BOYCOTT OR NOT!

If you ever thought Kenyan politics halt after the polls, that’s not it, not now or any time soon. The new word going round is boycott, a voluntary act of abstaining from buying, using, making deals with a person, organization, country to express political, economic or social dissatisfaction. Why boycotts at such time when the country’s GDP is expected to decelerate to 5.5%, which is a 0.5% lower than from last years’ forecast.

image courtsey alchetron.com

These are not my findings; I’ve only interacted with GDPs at high school level and can recall back then learning to balance cashbooks. These figures are accredited to the findings of World Bank’s Kenya Economic update dated back to 12^th April this year.

The newly formed Resistance Movement in the East of Sahara and North of Zambezi, National Resistance Movement (NRM) has called upon its supporters to go on an economic boycott on products and specific organizations named to them in the lengthiest list known to them. This move has caused jitters across the country .It has given a chance to economic and business pundits who have their easy way into different television stations  to try to educate us on economic boycotts. It has not spared the radio stations too. Many morning talk shows have it as part of their routine topic (because that’s when the masses are about to hit the road to make ends meet for their familys’).

 

The boycott will have adverse effects on certain people and organizations, consequentially others will reap maximum benefits while it lasts. An evident scenario is with the top telephone companies and service providers. One bitter fact I mentioned at the beginning is boycotts are voluntary .Part of the NRM fanatics or those who do not subscribe to their ideologies have no legal obligation to heed to the call. With prevailing inflation, boycotts may not necessarily dictate citizens on what to buy or who to make deals with. Their pockets will do.

Similarly we can’t ignore the sizeable number that will heed the call; their quest to express their political, social or economic dissatisfaction may turn out equitable to the fight of a bee. Though tiny, but can chase away an elephant. My friend cleophas, who turns out to be our class representative too, a staunch member of the Roman Catholic Church and an adherent of The National Resistance Movement (he owes nobody an explanation for his choices).I guess he doesn’t have the mastery of the three stanzas of our national anthem in both Swahili and English, but can sing the NRM Tibim song back to back in vernacular; Less of a patriot but a true statesman. That’s what is expected of a liberal society.

So I try to reach out to him via his cell phone to enquire about the planned CAT by Dr. Emily Bosire despite the ongoing dons’ strike because I am aware of her relentless character. Only to get the “mteja wa nambari uliopiga……” feedback. So am left in a dilemma whether he heeded the call by “Baba” to resist one of the giant service provider’s network or he’s just not available temporarily. If in any case he has joined the boycott too; I’m yet to figure what’s up with him, but remember every choice to boycott is voluntary it’s not cast on a stone.