MIDEGA: Kenyans have got to make merry come what may
Just how much do Kenyans spend in a weekend? One would probably need a colourful flowchart to explain all the intrigues that come with the spendthrift culture in us.
But a Kenyan must make merry, if need be even spend on credit, if he is to ultimately be at peace with himself.
Kenyans embody the classic case of a bit too frivolous and a little too irresponsible.
Admittedly Kenyans work harder than a Pakistani taxi driver in New York, but we equally spend our income on rather inconsequential stuff.
It is an inexplainably unique Kenyan philosophy. For Kenyans, fun loving would be a tad too lenient yet hedonist would be extremely harsh.
But what would Kenyans be without merry? Merry is to the financial austerity of Kenyans what crushed quinine was too many of us growing up with an extremely bad taste in their mouths.
Despite these penurious times, for example, married Kenyans still have a few pennies to save for the mistresses.
Leading from the front though is the August House, with countless resorts and affluent ‘training’ retreats.
Then there’s the lavishness girls demand in weddings, and Kate Middleton only exacerbated the situation. What weddings do to your finances even Warren Buffet would not.
Likewise Kenyans are spending too much on funerals and like red Indians still wail about the government’s lack of fiscal austerity. The interment is no longer about paying last respects.
But funerals ought to be different; they deliver a level of closure and serve important psychological milestones to the survivors.
But we basically call for fundraisings every evening in three star hotels and organise budgets in six figures for weeks on end.
It’s about that time the government is marking up its budget for the next financial year, this is probably where the citizens get their spending habits from.
frankmidega@gmail.comm