After over half-century of self-rule the
colonial creature is still alive, breathing and starting to thrive. Kenya’s
path has not been linear or even. Kenya’s path has been complex, bounded and
directed by its colonial heritage and often severely contorted by its contrived
creation.
Exactly one week from today, tens of
millions of Kenyans will converge in polling stations across the country to
exercise a fundamental constitutional right. Kenyans above the age of 18 will
mark six ballots and cast their votes for representatives of their choice.
The country has been on campaign footing for
nearly three years. But the electioneering process kicked off in earnest with a
mass voter registration exercise early 2017. Leading politicians literally
camped in their so-called strongholds to encourage new voters to sign up.
After about nine weeks of intense political
activity, thousands of kilometers have been traveled. Billions of shillings
have been spent. Millions of words have been used to describe agendas, discredit
or even abuse opponents and to persuade voters.
In my view the campaigns, especially between
the two top presidential candidates have not been driven by the party
manifestos they presented to the voting public. The political conversation has
been long on innuendo but spectacularly short on specifics such as jobs for
youth, quality health care and education, shared prosperity and food security,
national unity and regional integration.
One would hope that the leading presidential
candidates would lay out a coherent program on expanding access to quality
education by improving teacher quality as well as putting more resources into
improving school infrastructure. It’s not too much to demand clean water,
well-lit classrooms and clean toilets for our children.
Unemployment is highest among youth who drop
out of primary and high school. While they often they lack basic literacy and
numeracy, their plight is compounded by lack of basic skills. What was the safe
storehouse for Kenya’s unemployed has no more headroom. According to The 2016
Economic Survey report growth in the informal sector is tapering.
The agricultural sector is not thumping.
Land degradation, climate change and expansion of settlement is a threat to
agricultural expansion. We are in the throes of de-industrialization.
Urbanization is chaotic and has failed to drive equitable prosperity. Majority
of urban dwellers live in squalid slums engulfed by garbage and denied basic
amenities like water, sanitation, security, hospitals and schools.
In just four short days, the campaign dust
will settle, the vitriol will ebb, and the country will go into eerie silence. The
question is when, how and by who will the real development challenges be
addressed?
Voting is a right that comes with an inordinate
burden of responsibility and an expectation of supreme discernment. But whether
you vote or not, the conversation about our development challenges must not end
on August 8th 2017. Leadership must be about results. Not empty
campaign promises. We must hold to the fire of accountability, the feet of all
elected leaders.
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