anti terrorismI keep on saying that security is paramount in any modern democracy. It is the role of the government to ensure that Citizens are safe within its borders. It’s good that the Jubilee government has put measures in place to help curb ethnic clashes but what about the war on terrorism? The world peace is under threat from terrorism, whether we are talking about pirates on high seas or muslim jihadists, we all have a responsibility to ensure our own safety.
Just the other day, Kenya suffered its worst terrorist attack in over a decade when the Westgate mall was held under siege for over three days. The attack could have been prevented had the government been more vigilant, but how can a country’s anti terrorism agency do that when its quarterly budget is $2205 (Sh190,000)?
According to a report by Al Jazeera last week, the Kenyan Anti Terrorism squad is allocated less than 200,000 shillings quarterly for its operations – maintenance and fuel for cars, travel expenses and office supplies – in January, February and March. As a matter of fact, they just have $735 (Sh64,000) to spend in March, according to documents seen by the Associated Press news agency.
According to a police officer who sought anonymity, this makes it even harder for the squad to prevent any future attacks.
Developed countries such as Japan have a budget of over 14.8 Billion Yen for antiterrorism alone. Which leads me to this next question, why do we pay our MPs over 4 million in 4 months while important security agencies operates on peanuts?
I don’t think priorities can be more crooked.