this past weekend the city was abuzz with music from many quarters. there was the CHAT awards alright but also closely looking at the BBK ATMS you could hear good music and dancers under tents drumming up support literally for the loan products of BBK. how times change, just a while back, tittle deeds were a big deal since you needed them to access even very small sizes of loans. these days you walk into a stanchart ATM booth and you meet not only the guards but also, young people trying to sell loan products to you, unsecured! and if you make a mistake of giving them your number then they will call you any day and anytime asking whether you were ready to sign along the dotted line. well for me am enjoying the being chased experience. for once tables are turned and the hunter is being hunted by the hunted!
still on banks, just as promised Equity gave a wonderful show of might and patriotism by sponsoring the winners concert. the shows were broadcast on both KBC and citizen TV. the winners even performed at dinner in safari park hotel. quite novel. however, equity almost behaved like NGOs and the whole shows were full of mentions of the bank. thereby killing the creativity of the schools altogether. Njiris high school had a completely dry play albeit with very creative production techniques. they were talking about investing abroad vice a vis investing locally. but it was clear that the pressure to bring out the theme killed the artistry of the play and if you ask me it was a shame. watching alliance high school was like watching an acted speech.
on another note, i went to gikomba the other day, to look for tomatoes. (there seems to be a shortage of good tomatoes) needless to say i did not get any. however one thing struck me. the road is really bad these days, it looks like a lunar surface really. the rain that had poured earlier filled the portholes with murky water. so it was quite difficult to tell where there was a hole and where there wasn't. but in front of me was a seemingly young man pulling a handcart. i used him to tell the terrain. it was sad, and sometimes he went knee deep into the muddy water as he pulled the heavy load. it was late, about 6:45 and so the area was mostly dark. i thought about this man. probably this is what he had done the whole day, or may be it was his only 'suk' but what disturbed me more was that he mostly likely had a family, wife and children who were waiting for him to pull the cart to its destination and rush home with his hard earned money.he probably had to pay rent, electricity, water , fare back home etc. My mind started wondering whether he had a nagging wife, or if his wife was cheating on him, or if she did not appreciate the poor fellow. the thoughts got so scary and disturbing that i decided to pass him.
I remember these banks being very very aggresive when I was in Kenya. It seems they are not letting up despite the bad economy, with their astronomical interest rates I would never take a loan with them come hell or high water!
ReplyDeletei never though I'd see blue chip banks hawking loans on the weekend
ReplyDeleteThis is dangerous. What happens when some of these people default? It could lead to something similar to the current sub-prime loans fiasco in the US. Can Kenyan banks afford that?
ReplyDeleteSad how, for all the talk of economy this, economy that...the lot of ordinary kenyans keeps getting worse and worse
ReplyDeleteAlas many of the very big reggea artists from back in the day used to pull hand carts--like burning spear, cocoa tea etc
I hear you Acolyte. The high interest rates is the issue. They shd bring them down in the line of last year's "limited offer" by stanchart @ 15% on unsecured (or "payslip")loans.
ReplyDeleteAnd Odegle, abt that hardcart man, I normally come across such and always wonder whether other people ever notice them. In fact, the man might even be better off. How abt the fairly old wazees that you will find around bus stops etc hawking a few pencil sticks and sharpeners wearing faces of hunger and fatigue from walking around. U can almost get a migraine when such thought processes begin.
ReplyDelete@acolyte, the loans are being hawked but the rates are not letting up!
ReplyDelete@banks, a case of never say never i guess!
@no-spin, i think its coz of the high risk of default that banks stil give loans at as high as 20% p.a. so the good people pay for the bad people. thats because the credit reference bureaux are not developed
@alexcia, i guess this is the predicament of capitalism, the rich get obscenely rich while the poor get sinfully poorer.
ReplyDelete@dollarman, you have just brought back to mind more disturbing scenes. by the way those pencils are normally taken on credit from shopkeepers
There's a swahili saying "Kupanda mchongoma, kushuka ndio ngoma" The banks are responding to Equity's expansion, and have to try keep their edge especially on interest income. I noticed on sunday that Valley road adopt a light adverts are all about Barclays loans. I keep away, I know the stress when it comes to defaulting on loans, not good for health...
ReplyDelete@mwasjd, funny way to put it
ReplyDelete