Cost of living top on Kenyans' minds

Written By:Milton Nyakundi,    Posted: Wed, Jul 20, 2011

The poll says the cost of living will be the gauge in which Kenyans will use to elect their future leaders 76 percent of Kenyans feel the high cost of living and corruption are the two most pressing issues facing the nation at the moment. This is based on opinion poll findings released by the Synovate Research Company on Wednesday. The unabated rise of prices of basic commodities in the country pinches Kenyans the most and it gets worse as the inflation continues on the upward trend fueled by the rising cost of petroleum. The poll says the cost of living will be the gauge in which Kenyans will use to elect their future leaders. It also cites political interests and lack of goodwill as the major setbacks to Constitution implementation with Prime Minister Raila Odinga still the man to beat in the next general elections. Though still in the lead at 32 percent, Raila's rating has plummeted by 6 percent in the last three months. This drop has been attributed to the wrangles within the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), which he is party leader. Raila's faction of the ODM is supported by a whopping 80 percent of the respondents The Premier is followed by his deputy Uhuru Kenyatta, whose ratings have risen to 21 percent while Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka and Eldoret North MP William Ruto tied for third position at 11 percent. The least preferred candidates according to the poll were Eugene Wamalwa at 3 percent and House Speaker Kenneth Marende at 1 percent. Under leadership qualities, Raila was perceived to have strong leadership skills. The grand coalition government's scorecard however remained at an all time low with an approval rating of 47 percent down from 63 perrcent in the last survey. PLO Lumumba-led Kenya Anti Corruption Commission got high approvals in the fight against graft. Interestingly, Kenyans don't feel the institutional discord is to blame for the constitution implementation stalemate; instead they cite political shenanigans and lack of goodwill as the major setbacks to the process. Other findings indicate that 13 percent of Kenyans are yet to make their choice of who to vote for as their next President with a cumulative total of 23 percent not affiliated to any political party.