Taxpayers deserve what they pay for using correct weight and measures. But do they always get the worth of their money? Most times, they do not. And they end up paying tax for what they do not get. When you purchase an item, pay the correct price including tax but get less quantity, you will end up paying more taxes. And this is because you, as a customer, are perceived to be someone who should pay a higher price for a lower quantity.
But many times, they put a price on a face. What is your price?
And when that happens, a taxpayer will pay a higher price and more taxes. Lack of respect and knowing that there is impunity all over has resulted in this national shame of putting a price to a face, which results in people paying more for goods and paying more taxes. But is this a recent phenomenon? Hell no! This is as old as the tale of the woman pot.
A Price to A Face Determines Weights and Measures
Mr Koni and His Weights and Measures
I first noticed it in high school. It was our cook, Mr Koni. As we queued for food, Koni would look at you and, depending on what he thought about you at that moment, he would scoop the food – a few grains and a lot of water. You would be over the moon thinking he has scooped a lot of food for you. But it was a pool.
That reminds me of our housie the other day who on enquiring why she had put a lot of water on the few pieces of fish, she retorted that fish lives in water and fish stew must have a lot of water because wherever the fish goes including the stomach, there has to be water and a lot.
Anyway, back to Mr Koni. The man looked at you from afar and by the time you put forward your plate; he hit the side of the pot with the serving spoon and most of the food would fall back into the pot. You would get a few grains and a lot of water. But grains do not do well in a lot of water, unlike fish.
Times change and one spoon of food is not a spoon of food. Weights and measures are relative. I know there is a difference between a small spoon and a big spoon and a spade is a spoon. And now this girls .
Isabella’s Weights and Measures
Past high school life was better, but I remember a cook using similar antics. This time, the students did not come with plates, but those serving food put the food on the plate and passed it to the students. But because of the student numbers and pressures of time, some of those serving food would go through the plate full of food. You all know what I am talking about.
One morning this girl called Isabella decided enough was enough. She picked up the plate and threw it back to the cook (do not try it; it is criminal). She said she was not a dog to be thrown food like that. She complained she had noticed that the cook always threw the food at her.
The cook could not take any action – a fair exchange is a reasonable outcome. This was total disrespect to the consumers. The spirit of GenZs flares in different periods. Again, it was a case of a face and a price.
A Carpenter’s Weights and Measures
One day, I went to measure a bed, and the mason looked at me and asked where I lived. I told him I lived in one area where the rent was cheapest. I paid for the deposit and we agreed on the day I was to pick my bed. Meanwhile, I went camping with my friends. That is why you need friends.
On the day to pick the bed, the carpenter had not even bought the wood. On enquiring why he had not even started making my bed, he shamelessly said I looked like I already had many other beds at home. I almost lost my cool, but then I remembered it was only a barber who would complete the assignment as agreed with the caveat: there was no power blackout.
The next time I went to check on my bed, the carpenter had moved to the rural areas – I place I had never heard of. Again, it was a case of a price to a face and disrespect to a consumer – theft.
Why do we treat fellow Kenyans the way we do?
One day, Uhuru Kenyatta spoke about the country losing kshs 2 billion daily to corruption. That is peanuts, a tip on an iceberg. Let us assume that is the money lost by the government. How much do you think Kenyans lose from stealing by their fellow Kenyans?
To make matters worse, people in the government sanction it. This could be in trillions. I will explain, forget about pinching, less change, outright theft, think about the loss from weights and measures. This is where grand theft takes place.
What is Weights and Measures?
Weight is the amount or quantity of heaviness or mass that a thing weighs – how heavy. While establishing how heavy an object, a good, etc. is.
There is a grand theft in this country from weights and measures. Unfortunately, every single Kenyan has been a victim of this grand theft in our nation. And this has been happening over the years. YET we have a government body expected to protect consumers.
Weights and Measures Directorate
The Weights and Measures Directorate is under the State Department of Trade. From its website, there are two important things to note in its Mission Statement.
a. Ensure fair trade practices
b. Consumer protection
Ensuring trade protection is as important as consumer protection. Let us look at consumer protection. The question we have is how this department protects consumers. Millions of Kenyans can attest to purchasing goods whose weight is suspicious. Surprisingly, there are consumer obligations listed on the department website. After reviewing the various web pages, one is left questioning the role of this department.
I agree, there was a time when the correct weight was the correct weight. But things have changed. Where did we go wrong? Let us look at three items to illustrate this.
Bread & Weights and Measures
When the government proposed to introduce 16% VAT and there was fire from the citizens. Understandably so. But over the years, the size of bread has continued to shrink. The labeled weight and the actual weight are two different things. In days gone by, the smallest bread size was 500 grams in measured weight and label.
Today, it is 400 grams on the label, but as for the measured weight; we are not sure. There is a bread whose 800 grams on the label, but honestly, its weight is closer to 500 grams.
Cooking Gas & Weights and Measures
What do we buy when we buy cooking gas? We buy gas, a certain weight. We all know that these days, there is something wrong with the cooking gas. How long does your gas last? Either the gas is of very poor quality and burns faster or the amount of gas in the cylinder is less than the amount showed on the cylinder.
For the quality of the gas, that is the work of KEBS. However, the quantity of the gas cylinders is the responsibility of the Weights and Measures Directorate. We have three questions:
a. How much cooking gas is supposed to be in the various cylinders?
b. How much is the weight of the cylinder?
c. How often does the Weights and Measures Directorate ensure that the gas cylinders have the correct weight displayed?
Meat & Weights and Measures
Many moons ago, a kilogram of meat would be consumed by an entire village. But today, my cat Nana can consume a kilogram of meat and give me that look of ‘I Nana, the home cat, I am starving’. Where did the meat go? Where? In the past, the entire village would celebrate for an entire day when they bought a quota of a kilogram of meat, and a week’s worth of festivities would ensue for half a kilogram of meat.
But today, even a hundred kilograms of meat would be what my grandfather called ‘kupanguza ulimi’. This is my point. The measuring and weighing of meat in this country has an issue. Is a kilogram of meat a kilogram of meat?
These are not the only items with problems. Every item that is measured in this country has an issue of incorrect weight.
Tax Loss & Weights and Measures
Are you still wondering how Kenyans end up paying more taxes? It looks like there are some people intent on ensuring that the government collects a certain amount of tax no matter the protests. When a taxpayer (all Kenyans pay tax) receives less than they pay for, the seller will make more profits and pay higher income tax (assuming they pay).
Let us illustrate how the taxpayer ends up paying more taxes.
Example:
If you purchase a packet of envelopes showing 1000 envelopes each at kshs 10, you will be required to pay kshs 10 x 1000 = kshs 10,000.
VAT at 16% x 10,000 = kshs 1,600.
If you later discover that the packet had 900 envelopes, the cost should have been kshs 10 x 900 = kshs 9000
VAT at 16% x 900 = kshs 1,440
Overpaid VAT – kshs 1,600 less kshs 1,440 = kshs 160
Imagine how many times this scenario is repeated and taxpayers end up paying taxes for goods they do not receive. Are the business people stealing from the government or who?
Conclusions
When the Weights and Measures Directorate does not do its work, it is leaving Kenyans to Koni’s of this world. A Price to A Face. The Directorate should save Kenyans by doing the following three things otherwise it will accused of inadvertently colluding with sellers to steal from Kenyans who end up paying consumption taxes for goods they did not consume:
a. Ensure that the measuring instruments are calibrated to do the correct thing.
b. Educate the public about weights and measures and what the directorate does.
c. Put punitive measures for those caught not adhering to the correct weights and measures.
Short of this, the Directorate should inform Kenyans whether Kenya uses the global measuring standards or if we have our own measuring standards. 800 grams of bread in Nairobi, London, New York, Beijing, Tel Aviv, Kampala, Lagos, Cairo, etc. should be the same in weight, measure and label. This grand theft from Kenyans by Kenyans must end.
From the content here, we can confidently say that failure by the Directorate of Weights and Measures to protect consumers by ensuring that people receive what they purchase has resulted in some taxpayers paying more taxes than they should. Many taxpayers are not philanthropic and no one should force them to be, but this is official sanctioned theft from taxpayers.
Thank you for reading the article. Let us know your thought in the comments.
Dr. Wakaguyu
