Of Tribes and Wealth in Kenya

Kenya has three tribes. The Haves, the Have Nots and the Middle Tribe. The Have Nots are those that
live below the poverty line and form about 46% of Kenya’s population. The Haves are a small single digit
percentage of the population but control more than 80% of the counties wealth, and the balance is the
Middle Tribe. While it is very unlikely that you will be born as a Have in Kenya, the birth rate amongst
the Have Nots is continually on the increase.

More than 80% of your likely income is determined at birth by the income class of your parents, says
Branko Milanovic, an economist at the World Bank’s Development Research Group. This means that
level of difficulty in your pursuit to financial freedom is determined at birth.

Those in the Middle Tribe hope to join the Haves tribe and some Middle Tribesmen pretend to belong to
the Haves tribe. They go to great extents to spend more than they earn, borrow excessively and ensure
to show off any newly acquired possessions. This Middle Tribe is very important in any economy as they
are the real drivers of consumption, taking up the products and services coming out of industries owned
by the Haves. The Haves love this Middle Tribe. Some of the Haves also love to have many Have Nots
around for as long as possible. Have Nots would slave for anything as long as it puts food on the table.
So looking at this a Chain, you see the Haves Nots toiling to produce for the consumer Middle Tribe and
in turn churning out profits for the Haves.

Is Kenya a wealthy Nation? The Middle Tribe would answer yes to this question and prove this with the
presence global fast food chains that have recently entered the country, the growing number of
shopping malls and the more modern residential housing projects with shared swimming pools that
have come up around Nairobi. In fact the Middle Tribe would feel offended to be identified as citizens of
a poor country. Without being philosophical we are referring to financial wealth and the standards of
living. It is said that the wealth of a nation is not determined by how the rich live, but by how the poor
live. This line of thinking, which covers the majority of the nation, indeed answers the wealth question.

Has Kenya become wealthier? A look at the living standards of civil servants in Kenya in the 70s and
early 80s versus those of the current civil servants shows some great contrasts. A middle to top level
civil servant of the 80s had the ability to purchase a new house in the city, buy a brand new car, take his
children to fees paying schools, and really lived a much more comfortable life than that of a current civil
servant. A current high income civil servant cannot even dream of renting an apartment in middle level
areas like Kilimani and Kileleshwa. Remember these are areas where previous civil servants would
purchase residential houses. Other comparisons in different sectors could be made.

So what is the point of all this? To give us food for thought as we evaluate our priorities and actions as
individuals and also as government. Policy makers should put most energy on the Have Not tribe and
government should use the standard of living of the civil servants in determining income levels and
taxation policies. This would be an accurate calibration measure for income. The current civil servant
should at the worst case afford what a civil servant of the early 80s could afford.