VOA标准英语2010年-Kenyan Price Control Bill Awaits Presi

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki is considering whether to sign a price control bill into law that would allow the government to set prices on basic items such as maize¹, wheat, cooking oil and petrol. Kenya's parliament approved the measure in June. Supporters argue that dramatic price increases over the past few years have hit the poor particularly hard, but critics say the bill could hurt the poor and the economy more in the long run.

In the Nairobi informal settlement of Kibera, most casual laborers² earn a little more than $3 a day.

And this two-kilogram bag of maize meal that an average family consumes every two days costs more than a  third of that. Maize meal is used to make ugali, a staple³ food that is especially popular in informal settlements.

Prices for maize, cooking oil, and other basic goods have doubled, and in some cases tripled, over the past seven years.

 

Analysts⁴ cite the weather, the country's poor infrastructure⁵, corruption⁶ and post-election violence as some of the factors contributing to the increases.

"At the very worst, a family has to take a mug of porridge, a family has to take a plate or two of ugali, a family has to take sukamawiki (green vegetables). What we are saying is, that basic requirement to sustain life has to be affordable⁷ for everybody," Nicholas Gumbo, a member of Kenya's parliament states.

Gumbo seconded the price control bill. It allows the government to set prices for essential goods, and establishes penalties of up to five years in prison for those who purchase or sell these goods at higher prices.

Gumbo says producers and manufacturers are largely to blame for the dramatic price increases. "We do understand that they are in business to make profit. What we are up against is cartels that set up prices that are definitely beyond the reach of the common man," he said.

Producers argue they cannot be blamed for cost increases of inputs⁸ such as fertilizers, electricity and transportation. And they fear the government will not factor in these costs when setting prices.

"Producers who find that they cannot break even under the new prices may move either into other sectors⁹ or move out of the country altogether to go and invest elsewhere," Moses Ikiara said. Ikiara is executive director of the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis. He says, "That is one big risk. Of course, if the people setting the price were able to come with the optimal¹⁰ price, then there would not be a lot of challenges."

If producers produce less, or stop altogether, the supply of basic commodities will decrease and hurt the poor even more, says Betty Maina, chief executive of the Kenya Manufacturers' Association. "Hoarding¹¹ could even be via the main retail¹² chains because in the end, they would like to be able to sell," she said. "So the idea is that if there is a scarcity¹³ in the shops where you sell these goods: it (essential goods) is not available, but if you come and visit me at the back of the shop, yes you will get it, but you will get it for twice the price."

Ikiara says the development of a common market through the East African Community makes price controls unnecessary in Kenya.

"We would have expected a lot of food to come from surplus countries -- Uganda and Tanzania in some cases -- to be able to come into Kenya, and when you get now more supply, that would have been able to reduce our supply challenge," Ikiara said. "That would have been able to bring the prices down."

He says that as a member of the East African Community, Kenya cannot unilaterally decide to impose price controls without other countries' consent.

Analysts and industry leaders say one long-term solution is for the government to look at why the costs of producing essential goods are so high.

Then, it can subsidize the cost of fertilizers and other agricultural inputs and lift import duties on scarce goods. They say the government also can institute policies to enable more suppliers to enter the market.

Ikiara says in the short term, he thinks targeted interventions¹⁴ such as food vouchers¹⁵ or food-for-work programs would help the poor.
 

1 maize   

n.玉米

参考例句：

• There's a field planted with maize behind the house.房子后面有一块玉米地。
• We can grow sorghum or maize on this plot.这块地可以种高粱或玉米。

2 laborers   

n.体力劳动者，工人( laborer的名词复数 )；（熟练工人的）辅助工

参考例句：

• Laborers were trained to handle 50-ton compactors and giant cranes. 工人们接受操作五十吨压土机和巨型起重机的训练。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Wage-labour rests exclusively on competition between the laborers. 雇佣劳动完全是建立在工人的自相竞争之上的。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

3 staple   

n.主要产物，常用品，主要要素，原料，订书钉，钩环；adj.主要的，重要的；vt.分类

参考例句：

• Tea is the staple crop here.本地产品以茶叶为大宗。
• Potatoes are the staple of their diet.土豆是他们的主要食品。

4 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

5 infrastructure   

n.下部构造，下部组织，基础结构，基础设施

参考例句：

• We should step up the development of infrastructure for research.加强科学基础设施建设。
• We should strengthen cultural infrastructure and boost various types of popular culture.加强文化基础设施建设，发展各类群众文化。

6 corruption   

n.腐败，堕落，贪污

参考例句：

• The people asked the government to hit out against corruption and theft.人民要求政府严惩贪污盗窃。
• The old man reviled against corruption.那老人痛斥了贪污舞弊。

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 inputs   

n.输入( input的名词复数 )；投入；输入端；输入的数据v.把…输入电脑( input的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• Uncheck the inputs checked for optimization in the previous stage. 不测试那些已经测试过的优化了的以前步骤的inputs.（变量参数）。 来自互联网
• Just in case, save in a file the inputs obtained at the previous stage. 以防万一，保存以前步骤获得的inputs（变量参数值）到一个文件中去。 来自互联网

9 sectors   

n.部门( sector的名词复数 )；领域；防御地区；扇形

参考例句：

• Berlin was divided into four sectors after the war. 战后柏林分成了4 个区。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Industry and agriculture are the two important sectors of the national economy. 工业和农业是国民经济的两个重要部门。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 optimal   

adj.最适宜的；最理想的；最令人满意的

参考例句：

• What is the optimal mix of private and public property rights in natural resources?私人和国家的自然资源产权的最适宜的组合是什么？
• Optimal path planning is a key link for the sailing contest.帆船最优行驶路径规划是帆船比赛取胜的关键环节。

11 hoarding   

n.贮藏；积蓄；临时围墙；囤积v.积蓄并储藏（某物）( hoard的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• After the war, they were shot for hoarding. 战后他们因囤积而被枪决。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Actually he had two unused ones which he was hoarding up. 其实他还藏了两片没有用呢。 来自英汉文学

12 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

13 scarcity   

n.缺乏，不足，萧条

参考例句：

• The scarcity of skilled workers is worrying the government.熟练工人的缺乏困扰着政府。
• The scarcity of fruit was caused by the drought.水果供不应求是由于干旱造成的。

14 interventions   

n.介入，干涉，干预( intervention的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Economic analysis of government interventions deserves detailed discussion. 政府对经济的干预应该给予充分的论述。 来自辞典例句
• The judge's frequent interventions made a mockery of justice. 法官的屡屡干预是对正义的践踏。 来自互联网

15 vouchers   

n.凭证( voucher的名词复数 )；证人；证件；收据

参考例句：

• These vouchers are redeemable against any future purchase. 这些优惠券将来购物均可使用。
• This time we were given free vouchers to spend the night in a nearby hotel. 这一次我们得到了在附近一家旅馆入住的免费券。 来自英语晨读30分（高二）