Politics, soapstone, and artisans
What happened in Kenya?
This is the country that was seen as the promise for Africa, due to its many years of economic and political stability. In a matter of a few weeks this whole picture was shattered. The tourism industry came to a standstill. Products such as soapstone, which is carved into many shapes and objects, and supports thousands of families all across Kenya, could no longer be transported safely , therefore affecting the lives of hundreds of artisans and their families.
The result of the “stolen” elections, was violence and a rampage by the poor citizens, who reacted out of anger and frustration. Then there were those who took advantage of the chaos to practice violence on minority groups living amongst them. Of course the most affected were the poor and they are the ones who had the most anger to vent. As we used to hear from the speeches of our first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta; “when elephants fight, it is the grass the gets hurt.” How right he was.
Today Kenya is at a crossroads. A coalition government has been agreed upon, but we are yet to see a new cabinet. Instead we are seeing the two parties practice “brinkmanship ” that is making it difficult for the healing process to start. The one thing the two parties, PNU and ODM have agreed on, is the size of the cabinet; and what a bloated cabinet; 40 ministers!! The citizens of the country are aghast at this number. Kenya has some of the highest paid Members of Parliament in the developing nations, even surpassing some in the developed nations.
Nevertheless, if this is what it will take to form a coalition government, then so be it; but the politicians should come to an agreement now, so that industries such as tourism can be in operation again, giving back the artisans and traders a chance to make a living and thus pay taxes that will contribute to their fabulous salaries. Tourism is one of the country’s main earners and every sector of this industry has come to a virtual standstill as the citizens of Kenya, the rest of the world , chiefly the US and the European nations wait to see if the coalition government will share power of a 50-50 basis. Kenyas citizens are on standby as they wait for the process to be finalised. In the meantime, artisans who cater to the tourism industry are left with no customers as tourists and importers to the US and Europe wait for the outcome of the coalition government before daring to venture back into the country.
During the turmoil after the elections, there was no movement of soapstone between Kisii and Nairobi, except in convoys of 10 trucks or more. Even when they succeded in getting the soapstone to the market in Nairobi, the market had evaporated, there were no tourists . Of course, there always exceptions. Two years ago the Tabaka Classic Carvers from Kisii land, become the official merchandisers of the Simpsons television show in the United States of America. This has proved to be a lucrative contract, but during the political turmoil in Kenya, even their supply chain from producer to the market was disrupted.
Soapstone is only one product in the tourism industry but the chain it supports, ranging from the miners, carvers, to the thousands of traders who sell it to the tourists in the big cities like Nairobi and Mombasa, supports thousands of families.Until the politicians from the two parties decide to compromise in order to get a cabinet, so that the government can start the business of guiding the country back to recovery; their politics will hold the soapstone artisans in Kenya hostage.