In 2009 Kenya faced a devastating drought that forced the government to ask for relief and almost declared the hunger faced by Kenyans a ‘national disaster’. The price of all basic commodities had sky rocketed and this beautiful country was reduced to a ‘beggar’. Being my first blog, I choose to discuss the unique country Kenya. Unique in so many ways. Kenya is deemed the gate way to East Africa and thus an East African economic power house not only to the region but to the larger region.
In 2002, Kenya marked some very important issues to its governance. This historic year, Kenya had a change of guard (sic). The 24 year reign of the then President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi and the 3rd President of Kenya, H.E President Emilio Mwai Kibaki. In such a related historic moment, the same year made an end to the KANU reign. In my view, the new constitutional order was to take Kenya to new economic, political, civil, environmental and social heights.
Eight years down the line, I wonder if the optimistic nature Kenya exercised her democratic right was satisfied. Was she satisfied? With the high prices of basic commodities being sky high, the political tension going up the scale (despite the sickening PEV), no food security, insecurity, white collar crimes (corruption) being order of the stay etc. yes, Kenya has made positive progress. The sickening 4 to 5 hour drive to Nakuru, from Nairobi has been reduced to a comfortable 2 hour drive; Eldoret-Nakuru road albeit being the only road, is facing a face lift. The disputed free education programme has the officials recording an increased number of both the young and the old joining schools. Yes, the inflation rate being high the economy is also rising with the government aiming at atleast 5% p.a.
On the other hand however, optimists living among us still believe that if the government had its priorities right, the country would be growing at a better rate with better security and food security. What is central to this argument and believe is whether the government is channeling its efforts towards the right avenues favorable to Kenyans and the country as a whole? The Narc Government had promised 500,000 jobs to the Kenyan population per year, an end to corruption, change in the constitutional order, an end to the squatter problem…eight years on, has the government channeled its efforts towards these crucial issues Kenyans overwhelmingly voted for in 2002?
With recent events am convinced that the state is not committed to channel its reso
urces and efforts towards the most important of issues. The only thing the government has managed to do is pass the back, and improved its skill at finger pointing. A government which is a compromise and a blend of two wearying principles should have blend and brought a hi-breed of its best, but the only hi-breed that Kenyans has been treated to is corruption. Corruption is the only place the government is efficient; from the Anglo-leasing saga, to laico Regency case and the maize scam to the sickening burial site. Even the dead are not spared from this government prowess.
The uncouth part about the whole government agenda right now is the way the Constitutional debate is being handled. Here, is a country hit hard by hefty rains (I blame Climate Change) and on the other hand the government is channeling its resources else where. It was amazing to see the government do a rally on the constitution while other Kenyans drowned in the flood waters, and many others losing their possessions, getting stuck on major roads. It was even perturbing to see a government official predicting cases of water borne diseases and confirms that no action so far has been taken to avert the crisis so far. Last year, the drought was the country’s main problem and this year the country’s main head ache is water, too much water. The depressing part is the government’s unwillingness to take advantage of the situation and harness the water. The other day, the rain was heavy and I was stranded in one of the city buildings and the constant feature about our city buildings is lack of water harvesting mechanisms. These buildings have been designed to drain the water as waste and non is being harvested for storage. I don’t blame the government but rather blame their lack of mobilizing the population to water conservation in their relenting efforts to channel concerns to irrelevant issues.
The uncouth part about the whole government agenda right now is the way the Constitutional debate is being handled. Here, is a country hit hard by hefty rains (I blame Climate Change) and on the other hand the government is channeling its resources else where. It was amazing to see the government do a rally on the constitution while other Kenyans drowned in the flood waters, and many others losing their possessions, getting stuck on major roads. It was even perturbing to see a government official predicting cases of water borne diseases and confirms that no action so far has been taken to avert the crisis so far. Last year, the drought was the country’s main problem and this year the country’s main head ache is water, too much water. The depressing part is the government’s unwillingness to take advantage of the situation and harness the water. The other day, the rain was heavy and I was stranded in one of the city buildings and the constant feature about our city buildings is lack of water harvesting mechanisms. These buildings have been designed to drain the water as waste and non is being harvested for storage. I don’t blame the government but rather blame their lack of mobilizing the population to water conservation in their relenting efforts to channel concerns to irrelevant issues.
