His entire theory is Moi appointed illiterate Kamatusa to run-down public institutions. That had some knock-down effect but that doesn't explain it all.
1) the 1980s - the brilliant Kibaki was not only the VP and but also the Finance Minister - civil service inherited from Kenyatta was largely intact - Kibaki couldn't help much because we had twin problem of global economic crisis and our population growth of 60-70s meant we were not going to reap any demographic dividend - the schools or hospitals were never going to be enough - as Kenya had world fastest population growth *4%. There was a small mistake when Njamba's village mate Magugu was appointed the minister of finance. Like Gichuru James - Magugu was a drunkard - who run the ministry of Finance from seedy bars in Nairobi downtowns. Moi never appointed a kalenjin his minister of Finance.
2)Moi get blamed for the economic meltdown of 1990s - the hyper-inflation of 1991-1993 - when suddenly Ksh collapsed - from 20shs to a dollar to 60shs to a dollar. Jirongo and Y2k and Goldenburg get blamed here. While the real blame lies with OPPOSITION (including myself).
The real cause of the foreign currency crisis of 1990s was withholding of donor funding (donors controlled the budget of Kenya then) at behest of opposition for Moi's widespread human rights violation. In short Kenya, the opposition had successfully convinced the donors to cut off aid to starve the beast. The economy basically tanked and common man suffered.
The popular narrative is Moi or Jirongo or Goldenburg raided the central bank. The truth is Kenyans had told the Europeans and Americans to nuke the economy to save the country.
The true story is after the opposition had convinced the donors (western countries) to cut off aid (foreign currencies) -
Goldenburg Kamlesh & Kanyotu (NIS) came to help with an igneous idea to steal or buy gold from Congo, re-export it to earn forex and shore up Forex Reserves - save Kshs and economy - that also turns out to be a big fraud
but we were already on the frying pan. Kenya then had no diaspora - or private investment - basically depended on foreign aid for hard currencies.
3) The 90s were economically spent as the price for democracy - with donors being called to cut off aid nearly every day - and boost democracy (weaken KANU & MOI). We got democracy - we lost the economy. Moi eventually retired and left us a thriving democracy we need to guard against desperados like Raila who are bent on "anything goes".
We have to guard against Robinas who have no memory of the prize we paid for democracy. Kibaki never gave us any democracy. We won it during Moi regime by amongst other things calling donors to cut off budgetary support including for hospitals and schools/
Although to be honest we know it by sheer luck because Moi had proved himself a match to Western donors (He had lied to donors a record I think 10 times - got funding coming promising to reform xyz - before reneging - donor aid got cut - Moi went again and repeated the same lie - eventually even allowed WB to appoint their PSes and etc---allowed them to fire civil servants - and then fires them too
when they were so unpopular - people like Patel can kill leakey
) . We won against KANU by mere luck...when Moi made his only mistake in life by fishing a young 30yr old drunkard literally as a rabbit off his hat as his successor. and that too was going so well *Mt Kenya stampede to KANU is a spectacle that need some replaying # until Raila said Kibaki Tosha - Kibaki was by then a bitter joker who had been abandoned by nearly everyone - including his main financier Njenga Karume.
https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Why-the-economy-performed-dismally-under-Moi/1056-5457258-fyv8v1z/index.html
Topic: Prof Karuti lazy explanation of why Moi performed dismally economically. (Read 1637 times)