Destroying Cash - As Kenya Burns Raw US$30+ Million

by Eze Eluchie,

Did the Republic of Kenya really, as in practically and truthfully, burn US$30 Million worth of Ivory?

Good gosh!! What must have come over the system?

The Elephants were already dead! Why not convert the Ivory to Cash and channel the proceeds of such auction to other areas where the monies realized can be put to some good use for the population – perhaps to even training more personnel for the ‘Conservation Industry’, to enhance the public health sector or even pay more teachers salaries.

This folly is akin to what  goes on in my country, good old Nigeria, when the Customs Border services seizes contraband foodstuffs (Rice, Cooking Oil and so on) and rather than redistribute these items {which are in edible and good condition}, they prefer to destroy the seized foodstuffs in huge and wasteful bonfires, further desecrating the environment. This happens in our clime where several thousand’s go to bed on empty stomachs unsure where the next meal will come from and the thought processes of our rulers are twisted after years of aggravated malnutrition during their infant and childhood years.

Some may proffer some arguments to try and justify the folly of Kenya’s decision to burn Ivory, all such arguments amount to bunkum! Burning cash in a poverty stricken neighborhood or any neighborhood for that matter, simply defies logic!

If an earlier bonfire of 12-tonnes of Elephant tusks in July 1989 by former Kenyan President, Daniel Arap Moi, did not serve to stem the practice, what makes the present regime think that burning 150metric tons (as they did today) or a 1000 metric tons will make any difference?   

Will this act of folly stop poaching of Elephants for their tusks? No! Will more Elephants have to be killed to augment the demand for Ivory following the destruction of so many of Ivory? Probably yes!

Then what really was the rationale for this act - an act which is unfortunately replicated, in one form or the other, across Sub Sahara African countries and other territories which allow themselves to be swayed by nuances of some over exuberant activists.

After this wasteful bonfire, I would not be surprised if the Kenyan Government approaches some international financial institutions seeking for a US$20 Million loan facility.  My suggested response to any such request for financial assistance for any territory that engages in burning cash is better not printed here...

Picture: The 105 metric tons of seized ivory (Elephant tusk) burnt in Kenya earlier today.