Greetings. These
are dark times we are yet to live in. All our territorial neighbours have
reported cases of people testing positive for coronavirus, the root cause of
the Covid-19 pandemic. Kudos to the government for taking measures to prevent
the spread before the disease even lands in the country. A directive has been
issued for the closure of education institutions, from primary up to the
tertiary level. The impact on business has been well documented in the media;
rising prices of hand sanitizers, a decline in imports, etc. To the thousands
who will be sitting at home, not contributing productively to the economy, it
will be an interesting time to get to know one’s landlord. How do you say
“there won’t be rent money this month” in your mother tongue?
When one sits at
home, one needs to stock up on domestic supplies to last for the duration of
the self-isolation period. A granary is right now looking like a viable storage
option. Perhaps one might focus on the people who still use granaries for
storage. This demographic consists of peasants. Peasants engage in agriculture
on a small scale, the text book definition goes further to add that they
produce using rudimentary methods and consume their own produce. In summary,
peasants are in a closed economy; no need to purchase from other members as the
matooke and beans they plant prove sufficient
for lunch and supper when cooked, as well as breakfast when in cold power mode!
As formal sector
people look likely to sit at home during this self-isolation period, for
peasants it is business as usual. They will still get up early in the morning
to attack the gardens or guide the cattle up the hill to graze, and then visit
the village bar in the evenings for a few swigs of the local brew. However,
will these efforts (the former and less of the latter) be factored into the
gross domestic product calculations? At the end of the corona pandemic (if it
does end when we are still here), the economy will be hard hit; general decline
is predicted. It is quite telling that, in the event of a lock-down, the economy will have declined despite over
50% of the population engaged in agriculture will have largely continued to partake
in “productive” work. As a matter of fact, any income inequality gap closed by
the peasantry in the month of lock-down will be quickly returned to the old
order within a week of working by the formal sector.
We have a betting problem
Prescheduled events
have also been hit hard, with several sports and entertainment events
cancelled. The European football leagues have been suspended; rugby’s oldest championship
has had to postpone several games for the first time in its 132-year history,
for a reason other than war. Spare a thought for an industry, that depends on
these pre-scheduled events; betting. Betting, especially on the African
continent is hugely dependent on football. The football calendar is designed in
such a way that there’s almost a game of football every day.
Perhaps it’s
high time betting companies lowered their dependence on sports. The betting
companies in developed companies, originally called bookmakers, can give odds
on more than sports; probably some have listed odds on how long the coronavirus
outbreak will last. For the sake of survival, their developing economy
counterparts should follow the same path. Betting on eSports is one option; even in a lockdown AcePro Gaming in Kenya can still partake in online Tekken tournaments. I for one I’m willing to bet, despite
all their hard work during (if we do go under) lock-down, the peasants will not close
that income gap!
