Poll: Kenyans decry high cost of living

Runaway food prices are causing Kenyans more concern than the implementation of the Constitution.

The proportion of people feeling the pinch of the high cost of living has doubled from 33 per cent to 66 per in the past four months.

The figure is expected to increase further before the end of the year, according to the latest opinion poll released by Synovate Kenya.

The three commodities making life unbearable are maize flour, sugar and cooking fat, whose prices have increased by about 70 per cent over the period.

The poll links the high food prices to frequent increase in the cost of petrol and diesel, which comprise a big portion of the cost of production.

“Fuel is the main driver of our economy and any slight increase usually leads to an increase in food prices,” Synovate managing director Maggie Ireri said.

The poll notes the price of a kilo of flour has increased from Sh45 to Sh80 between April and July this year.

A kilo of sugar has risen from Sh98 to Sh130, while that of cooking fat has nearly doubled from Sh130 to Sh245.

Synovate’s tabulations show the price of petrol has increased from Sh104 to Sh115.39 since April, while that of diesel has risen from Sh94.53 to Sh106.12, translating to an increase of 11 and 12 per cent respectively.

High global food prices coupled with severe drought, have depressed food yields and depleted stocks countrywide.

Ms Ireri said Kenyans are mainly dependent on maize, adding, a 90kg bag had nearly doubled in the last four months from Sh2,600 to Sh4,800.

The price of bread, which most Kenyans depend on had registered a significant increase in price, with a 500gm loaf selling at Sh40 up from Sh34.

Ms Ireri said milk is the only food item that had registered a modest increase from Sh28 to Sh32 per half-litre packet.

“The price of milk is the only one which can be predicted in the country because it depends on particular seasons of the year,” she said.

During the same period, the shilling depreciated against the dollar by about seven per cent, from Sh83.55 to Sh89.50.

Ms Ireri said that 24 per cent of Kenyans feel famine was the most pressing issue apart from the high cost of living.

Surprisingly, she said, unemployment had reduced in the last three months from 19 per cent to eight per cent according to the 2,000 pollsters they interviewed.

The Synovate MD said another worrying thing is corruption which they claim had raised in the last six months.

“The respondents say it has increased to 56 per cent while 19 per cent claim it has remained at the same level. About 21 per cent feel that it has decreased,” Ms Ireri said.