rryyzz wrote:shygal wrote:But then again, how many civil servants would afford a morgage for a house valued at between sh.3.2M and sh.4.2M even at an interest rate of 5%? They should have also develop some I Million shillings houses which would have been been more affordable.
Most employees get some form of benefit that come with their jobs. For these guys, one of their benefits is the 5% interest rate on their mortgage. How many of us on leaving campus wanted to work for Govt.?? Your guess is as good as mine, so why are we complaining now when things seem to be looking up for those in the civil service?
1) No country became sustainably great based on working for the government. China's ascent started in 1979 AFTER the liberalization [encouragement of the private sector] not due to government jobs or largesse.
2) The civil service in Kenya is too large a % of the total workforce leading to inefficiencies & fiefdoms. The recurrent expenditure out-weighs development expenditure. The latter provides sustainable growth.
3) The self-employed taxpayer NOT the civil servant is the ultimate taxpayer in an economy like Kenya. Kenya has few extractive industries so the 'real income' is from the self-employed esp farmers. Everything else is a derivative.
4) Most civil servants are NOT as hard-working as the self-employed. They open at 9am & close at 5pm. To serve my customers, I will work over lunch, open early & almost always work beyond 5pm. I do not expect a pension, no subsidies, pay VAT, withholding tax, etc. My side hustle is my main hustle. My sick days means no income. My vacation days means no income. My time spent queuing at government offices since the (un)civil 'servant' is having tea, talking on the phone or gossiping means no income.
Greedy when others are fearful. Very fearful when others are greedy - to paraphrase Warren Buffett