 All right. A very good morning to you. Thank you so much for being part of this morning conversation. My name is Ram Agucco. It is a pleasure being with you on this fine Monday morning. Of course, this is why in the morning, welcome back. If I told you just joining us, it's all about youth and politics that we want to discuss on this particular Monday morning. Of course, we value your feedback. It is the second of May 2022. We are coming to you live from the broadcasting house here in Nairobi, Kenya, also streaming live through our website that's www.kbc.co.ke4-y254. We value your feedback. Engage with us. The hashtag is Y in the morning at Ram Agucco, at Stephanie Ayeta, and at Y254 channel, which is the official station handle. Now, this morning, we want to talk about matters concerning you, current affairs, and politics. And, of course, we shall dissect what has been taking trends in the past few days. And, of course, taking a look at what they mean, the political ramifications of what we have been seeing taking center stage. With me, I am with my fantastic guest, of course, to my far right, Dennis Maguta, a governance expert and political analyst, Karub Sana Dennis. You're well? Thank you. Thank you. Maybe you. Yeah, me too. Thank you. God is good. Ah, God is all the time. God is good. And, of course, next to me, Alvin Mokaya, a senatorial aspirant for Nyamira County and a political analyst, Karub Sana Alvin. Ah, thank you. Good to see you. Nice to have you. Nice to have you too, Baba. Exactly. Ah, what's your name? Sawa. What's your name? Sawa Nausawa. U-Sawa Kowat. U-Sawa Kowat. And, of course, based on how you can see already, we know where they belong. Exactly. Keep talking to us and, of course, let us know what you think about the issues that we are going to be discussing today. We shall take a look at two news papers today. And, of course, today we are taking it up a notch right here on Why in the Morning. I am with the daily nation, the standard newspaper. We are taking a look at what is taking trend on these two particular newspapers. And, of course, on the front page of the daily nation is Uhuru Ruto in another public spot, right on the front page of the daily nation. An ugly exchange between President Ruru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto yesterday was last evening being interpreted as the beginning of an all-out war between the nation's top most leaders a hundred days to the general elections. We shall take a look at that. And, of course, that particular similar story is on the standard newspaper. Uhuru Ruto, you should have resigned. That's what Uhuru says to Ruto. You should have resigned. And, of course, President takes hard line position against his deputy accusing him of abdicating duty and criticizing government he is part of. But Ruto says those appointed to do his job are to blame for them. And so we shall take a look at that. But first things first, as before we take a look at that and much more. Let's take a look at the Labor Day. And, of course, Labor Day was yesterday. Today Kenyans are at home enjoying this particular holiday. It has been a very, very interesting five-day holiday. Imagine. And, of course, let's talk about Labor Day. And, of course, happy Labor Day to all of you. And, of course, to you guys also here in studio. Thank you. The President has directed that salaries and wages for the lowest paid workers be increased to cushion them from the high cost of living. We are seeing an increase in the minimum wage. And, of course, we are looking at the percentage which is 12% increase in the minimum wage. And, of course, this increase comes four years since the last review. And I want to start with you, Dennis. What do you think about this increase? And do you see it as a step in the right direction? I'm seeing Kenyans celebrated yesterday when this was announced. Dennis. Now, the increment of salaries is okay. But one thing that you've seen with a lot of directives in this government, especially from 2017 up to now, most of the directives are just being given verbally. There's no way that they follow up on the same directives. And again, you look at the nation, what do they need now? They come on one inch. What is the most basic thing that they need? Who are the biggest percentage? I'm not saying adding 12% was bad. In fact, that was a very good move. But you see it only applies to the employed, to the civil servants. But what about those others that are struggling? I was expecting yesterday, you could have talked of we are reducing the basic community prices like the Unga, the 4L, but you never touched on that. So I just want to say thank you for raising the 12% minimum rate. But the most important thing is that the directive is implemented. We know right now we are in a political season and a political campaign. And anybody might say anything just to entice the ears of the one inch. But the president said yesterday that he is not to be blamed for the high cost of living. No. He should not blame him. Who else should we blame? Is the top governing individual in the governance of the country? Is the leader of the country, is the head of state? Is the one that decides, is the one that puts signature on many project and proposals that run in the country. And if at all there is any failure and of course there have been a lot of failing, he is the one that make the ultimate decision. So there's no way that he cannot, he can run away from the miseries of the country. He's the one guy that people look up to. And he's the head of state. Without him nothing can go on. So when he said that we cannot blame him, I feel like we can blame him 100 percent. 100 percent. Let me come to Alvin. This is the president's move. I would think about the president's move to increase the wage. Of course this is the first since the year 2018 when he actually did an increase in the average minimum pay where we saw a 5 percent increase. And of course the minimum pay to 10,096 shillings in agriculture from the current of 9,000 and 14 is what we are seeing. So what do you think about this now that we are seeing a different change since 2018? I think really to be honest with you and if I start by asking you maybe a rhetorical question, what would you do with 10,000? If you're saying you're increasing from 9,000 to 10,000 for the first time after four years, I'll tell you Mr. President you've been sleeping on the job. People are sleeping hungry. People are suffering. The cost of living is too high. You work to any supermarket. Look at the price of cooking oil. It is now a golden commodity which is not affordable to the common. It has become a luxury. Cooking has become a luxury in our households. Now the president is increasing by 12 percent. What is 12 percent? The minimum 12 percent is not good enough. Too little too late. Why did you wait for four years? You're leaving the office in the next 100 days. Really Mr. President, I think I do respect you so much but you owe it to this nation to look at the economy every single year of your time. And any president that is going to come after you, Mr. Hur Kenyatta, we hope he's going to look at the economic welfare of the people every single year. Don't wait for election year so that you add a paltry 12 percent and you appease the people and you say, oh, I have done it. But see the truth here, Irwin. We've come from a pandemic. COVID-19 struck us really hard and not just us as a country, but the whole world. Three years have been have a lapse down the line. Three years down the line, workers have not had the review of their salary. We have come from a pandemic, but I saw the expressway, $15 billion or something. I don't know. The figures are billions of shillings. It is come up during the pandemic. So where are the priorities? To create a highway from JKI to Westlands to fly over the reach or to caution the farmers, the small business people who hold the backbone of the economy of Kenya. And that is why in the Usawa party, we are talking about household economic model. We are going to empower household because the Kenya Bureau of Statistics has all the statistics and we can even number the households we have in Kenya. So we focus on the households rather than focusing on the expressways and the highways when the farmer is suffering. When the price of maize is not commensurate to the cost of production that the farmer incurs. So we should empower that farmer. We should empower that small business person on the grass roots before we start increasing the highways and expressways. What are we going to transport on our highways and expressways if we are not empowering the common man? I'm looking at what the president said and of course he discovered on the standard newspaper what president's 12% pay hike gives means for the low wage workers. Of course different people have been mentioned here. Of course and I'm referring to different laborers and different workers. We are looking at you know stone cutters, toy turnboys, waiters, junior clerks, what they will be earning. It is in this particular newspaper. Those who are in the agriculture sector and just to mention in the agriculture sector, of course these will see the unskilled employees in the agriculture sector take home 7,545 shillings from their current 6,736 while that of a farm clerk will rise to 14,583 shillings from 12,152 shillings and of course the president said and I quote and I would like you to give me your thought on this because yes he tried and he did his best to justify the wage hike by pointing to several increases in the cost of living and I quote he said as a caring government we find that there is a compelling reason to review the minimum wages to cushion workers against further erosion of their purchasing power while also guaranteeing the competitiveness of our economy meaning he has taken into consideration that in fact in 2020 the workers will earning shrunk by 1.5% meaning the ability to buy goods and services they had afforded in the previous year was weakened and that's a different case right now. And now just before Dennis you go in I would like to also ask you how is the government going to monitor that that person employed in the Wasengishu farm or Kapenguria farm down there is going to be given a wage increase you know sometimes as my colleague here said the government is very quick to pronounce these things but there is no one who goes around to check whether the farmer or the clerk in that farm the wage has actually been increased but what disturbs me more is that the backbone of economy which is agriculture is attracting the lowest earning wages because to me agriculture should be modernized agriculture should be the lucrative business and agribusiness should be what feeds our households and gives them income that can be the envy of other nations all right but it is now very meager which is not good Dennis. Okay I'd like to say yes it talked about the the purchasing power of the now the common and to boost the economy so that means the there is influx in the prices of commodities to sustain the economy first of all where did we go wrong we started it didn't take good care at the good measures on the economical part of his governance that is why he has to raise a certain percentage and if again the 12 percent percent was not enough to raise the purchasing power of the common 19 it was supposed to raise even by 15 percent or even 20 percent so that the purchasing power could reach where the economy as the elasticity of the economy one thing I'd like to say is the problem came in where the the governance in terms of economy and all the financial issues of the country were not were not clearly monitored where we had a lot of corruption and the same money and when he says that it is not his problem that the economy has risen as reason there was COVID-19 pandemic the same case it is not his fault it is not his fault let me let me tell you okay it is not his fault that COVID-19 came but he had other measures of questioning the economy of of the country where we had IMF we had all the international monetary funds and all the debts that he has given us the economy should not the purchasing power of money should not have gone such down why because he had borrowed a lot of money that one could have gone into subsidies could have sustained the economy instead of rising the prices of of purchasing commodities the economy could have been balanced with the money that he borrowed but the all the monies that were borrowed never went into the the financial kitty so we are saying that the 12 percent increment is not enough is not enough is not enough is not enough you see right now the way my colleague has said you cannot buy salad you cannot them fuel is high so when you add 12 percent to raise the purchasing power of money to accommodate the level of the economy now you're you're kidding to the people because you'll you'll find that it is only like 1000 or 1200 shillings that it added on your salary and and and so far we have an influx in the in the in the purchase in the goods purchase prices in the in the in the market so that is a very little amount that was added into the instead of doing such things they could they could caution the economy the the purchasing power of the of the development and manufacturing industry they could have reduced the interest rate of of inputs are so such so that to extend the same the same a relaxed city into there and to the common money but you can't reduce the interest rates considering that covid struck i told you covid struck and there was rum listen covid struck but and the the the counter to question the the the effects of the covid they borrowed money we have we have seen a lot of borrowing series where does the money go as much as covid struck yes but there was international monetary funds that came into Kenya from WHO and many other institutions the same money could have been used to sustain the economy such that things cannot rise basically what Dennis is saying and what you know the common man is tired of is the same same old populist pronouncements that cannot trick or down why then the government has all the machinery as it were reduce the the the base lending rate by the central bank make the credit affordable to the small business people and the small business people will pass this down to the consumer as it were the cost of doing business in Kenya is one of the highest and yesterday I was looking at a certain uh uh business analyst in the in one of the local televisions and she was saying that the cost of doing business is just way above the manageable levels so why don't you then caution the business person for the business person to caution the the the the common one engine because you tell them one engine have increased by 12 percent the business is still the cost of business production is still high the commodities are going to be high because like the price of fuel is also high and and these subsidies that the president keeps talking about how they will enforce this they will enforce that they know how fuel is being siphoned to Uganda through Kenya you know but for god's sake he has the intelligence the national intelligence service the the you know the ministry of interior even the military deploy the military if it is it is going to give a solutions but kenyans want solutions in short i believed i believe and i still do that these 12 percent increase it's a wheel it's a wheel it is a good thing we didn't we don't dispute that you know ram you need to get this we don't dispute that you think it is a good thing but it's not enough not enough considering where the economy is now and the ram i told you it is not enough considering that they were managed to question the economic the economy could not have fallen this way because it covid struck yes but there was another way of questioning the covid and they used that way let me give an example so 12 percent you when you add 12 percent and the commodities that that means that from 9 to 12 that is 3 percent but the commodities have raised almost 30 percent let me give an example you used to buy a liter of of of of salad at 140 there it is 300 that is almost 50 percent if you are sick and you go to hospital to the hospital and and and the doctor um sees that you are in so much pain you're in so much pain and by sickness something but by this body i'm talking about the country and the pain are the things that are ailing us the doctor says that alvin is in so much pain let me put him on the bed let him lay down for for some time and then i give him some some drops of some rejection to relieve the pain won't you feel better that's why we say the sickness was not something you brought upon yourself it's okay