Cost of living in urban areas across Kenya

[gout]

• Tweet

Inflationary pressure due to export driven economy and  corruption has pushed cost of living so high that those taking home less than Kshs. 20,000 are struggling in urban areas all over Kenya....

Food
Breakfast = milk - Hawker 1 litre = 60; processed = 100; accompaniment = 20-50 (mandazi, bread, sweet potatoes)
Lunch for those at work = 60 to around 200; similar if at home for a family of 1 or 2 kids
Supper = 100 to around 300=  20-35 for greens or pulses; unga 45 per kilo; rice= 70-100 kilo; quarter meat = 100

Rent in such places as Umoja, Githurai, Kayole, and their equivalents in other towns across Kenya;
Single rooms -2,500 to around 4,000
Bedsitter - 4,500 to around 8,000
1 Bedroom - 6,000 to around 10,000
2 Bedroom - 8,000 to 15,000
3 Bedroom - 12,000 to 20,000

Fuel:
Gas 1, 000 per month (Cheapest so far but inhibiting initial cost of 4,100 for cylinder, burner and grill)
Kerosene = 60-150 per day (very very expensive !!);
Electricity = 400- 600;  monthly fixed charge is now Kshs. 240 (it was to go with prepaid)

Transport
Average Kshs. 100 per day

School Fees
Kshs. 3,000 - 12,000 per term (3 months)

Medical Bills
2,000

[RV Pundit]

Export driven economy? That is clearly not kenya. We are more a consumption driven economy. You need to factor informal economy...many kenyans work 2 or more "jobs"...side hustles..small business on the side...and that is how they survive. Guys earning 20K per month are probably hawking mandazi in jobs and peanuts in trains. Some are into farming. Some rear chickens.

And when you cannot make it....you simply move to the slums...and survive of bone soups.

[Georgesoros]

Kenyan economy could have done so well if the president, parliament, governor, MCA, were not greedy. Most of the people leading can't make a policy statement. They care about their parties not the regular guy ...

[Georgesoros]

Medical bills are rising astronomically!!

[jakoyo]

My uncle who lost his job is managing to feed himself and family and educate his 4 children well.

He was smart to build a small  3 bd house in Ruai on his small piece of land. So he is rent free. He invested heavily on rain water harvesting  and does vegetable and tomato farming next to his house all year round. The benefits are stagerring.

Back in mashinani he leases idle lands cheaply and does large scale maize , beans , sweet potatoes and njugus farming. He transport the produce to Nairobi to sell and feed his family.

If one is smart in Kenya - one can cope pretty well.

9-5 kazi ya serikali is gateway to poverty , unless you think outside the box.

[Georgesoros]

Agreed!!!

My uncle who lost his job is managing to feed himself and family and educate his 4 children well.

He was smart to build a small  3 bd house in Ruai on his small piece of land. So he is rent free. He invested heavily on rain water harvesting  and does vegetable and tomato farming next to his house all year round. The benefits are stagerring.

Back in mashinani he leases idle lands cheaply and does large scale maize , beans , sweet potatoes and njugus farming. He transport the produce to Nairobi to sell and feed his family.

If one is smart in Kenya - one can cope pretty well.

9-5 kazi ya serikali is gateway to poverty , unless you think outside the box.

[gout]

meant import driven consumption ...

Across Africa we are and will continue having a scenario where the little monies we generate locally, through exports plus what we borrow ends up abroad as we pay for imports or pay loans plus interest .... more will rely on bone soup as hawking chinese products is getting saturated