of i.m.f
As a Kenyan, our problem is not the IMF. Kenya's issue is tribal politics. The people who vote along tribal lines are just as much to blame as those politicians who steal money. The IMF has no duty of care to Kenyans, their job is to loan money and they expect it back as they should.
Doesn't matter whether you take loans from IMF or China. It's how the loan is spent. And so long as corruption rules, Kenyans will continue to be impoverished.
Poverty is caused by culture and impatient.
Damned if you do, damned if you don't.
You have to understand Kenya and other African nations haven't been paying any of it loans. This is the first attempt to do so.
Tim cook looking at people getting killed and injured for 3B dollars. And they say life is fair
The imf is right point, if I go to ask money to the bank I have to prove I can pay back, and I must have my finances in order, the imf is a bank not a charity organization, they can protest against the government but if you don't want to accept the imf terms don't take money from them.....
@@HellBot-gi5si what? Kenya and 90% of African countries have never defaulted on their debt. Hatred of people shouldn't force you to be deceitful. Deceit is the tool of the devil. Truth will set you free.
@@antonymwangi4986 What?!? you've got to be kidding me, right!!!! The Chinese are telling us that you not paying your loans. The Russians will not loan you money. The Russians have told us Americans they not going loan money to Africa.
The reason why it is bad for Kenya to have 70% debt/GDP ratio and it is okay for Italy to have 140% is because lenders have more confidence in developed countries and thus charging smaller interest than for developing countries
Also because unlike in Kenya, Italian politicians actually do their job, for the most part.
they also have confidence in them because they share the same lineage with those countries some of those lenders are from there to begin with. Africans also have confidence giving 2 cattle to a penniless neighbor because they also have trust that he will breed them and have his own and give back 3 cattle. These lenders charge higher interest simply because they can and nothing else and they also try to force African countries not looking for loans to get loans its all documented just a bunch of thu.gs One day africans will get real guns and simply say we will not pay those loans if you want your money get it after that it will be a restructuring of the world and those at front will be at the back and those at the back will be at the front and those people will interestingly be asked to pay interest for their loans they offered.
@@zack7438 Italian politicians actually do their job?😂 ..they wouldn't have a debt of 140% if they did.
No, it's because a large portion of Kenya's loans are in foreign currency. They can't monetize the debt like developed countries can. People should just stop talking about debt to GDP and start discussing external debt ratios instead
@@MuantanamoMobile Italy also has a debt crisis
Hey, I have always trusted this channel and thought y'all did some good research before posting. As a Kenyan, I can tell there are a lot of inaccuracies even of just historical information that is readily available. So that worries about research into information that is not readily available. For example, Kenya was a one Party State only up until 1992.
Africa we are the only ones who can narrate our stories don’t trust or let anyone else do so that’s how we ended up with , His story and we all know the rest.
People are willing to pay taxes if thats what needed to solve the debt issue. The issue is corruption, the looting, setting up unconstitutional positions. The biggest expenditure is salaries and we keep adding unconstitutional positions. We are over represented in parliament, the senate and in the county assemblies. By cutting this numbers for instance the government will save a huge percentage. But no, tax the common person.
From my understanding they borrowed 2 billion Euro bond back in 2014 Kenya's GDP was 58 billion at that time when they borrowed that money The creditors are calling back that bond since it was good for 10 years since that 10-year period Kenya's GDP is at 104 billion dollars almost double yet they can't seem to find 2 billion dollars to pay the euro bond.
They stole the Eurobonds hence the problem. They borrow and steal. Then tax and steal. Then cry to IMF and blame them. The problem is corrupt politicians.
What is the basis of this conclusion? Kenya has never defaulted on the Euro bond or any debt
it all depends on whether the money the government gets is spent on services or yachts.
@@antonymwangi4986 they haven't defaulted on it but yet they're having trouble paying back the loan again their GDP has risen over to around 104 billion dollars Why are they having a tough time paying back the bond
@@enhancedutility266 GDP is a measurement of a country's total value of services and production; while GDP grows, it doesn't necessarily mean a country's government revenue massively increases or doubles.
Love this family of channels, thank you for explanation!
Oh, hi, I haven't seen you yet as the host here. I just wanted to say you're doing great!
"Anchorperson" bruh..
Y'know anchorwoman is a word right you could also say host
Ummm... I just wanted to encourage a person who has just started a new job, but what do I know, I just used a non-native language and accidentally selected a logical, but wrong word to do this 🤷♀
Maybe it's not a person. Maybe it's not a new job. Maybe encouraging random people on the internet is a stupid idea, right?
@@pan_salceson Anchor or host will suffice.
She is cute
First of all, great video. However, the issue Kenyans have is not with taxes, the issue is that the money raised goes into the pockets of the corrupt politicians
Pink water cannons. Are they strawberry flavoured?
No but it probably smells like absolute sewer dogshit
Come join us in the streets,that would answer your question.
They’re to mark who was at the protests so the cops can arrest them later. They’re horrible.
Joking about that is not ok.
We asked for gender reveal water cannons
The pink water makes people “geh”.
Kenya doesn't have a revenue problem kenya has an expenditure problem
As a Kenyan fan I'm glad you are talking about this
I don't know what guys are blaming the IMF for. The IMF does not force you to borrow. It's not their private money. They get it from creditor member states who expect to be repaid. They have to make sure you can repay. When you are running this big bloated wasteful state of course they will tell you raise taxes to borrow. Kenya does not need to borrow from the IMF, we need to cut down the size of the government to mission critical entities only. Privatise all parastatals on the NSE and use the money to pay down the debt. Eliminate all official extravagance. Cut taxes (for the poorest and everything they consume) to stimulate the economy from the base of the pyramid and get more revenues from economic growth. That's what we need to be doing. Not running to the IMF to borrow more money for looting & wasting.
none of the IMF's clients have the luxury of being able to print as much currency as they want. it's a global wealth redistribution mechanism
@@dg-ov4cf Investigate how much wealth, land, property and businesses the leaders themselves own before you start down that road of nonsense.
Should they be able to hang on to and accrue that wealth considering the haircut they're expecting the poorest members of Kenyan society to take? And should they be able to hang to and accrue that wealth considering they all only got *any* of it because of their proximity to power?
Or maybe that's someone else's fault too.
Great macro analysis.
Those casualty numbers you mentioned are extremely shaky at best. Very wrong of you to state them so confidently. Also, the protests are due to many things, the bill was simply a watershed moment. Now Kenyans want the dictator Ruto ousted permanently.
I mean, we are seeing with China's what unconditional loans do. At some stage you do have to make changes to fix the core problem. I dont blame the IMF for saying "hey, you gotta get your shit together if you want a bailout"
So now they don't get the money?
That might be a good thing.
You think IMF loans are free? What a 🤡
@@pkom6418 how would you come to that conclusion? No savings plan - no new money.
.... that savings plan would be the cost.
But that's why no imf money might be a good thing because new interest payments don't help in the long run.
Is that spelled out enough for you?
@@pkom6418 the easy solution is do not look for hand out.
Do not like it, go away.
Actually we have more money without IMF @@CHMichael
@@pkom6418 No. They typically come with strings attached, namely that the country receiving them need to institute Western preferred/friendly economic reforms.
It's not the IMF's fault that your budget needs to be fixed. Where were these protesters when the government was recklessly *spending* money? These sorts of requirements are common in business loans a well, like a requirement that your debt-to-revenue ratio not get too high.
Kenya's government is laughably corrupt. I'm sure most Kenyans weren't benefiting from what the government was doing with the money
There's a bit of leftist bias you're showing here. You bash creditors as "greedy" but not the country taking the loans in no condition to pay them back as greedy. The fact that it's happening to a poor black country should not distract you from the fact that if you get to this point it is because of mistaken local policies, enforced by locally elected politicians, not rapacious Western interests. They need to do better, not be placated as victims. That's real help, for all those millions of people.
This is ignoring how Kenya and how a lot of African nations got poor in the first place which is when Western nations came in to exploit their resources through colonisation.
@@AntiwhippyNot a history student, I see.
@@Antiwhippyit’s not like Kenya is missing resources, quite the opposite, and Kenya was more developed after colonisation than it would have been had it remained isolated. After 80 years, how long can people keep blaming Europe? The most successful mainland african country (Botswana) kept British govornment and administration for a while post independence which allowed it to develop much faster than its neighbours.
Kenya being poor isn't a problem. Kenya spending even when they don't have money is problem. This applies everywhere like Argentina. Not some colonialism thing@@Antiwhippy
@@Antiwhippy Attributing (negative) agency only to Western former colonizers and framing all negative developments by formerly colonized states as a reaction is patronizing and doing them a disservice.
Who wrote this? Please bring your standards back up. This is a low quality piece, i can't recommend anyone watch it.
I think you are confusing a budget deficit with debt to GDP ratio
IMF should recoup the loan from these corrupt state leaders by pursuing their offshore accounts as well as primitively accumulated wealth back home. IMF should exempt innocent citizens from accountability for loans not spent on them.
Gov have always raised taxes it's nothing new. To me what matters is the ESG and Social Credit Score system introduced as a new Eco Levy and the unconstitutionally proposed land policy proposing ownership levy.
The IMF is only bothered with raising revenue and are hardly bothered with expenditure, the situation you see is a reaction to several years of fiscal indiscipline from government, this particular government is pushing a false narrative that increased taxes will go to debt service but there's no evidence of the same and borrowing continues unabated.
That is not IMF problem.
That is the people's and the government's problem.
@jeckjeck3119 IMF are the ones coming up with proposals , they even posted stuff to our finance ministry. They are the ones pushing these proposals and have even asked the government to push them through despite protests
@@jeckjeck3119 Yes exactly hence the protests.Do you think the rage is directed more to the IMF or to Govenment?
@@Inzira155
I think there is some rage directed at IMF, either out of misinformation, or blame by accociation.
@@jeckjeck3119 Blame by association mostly.
How does it make sense to raise 2.7B to balance the budget just to take another IMF loan to fund lavish lifestyle of politicians ?? On top of that the subsidies are not coming back!! He’s doing too much and needs to go
The only investments should be for infrastructure.
The IMF pretends not to know what it is doing.
watch the confession of an economic hitman!!!!
The problem wasn't taxes per se it was government spending
The president recently chartered a flight for 2 mn usd for his state visit to the US, on the day he left ,Iceland's president arrived in Malawi onboard the Kenya Airways, the Kenya national carrier, clearly it is upto standards and add that to the fact that even neighbouring countries presidents use their national carrier for state visits not hiring private jets.
And this is just a tip of the iceberg, the amount of reckless spending in the government is out of control
2 million for a flight to US? I mean, is that a security thing, or just a luxury thing?
@jeckjeck3119 luxury thing, the 2 million usd was just the cost of hiring the plane
@@Avaricumstudios
Jesus.
I see why people are upset.
If the IMF requires a balanced budget then why would it not recommend austerity measures also on the presidency & legislature. Kenya has the highest paid members of parliament compared to the average wage . The finance bill the IMF introduced aimed to give them even higher budgets and salaries in spite widespread corruption. Why would the loan not come with a condition on reducing corruption , more audits to make sure the money is spent well? IMF have never been effective not a single case study of a success case , just more debt and privatization.
What the IMF does is give recommendations. If the government emplements them then loan goes forward. But ultimately the IMF still relies on the government of said country to get it's info regarding the finances.
It seems to me like you are in practice arguing that the IMF take control of Kenya's government.
There are many cases where countries where in fact helped by IMF loans.
@@pintiliecatalin only imperialists defend the IMF , have a good day imperialist.
'The IMF demands that the Turkeys vote to continue with Xmas'
Get real.
@@Muzakman37 it's colonialism with extra steps
@@ukweli1786 No it's not. Colonialism isn't a choice for the colonised. Not one soul is forcing Kenya to knock on the IMF's door with its hand out, Kenya can either pay market rates of borrowing or it can go bankrupt if it wants to, or enforce austerity at home, there are numerous things Kenya *can* choose to do. It's *chosen* to go to the IMF.
There also over $7 borrowed that the government can’t account for and all Kenyan citizens are paying for money that has not been used in the development of the country. There’s the underlying issue of corruption and nothing will change with the current president, parliament and must have accountability.
just give land to china in exchange of a loan.
imf loans are really more suited for countres with oky to good infrastructure already in place
Corruption?
The problem is not the finance bill, it is the system of democracy, which does not focus on investing in our own people, instead it exploits. How can you have a finance bill without a budget that considers all the citizens? Finance is for self sufficiency, not for foreign gain.
No country is forced to borrow money from the IMF.
Kenya chose to. They chose to because it allowed them cheaper capital than the private debt markets would have offered to them.
Invariably, IMF advice to developing countries is just economic common sense.
The title is misleading
Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaawn!
You have not analysed corruption, incompetence, mismanagement and their effects on the general poverty in Kenya. The reality here is that with better management Kenya would NOT BE NEEDING ANY LOANS FROM ANYONE.
5:06 I don't think those are the "sanetary towels" mentioned.
I really don't understand how TLDR keeps making basic mistakes that can be avoided by a 10 second internet search.
What about the 6Bil owed to China Hello Why is that debt not part of this story ??
Exactly.
If you don´t like IMF,,,whats the alternetive? Nobody else gonna lend Kenya lol.
or we actually don't want to keep getting lent and instead we're protesting because the people in authority keep looting the money
and we're also protesting because we want the government to cut on their unnecessary spending
@@Sssidk goood, that actually makes sense🙏
Meanwhile, Tanzania is quietly going about it's stuff, capturing Kenya's business with Uganda. Wake up Kenya 🤦🏾♂️
Wouldn't we all protest our repo-man
Lol which country has the IMF stabilized?
Its a loan with conditions, if you don't want that shark loan china can get your lands instead with chinese only sign
@@kealeradecal6091 conditions being squeezing common people out of money or opening economy up for western corporate exploitation to payback or get new loans which is pretty much what a loan shark does.
Lol why do you think the imf is y mom? It's a bank, it's not their responsibility to stabilize your country..... Their responsibility is to make sure they get their money back.... If you waste it it's your fault.
@@jogo798how about not asking for money then? Guy you pay high interest exactly because no one trust you..... Germany doesn't becouse everyone knows they pay their debts back and understand how lending money works.....
@kealeradecal6091 As a lender is repayment really your goal when conditionalities placed ahem nooses around your lendees are such that it's NOT possible for them to repay?
Kenyan's are learning and the next stop will be the unfair so called FREE TRADE agreements where heavyweights are pitted against featherweights and it's called a fair match.
We need more than this in Ghana and Nigeria our taxes are increasing everyday
When you vote thieves, what were they expecting. Its just stupid destroying property and taking life.
We are not protesting the IMF. The IMF did not introduce the finance bill to parliament, or vote on it. And we do not deny that we have a debt problem. We protest that no significant moves to reduce government spending have been made.
This is a pretty good piece. But it needs more research.
Africans accept responsibilities do not shift your problems to the west or imf
Why is it you have not talked about corruption,, when loans are taken the money is stolen, that should have been the highlight
Pendant warning, TLDR got a country's name wrong.
The Ivory Coast is the Western shoreline of the African continent. There is no country called Ivory Coast; there was 40 years ago, but they changed their name to Côte d'Ivoire in all languages in 1986. Calling Côte d'Ivoire "the Ivory Coast" is like calling Myanmar "Burma" or the Russian Federation "the Soviet Union." Worse (imho), since those renames happened after Côte d'Ivoire's
A white man's word translated from english version to its french version both coined by the European colonialists ? Does that make any difference? Where is the original native one? There must be one.
Most of the debt Kenya has to pay back this year is from China, not IMF.
What are you talking about 😂
not true , Yes Kenya has a lot of debt to China but it is more indebted to the IMF(essentially the USA)
I don't know whether you are maliciously spreading disinformation or just plain ignorant.
@@me24680 he is talking what he is talking about. China owns most of debts of Kenya.
@me24680 Kenya borrows money from not only IMF, but from China as well. Most of the matured loan this year and next is from China. The loans between China and Kenya aren't so transparent like those from IMF. Kenya owes China US$ 5.98 billion, while owes IMF US$ 4.4 billion. It's easy to blame IMF, the boogeyman, and forget there are other parties as well.
Absolutely Pathetic, how do you justify paying 38% of All revenues to external debt holder's and you haven't seen one product from the IMF and World Bank. Ruto was dumb, Ethiopia and AES and reducing their Western debt exposure, but Ruto is running to more debt, like an idiot. What's the reason they need this debt for, you ask? To aquire USD so that, because the US is unwilling to perform as the Global Reserve Currency should. It should create an atmosphere where the US imports enough goods to assure a good quality of life, across the Globe.
These young democracies suffer because the politicians argue that if they have power the government will for you, and their opponents say the exact same thing. What they need is a politician who says he'll get the government out of your life. Stop spending money you don't have. Stop taxing everyone to death. Shrink the government, and apply a flat and equal tax.
Kenya is NOT the problem. We see through your bullshit.
Don’t know what the IMF is but in my experience three letter acronyms are rarely a good thing
It means you are in such a mess that no one else wants to help you.
The rest are populist BS.
What do they mean by annual tax on cars?????????????
It's a 2.5% tax on the value of your car.....to be pegged to your car insurance payments.
@@colloh6913 HAA HE FOCKING MAD
Suppose Kenya is unable to pay its bilateral lenders- what is the worst which can happen? Nothing! Nothing at all. No one can kill you for defaulting on loans. Zambia, Ethiopia and Ghana have defaulted yet are still breathing.
#RutoMustGo
I think imf loans should be considered a last ditch efforts. Too many countries take them out at i want that now type of loans.
If a country's knocking on the IMF's door, it's a tacit admission that country's already deeply in the sht. They're pretty much last resort lenders cos you'll get cheap money but the terms are steep.
You need to research more before making your news public.
Good analysis /comparison though.
"Why young Keynsians are protestin IMF."
Yeah, that makes sense, but do we have young keynsians?
Poor Keynians (and Keynsians), there is populist trap, when 1 govertment is corrupted and making country ruin, the next one is trying to do something about it, and takes the blame. Damm circle.
However, perfect budget balance is overkill, especially in country like Kenya where there is still a lot space to grow. So Keynia could have some deficit like 3% and they should be fine, so IMF got overzelous. That bread Tax is next level.
A snag in the EAF
But austerity works so well! Just ask Greece
10 years of pain but now the leanest, fastest growing economy in the EU.
You should get up to date.
Who did the research for this, its so poor with so many mistakes. Firstly Kenya has being a multi-party state since atleast 1991, Ruto wasn't Odinga's deputy in 2002, the last KANU elected official was in 2022 and KANU isn't a party based on any Ideology so many people join and leave to form their own party. Kenya being a multiparty state and all. Plus both Odinga and Ruto had manifestos in 2022 which they campaign on, so you can't say the election was based purely on personality. The problem was created by Ruto because he stated looking west and not east. The west being diabolical this was bound to happen. Looks like IMF ruin of terror in the global south continues.
Correction: multi-partism was allowed after 1992 not 2002. President Moi maintainer power through outright vite theft until 2002.
The person who won, president Kibaki, was once President Moi's vice president. Kenyan politics are weird.
It is also slightly disingenuous to say KANU still holds sway.... Its last hay day was in 2002... The have since as a party never come close to any sort of power on a national level since.
Last disingenuous part is saying the people have issue with austerity. The people want austerity at all levels which means no more unconstitutional offices (prime minster and spousal offices), no more corruption ( country loses over $5b to corruption every year and theres a bill that passed the senate that legalised government officials corruption), no more flaunting your ill gotten wealth ( parliamentarians dressing like actual billionaires). What they dont want is teachers, doctors, nurses et al not to be paid.
Big fan of using minecraft porkchops and coal to show food and energy
You are wrong saying that we should blame the IMF this has nothing to do with the IMF or the US
KANU story quite irrelevant in this video😂
they all want free Money for Nothing, politics are just about ethnic grievances because it is all about power, if you have power you can direct ressources, and they know that. so they basically have like europes Natonal Football League but with Politics and Money.
I just *love* how the IMF's explanation for why they continue to insist on austerity despite it literally never working is "bankruptcy is even worse than austerity, and we can use that fact to *force* poor nations into accepting austerity in return for loans." Apparently it's never occurred to the IMF that a balanced budget shouldn't necessarily be a nation's top priority.
When will African leaders put their people first ahead of their Western puppet masters smh😂
when their Chinese and Russian masters will allow them
@@weiserwolf580 what's Russia got to do with Kenya?
These leaders went to these "Puppet Masters" for loans didnt they?
And now its time to pay back the loans and suddenly IMF EVIL
They were clearly waiting for your advice on it.
As a Kenyan, the bill is not the whole story. We are also protesting against the large scale looting by Ruto and his cronies. People are dying in underfunded hospitals and every sector in the economy is getting plundered. Meanwhile, Ruto and his cronies buy luxury watches and cars worth tens of thousands of dollars and diverting public money to their offshore accounts. He has made unconstitutional offices and put his friends to loot Kenyans. It is estimated that more than 40% of public funds are stolen. Without theft, the country's finances would be fixed very quickly. Kenyans are also angry that the army was mobilized unconstitutionally against unarmed Kenyans. The police opened fired and have killed tens and injured hundreds including children and women. A mother closing her vegetable stall for the day was shot and killed. She was not even protesting. Stand with Kenya!
Ruto and his cronies' looting is different from Uhuru's and Kibaki's and their cronies' before him how? And Moi's before that?
Well put
@Muzakman37 no, but our parents were not strong enough to stand up to them.
@@Muzakman37 They where not sending money outside they where not blood thirsty killing people they where buying and creating business in Kenya and these new thieves unfortunately they have met a new generation that says no. They will be removed
@@Muzakman37 All previous regimes looted a lot as well. It does not justify current looting. If you ask me, all wealth that cannot be explained owned by previous presidents and their administration should be confiscated and used to repay debts and fund development projects. It is well known that many of them have offshore accounts like the previous president. We will catch up to them too!
it should not go unmentioned that Ruto spent $1.5m on a private jet to the USA, while his daughter drives a 2024 model Bentley Bentayga, in the face of 'austerity'.
And also who voted him in power. 😂
Play stupid games, win stupid price.
@@arthurlau98 he won by 200K votes ,most young people didn't vote and that's why they felt like it was their fault for letting such a corrupt coalition get power and are trying to make things right
@@arthurlau98 just to clarify, go look for his videos during campaign period. Kenyans have realised that he was a pretender and a big liar as well as very very very greedy and selfish
@@arthurlau98ruto has completely done a 180 from his campaign promises.
@@arthurlau98he never won, he was rigged in by the US. Maybe they knew he was the perfect puppet as he had a case at ICC, eliminated witnesses, very corrupt etc
I'm a Kenyan(edit: I am in the diaspora. I don't live in the country anymore). This video is true, but there are some innacuracies. Thank you for the video though for shining a light on the video
Firstly, the subsidies were implemented months before the election in August of 2022 by Uhuru. Secondly, a lot of these loans come from Uhuru, such as the one by the IMF and even the Eurobond. Odinga has only been in 4 parties, and has stayed in ODM for 20 years. A lot of parties have stayed together. People are not joining parties now, but they are joining coalitions.
Kenyans are also aware of the situation our government has put us in. We just want to know where the government is putting the money. There's a lot of corruption, and there is a lot of money spent on renovating houses, increasing mp salaries and a general misuse of public funds as well as creating unconstitutional offices. That's one of the reasons a lot of people are protesting.
Thank you for the video.
EDIT: Slight clarification. People are joining parties who then join coalitions, so switching parties is a thing now, but parties are not the end all, such as in the days of KANU. It's coalitions now. This has been the case since Kibaki became President. Also, when I say Kenyans are aware of the situation, we are saying a lot of us, if we trusted the government, would support some of these taxes. But we know this government is very corrupt, and the taxes are also going to make this situation very worse.
Furthermore, I am in the diaspora, so I just want to mention that. I don't live in the country.
yay very true, we are about to collapse from this day
Why is the IMF trying to save Kenyans? Let them have China
China Debt are way better and DYE, hair
I'm kenyan and live here in Nairobi, Ruaka. You are honestly right. The taxes have failed to earn anybody's validation cause we know just what will happen to the money it raises anyways. That plus on multiple instances the MPs don't even fucking bother to hide their corruption and greed. They hide behind the President and now that they are being confronted they find it easier to belittle and demonise the protesting youth than defend the stupid bill. The deaths pushed the boiling point beyond measure and now the youth are demanding they all resign and fuck off.
so are like politics in kenya based on ethnic lines as they mentioned in video
@@randomhumanofearth7267 to some extent, yes. Parties generally are majority "owned" by different ethnic groups. These parties the form coalitions so that they can win elections either under a coalition or by merging parties together. This ends up pitting a grouping of ethnicities against others. The protests this time have brought together yound people who do not align with ethnic politics which is a first. This is a threat to traditional politics in the country where most are used to ethnic kingpin politics. I look forward to 2027 to see if the youth will still maintain this united front.
“Say you’re eyeing up a move to California to get into tech”
*shows Rishi Sunak*
🤭😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
I don't think he makes for a very good example of a job seeker considering he is richer than the King of the UK.
@@Canyouseemeannahaha it isn't about his wealth, you should research him outside of politics
I CACKLED.
I didn't understand
Following in Nick Cleggs footsteps
corruption and wastage is the main issue, Kenyans would pay the tax without any issue if they saw where the money was going. For example, Ruto has an office of the spouse and other made up posts which are unconstitutional, then he has the audacity to tell us to tighten our belts..
also Ruto owns 0.5% of the national wealth
To be fair, that much is true for nearly every country.
I recently heard the finance minister of my own nation - who had been working for blackrock and self-identifies as "upper middle class" with three villas, five registered finance firms and and two private planes to his name - tell the unempoyed youth of the country they are lazy and workshy, and that he plans to cut unemployment assistance to force them to work.
Dude has never done anything but take other peoples money on market-walkies in his whole life.
And one for the deputies wife and one for his daughter 😂
@@FischerNilsAwhich country
@@lilachieAnd office of the wife of the prime cabinet secretary 😂
Kenyan Here: The main trigger was the careless spending and waste of public resources, a few months before the protests close allies of Ruto's openly flaunted millions in cash on social media.
No free honey .
6:15 - The IMF's argument is complete trash.
Austerity has been tried again and again and again, it's complete bullshit. Countries that have governments increase spending during economic downturns recover consistently faster than those that cut spending. It's one of the reasons why the United States came out of the 2008 crisis better than Europe did. It's one of the reasons that Britain's economy is currently such a mess. It's part of how the United States got out of the great depression. Austerity doesn't work, it is economic hokus pokus.
The government is the spender of last resort. During times that the economy is doing great governments should spend less, during times of downturns governments should spend more. It's counter-intuitive to how we think of household spending but governments aren't households and they work differently.
But, then again is the IMF's real purpose to help countries recover from their economic crisis? Or is their real purpose to strong arm countries to let international corporations exploit their natural resources and their people?
I heard the same BS when my country had to be bailed by IMF.
You can either save money when times are good so that you can increase spending during economic downturns.
But you can't run CONSTANTLY ON A DEFICIT and expect others to foot the bill.
If you don't like IMF austerity don't take IMF loans and live with what you have.
I'm done with that populistic sheet.
Kenya has no banks or a gold backed currency! That's why they got rid of ghaddafi
@@hamlet557 The IMF deliberately demands concessions that result in the economy crashing and thus the debts never being paid.
@@kenwood2682 ghadaffi??? are you crazy is this libya or kenya lol
@@quantado9411 Kenya is eternal IMF slave
As Kenyan,I never thought I would see my country on this channel
Not well researched though. Could have done better.
News come from anywhere in the world really what's shocking about that? You should concentrate on the issues that Kenya needs to tackle , its corrupt leadership,funds wastage etc. This are actually interesting times when the status quo is being openly challenged and put on notice as regards public funds embezzlement.
2:39 love the usage of minecraft food and coal
TLDR does serious journalism
Except when they feel like being silly, and I love that
LMAO 🤣
but youre not addressing the fact that the proposed bill was in favor of the government officials pockets rather than what you guys are talking about "repaying debts"
Genuinely. Has anyone ever said they like the IMF?
The protests are mostly about the corruption in kenya
Idk, the Impossible Missions Force do seem to be central to the plots of all the Mission Impossible movies.
It’s like the police. People usually only deal with them while they’re having the worst day of their life, and it’s the same with the IMF. If you’re getting an IMF loan your country is likely near economic collapse, and the IMF are going to impose further hardship because requiring the government to stop spending money it doesn’t have.
TLDR Africa soon? There's just so much news to learn from the continent
Optics would be bad. Based on their current output regarding Africa, it would be non-stop negative stories.
Africa is not Global confirmed
@@griegomas
And it will be hard to get accurate data.
make your own channel and tell the news this is the reason a lot of africans dont have jobs create the jobs for your people waiting for an outsider
@@vanhuvanhuvese2738
Dude:/
The main reason for the protests is not just the over taxation... but mainly the utilisation of said taxes, this guy and his cabinet pocket almost all the cash the country collects
What kenya needs is to make reforms to cut government spending that goes into the perks and privileges of the elite instead of going for the easier route of levying taxes that further squeeze the middle class
This is pretty much what the protests are about, and not the IMF as this video suggests. A really poorly informed take from this channel
But you're asking Ruto to enforce that, which is beyond a joke if you're a Kenyan. He's one of the biggest thieves of them all.
@@umaganonu I watch some african youtubers videos and the comments from africans the ideea is the same IMF give money to their corrupt politicians so they grab it for themself and the West get to control African countries. Blame the West and all problems will solve!
Vote another politician that will give powerfull speches against the West and pridefully wait for the next crises to come, but in between take a loan with big interest from China for a piece of infrastracture they need in order to get more resources from you as you need to cover your big trade deficit with them.
I suspect the true issue is less the austerity for the IMF and more that the tax implementations were all absolutely terrible. The Kenyan tax raises were largely regressive taxes and/or anti-productivity. (A heavy tax on vehicle value with no apparent exemption which taxes sports cars, limousines, working trucks, construction vehicles, and tractors the same rate.)
Yeah and the IMF demanded it. They are an imperialist institution.
A recurring tax on a major purchase item of rapidly depreciating value with maximum mobility is the worst idea I've ever heard. Its regressive, causes innumerable perverse incentives, and practical implementation is unbeatable for corruption.
Kenyan here: The debt isn't the biggest issue here, it is the theft. The previous regime (where the current president was the deputy) made Kenya among the first African countries to get in on the Chinese loans frenzy. These loans were heavily misused and or stolen, they would over-quote for projects, take out loans at inflated prices, do the projects at a fraction of the costs and pocket the difference.
When Ruto became president in 2022, the Chinese gravy train had ended and it was all about paying them back. So they looked to the west and the IMF who come with a lot of restrictions unlike the Chinese.
There is absolutely no need for the country to be taking loans, only for it to end up with them stealing and spending on fat salaries. Kenyans are now tired of the corruption cycle that has made politics a career path for the old and illiterate to come earn pensions and clean ill-gotten wealth.
That's why Kenyans should've been on the streets over this years ago, this hasn't just started happening, the thieving's been going on for years. Time for a wholesale clearout of this entire generation of the ruling class, they've bled Kenya dry for long enough. Force Kenyatta to sell off Brookside (and everything else) and Ruto and Musyoki to sell off their plush hotels and ranches. That'll raise a good portion to start with.
So the previous Kenyan governments did an awful job regarding the economy and the one everyone seems to blame is the IMF who are lending money to fix said economy?
I'm not saying that those specific measures are the best ones but to me it seems that mismanagement of government budget is the previous administration fault and they should be held accountible to prevent such mismanagement in the future. HOLD POLITICIANS ACCOUNTIBLE FOR THEIR FAILURES
This is true. But also the IMF do have a long and well documented history of bankrupting developing countries with economically toxic austerity policies to the point they are forced to sell off their natural resources at rock bottom prices to western corporations. If someone is terrible with money to the point they get into tons of debt then year that’s their fault. But when a loan shark rips them off with loans that only push them further into the hole the loan shark is also to blame
The IMF and World Bank lend at rates far lower than any private creditor
@@WhichDoctor1the imf is a bank..... Their job is to make sure they get their money back point, your job is to grow up and invest efficiently and don't ask for money you cannot pay back. If you arrive at a point we're you have to ask for debt to go on then maybe you already have big problems that need fixing....
@@WhichDoctor1 Now tell us which of these well documented countries choose to fix their own shit like systemic corruption rather than sell off their natural resources.
@@WhichDoctor1IMF doesn't just lend randomly, they are a lender of last resort, only countries who have fucked up and can no longer normally have to resort to the IMF because that's literally the purpose of the IMF, to be a bailout lender.
Don't fall for the vehicle ownership tax. We (here in México) got that tax as a temporary meassure... in 1968.
Once a tax is created it never goes away.
😢
Simple question; Your friend asks you for lots of money, you have it but you also know s/he has a drug and substance abuse problem. Would you still borrow your friend that money?
The IMF knows that the politicians in Kenya are corrupt and it still lends them so much money that citizens have to pay. So I'm sorry we will continue bashing IMF.
NB: It looks weird for you to tell us to stop bashing IMF. Did they ask you to do that??? 😳
The IMF/WB need to be shut down.
Applying for loans from the IMF/WB is like having anal sex. If you don't like it, don't do it, but don't the rest of the world what to do.
Why? They haven't done anything wrong. Nobody's forcing these countries to take out loans.
@@Lewa500 The IMF/WB gives out predatory loans to countries that can’t pay them back. They are tools of American imperialism, and should be shut down.
Austerity is necessary in this instance IMO
@@good8072 that may be. But the IMF/WB has no business imposing it.
I'm proud to be part of the protests😌
Let them go bankrupt, it may be painful, but at least that way it's their own choice, not something that is perceived to be pushed by outsiders like the IMF. Then they can blame themselves and their leaders.
Like they say in adverts, borrowing ain't free.
Exactly. Please tell IMF this. Just leave us alone
@@vikik7877 the IMF would very much leave you alone, if you leaders didn't ask for money. The IMF only comes when asked. So get better leaders.
@bzuidgeest IMF should also learn to listen to the voice of people. Weve repeatedly told them we dont want their money. They told our government to ignore the anti tax protests and look what that's done. We will get better leaders but they should leave us alone anyway.
@@vikik7877 the IMF listens to elected leaders, not a people that obviously has multiple groups with multiple opinions.
Your leaders asked the IMF and they responded, the IMF also said under which conditions. That is fair, you're asking for money you didn't earn.
As I said, if you don't want the loans get different leaders, but don't blame the IMF. They just represent lenders that want their money back. They are not doctors without borders, they are not made to care, it's not their job. However it is your leader's jobs to care.
You caused your own problems, now fix them. Don't blame others. Even though i agree that the IMF can be a little blind in their dealings, but they are a bank, what can you expect.
@bzuidgeest You have spoken like someone who has no idea how hard it is to get rid of corruption in a country. I actually hope you never find out. We will continue to shame IMF until they stop listening to our leaders that they fully know are corrupt. Yes they are a bank and have their measures but we feel there are much better lenders who care more about how the money is used. It is quite simple, we don't want IMF money,if they keep giving it to us against the people's wishes then they will have blood on their hands.
No country, to include Kenya, has a RIGHT to IMF money. IMF is free to make the conditions to the loans and Kenya is free to accept or reject the loans. Furthermore, IMF simply require that a country balance their budget. They do not state how it is to be done. That is up to the borrowing government.
Frankly, teh problems are usually with the local politicians and corruption, not the IMF. They simply make a convenient scapegoat.
This is an absolute lie and the reason why the Africans will have to fight for their lands/economies.
The IMF did launch a campaign to privatize economies against loans (additional) in many countries of the continent in the 90.
What the population did not know, and which these politicians probably did not know for certain, is that the development of sectors of activity begins firstly through public investment, see Asia for example.
The premature opening of markets and privatizations have ruined their hopes of development. It killed everything before it even started.
There are plenty of examples which show that the IMF is in league with foreign powers to put countries in debt and control their resources:
Confession of an economic hitman!
@@NdjayOnecorruption is by far the biggest problem for these countries. IMF just gives a loan, if you don't wanna pay it, don't take the money.
@@SelfProclaimedEmperor I think you are very naive; the IMF does not work on this basis. There are household laws against pawnbrokers, to prevent them from destroying families by offering absurd loans.
This organization literally destroyed the economies of the countries of the South by granting useless loans, which did not concern the infrastructure which would have made it possible to initially get them out of the cycle of countries locked in low income.
The IMF did not do this, and of course, it demanded that these countries pay their debts by giving Western companies access to their resources at a ridiculous price (
+privatized their market by destroying the public investments necessary to escape poverty...). all loans for a poor country that do not concern infrastructure are bribes to leaders who secretly sell their countries to the highest bidder. a “neutral” organization like the IMF could not make these offers. It is an form of masked aggression. you should read confessions of an economic hitman!!!
it is far far from being simple!!!
If you do it wrong or do not understand what is at stake, you end up caught in a cycle of poverty.
@@SelfProclaimedEmperor We don't even want the money 😂 That's why we will keep shaming IMF until they don't give us money even if the corrupt politicians ask for it. Abeg, we don't want IMF money,we can take care of ourselves.
@@vikik7877 ok, but this will not solve the issue of corruption politicians spending too much money
>70% of all revenues are going to debt NOT 38%
Debt they stole. And even the remaining tax is being looted like crazy. Madness.
@xomifred Taxes don't pay for anything(it's just trash) if you understand how a monetary/financial system works.
Real thieving and what's NOT being discussed is Kenya's appropriations bill.
70% are wages, not debt
79% is debt to gdp ratio while 38 % is interest paid on the loans annually .
@@walexia And how much of those wages are 'ghosts' who just happen to be from the same community of whoever's in power at the time?
My Kenyan buddy was saying he wanted the Chinese investment out too
Don't matter if the Chinese come back and rip out the entire SGR and all the bypasses they built in Nairobi, they'll still want paying for services rendered, and will charge for having to come back too. Not to mention issues with broken contracts signed with endless small print. None of this ends cheaply for Kenya.
Why? Isn't China the anti neocolonialism faction that can help you against IMF or something?
@@wmk4454where do you get that from
CORRECTION: 3:19 you cannot compare GDP per capita of Kenya (50 million people) with countries like Botswana and Namibia that have a population of under 3 million 😂
Both Namibia and Botswana are basically run by tiny population of whites who have almost all the land.
Either WRONG research or MISLEADING information.
So glad I have called you out!
I agree. How do you compare per capita with countries that don't match either by GDP, population...
I have been watching this channel for a long time and happen to be Kenyan..
I need to add that these protests are really about corruption. Politicians are buying property while asking the citizens to tighten their belts. The debt levels remain intact yet it gets serviced yearly.
Well? How do you plan to pay for your loan if you won't change your policies that brought you to that bankrupted state in the first place? So you only want the money but don't want to change your ways and payback?
They do not understand.
if the government collapses then no money gets paid back. It’s like the bank demanding you sell your car to help pay off part of your mortgage. But then without a car you lose your job and go bankrupt
The way they change them hurt the man in the street more than those in the cabinet, or rich, but then again yes it has to be changed. It's an an age-old problem.
@@MagicNash89then blame the politicians who proposed the law, not IMF. IMF merely wants increased taxes and reduced spending, how is not as important in their eyes. If the country chooses to tax their poor to raise revenue, that's their choice, but it's not like IMF's gonna refuse to lend if the country raises tax on the rich instead. IMF's leader has previously called on Pakistan to raise taxes on the richer parts of society, so that tracks.
@@chinguunerdenebadrakh7022 The title of the video is misleading. The protests are against the government, not the IMF! People are protesting how their government raises and spends money
If you don't want to implement IMF requirements then do not take loans from them. To take loans you have to be financially stable.
please note there is a lot of corruption IMF pay politicians of even countries with surplus finances to accept loans that is all documented they are just as dirty as any politican you can think of ansd they are tjhe bioggest problem
They mismanagement of taxes leads to borrowing loans from IMF
I am kenyan born and bred and still living in my motherland. This video does try to summarise the situation but it doesn't address the fact that most of our debt ( which is expensive debt especiallyfrom the west) was forced on us by corrupt regimes who maintained their hold on power by instigating tribalism... this new generation Gen Z and millennials are well educated and don't buy into tribal politics. For the first time ( since independence) we are and will continue to hold the leadership accountable NO MATTER WHAT!! WE ARE KENYANS ONE NATION ONE TRIBE
This sounds good because only ten years ago tribes were still popular culture, although on the decline.