WHY THE MEDIA NEEDS TO DO MORE IN HIGHLIGHTING THE HIGH COST OF LIVING

Different circumstances same need

Great anger is gradually building up in Kenya, over the escalating cost of living. Whereas both traditional and social media have given this issue ample coverage, such is the nature of distress spreading in the country that the media needs to do more than just highlighting the problem.

Already, streets protests, like what is happening in Uganda, are being contemplated, at the very least, to try and elicit some useful or far reaching response from the Kenyan government.

It is an outright violation of the rights of the citizens the state is bound to protect, if the usual taxation levels apply on essential commodities and yet the government has the capacity to cushion its people through subsidizing basic necessities, by forgoing or reducing their due taxes.

And the local media too, in my opinion, needs to go beyond just reporting how the public is suffering. The hardships aside, this is one of those rare moments, when the press can unite and jointly campaign for the reversal of the dire situation.

If it was possible for the media outlets to carry the banner headline, 'Save our Beloved Country,' at the height of the 2007/8 post election crisis in Kenya, then I don't see why the same energy cannot be dedicated to pressing the government to take urgent remedial measures.

As depicted below, using Storify, the writing is on the mind of many Kenyans.