By Mghanga
Malasi
As
the election near so is the whispering along the corridors who should and
shouldn’t be our leader among many Kenyans. One of the challenges Kenya faces
today is deeply entrenched ethnicity and short-sightedness nature of our
politics. The next election will certainly be interesting though frightening to
many given the heightening of political temperature along tribal lines by the
current leadership. The election will be unique in that there are several levels
of the legislature that have to be filled through the ballot. It is for sure
that occupants of the august house will have a hard time convincing the public.
Kenya
desperately needs political stability, but the leaders do not seem to have
learnt anything from the 2007-2008 predicaments. One day they are talking of
the need to revamp the economy to realize the vision twenty thirty targets and
the next thing politicians are fueling the ethnic emotions or they are engaging
in their usual practice and games of ethnic divisiveness through propaganda and
other lies. There is no doubt that the same resilience shown during the voting
and ushering in the new constitution shall certainly be repeated next year.
Kenyans have matured in democracy. However, more civic education is required to
sensitise the electorate on the implementation of the new laws especially on
devolution. The registration of voters should begin in earnest to recruit more
voters for the elections next year.
This
year has been a tough one for majority of Kenyans. The next man or woman of the
house on the hill has a difficult task convincing the electorate what he or she
will offer. The country is still facing same myriad challenges of disease,
poverty, unemployment and hunger despite the economic gains reported in the
media now and then.
Kenyans
are still suffering and disillusioned; the youth graduating from universities
every year have no hope of being employed any more in the saturated and highly
competitive labour market. The disenfranchised youth have tried the ballot
several times and failed to win emancipation. When they tried violence to claim
their freedom last time, they were stopped in their tracks by a political
settlement. One would wonder what will take to stop them after the next
national crisis.
There
are various tents that drive the economy that the next president must promise
to work on if the economy is to grow. It taunted that a healthy nation
translates to a healthy economy. The health sector is needs facelift. This means
more budgetary allocation to the Ministry of Health to improve on
infrastructure and modernization of the hospital critical utilities.
S/he
should seek to lower the cost of living affected heavily by high inflation,
which is also undermining financial borrowing. Energy and fuel costs must go
down. This president should ensure that we cushioned from the volatility of the
international prices by may be developing strategic oil reserves.
The
education sector, apart from free education the government should increase and
set aside fund for capacity and facility improvement and development in both
primary and secondary schools. Many of the schools in the rural areas are ill
equipped and therefore priority should be to establish an educational
infrastructure development fund to oversee building of more schools and
classrooms, libraries and science laboratories if we are to develop a skilled
workforce for the future Kenya.
If
only our politics motive were that we keep politics pure and the motive is
doing good to one’s country and its people then will all prosper. The qualification
the candidates taking up important seats such as the governor, senator and
presidency will matter if this country were to change for the good of all
Kenyans not a few cartels. The economy should be knowledge driven those elected
must be persons who have the drive and passion to develop policies that will
bring prosperity.
