The Kenyan government has just completed a renovation of its parliament building designed to bring the parliament “into the digital age”. Included in the renovation were 350 new odd-looking red cinema-style chairs, each with the Kenyan coat of arms on the headrest. The remarkable feature of the new chairs is not so much their appearance as their cost, which was said to be around $3000 per seat, with the total refurbishments costing $12 million.
The chairs are said to have been made by the Kenyan prisons department after the original quote of $5000 per chair received from a manufacturer in another country was deemed too expensive. One reason given for the high expense is that the mould used was very expensive. Some commentators have speculated that another reason might be substantial mark-ups charged by intermediaries who are keen to get their hands on public funds.
Although Kenya has the most advanced economy in East Africa, it is still classified as a developing country, and half of its residents live in absolute poverty. To a Western mind it seems strange that such a country should spend large sums of money on chairs for politicians when the poor have such obvious needs. However, the prevailing sentiment amongst those in power seems to be that the political need to be looked after if economic development is to trickle down to the poor.