Road to national cohesion is paved with money

By XN IrakiWhy was there no post election violence in Runda or Muthaiga? Why was violence concentrated in slums of Nairobi? The answers to these questions may hold the secret to integration and cohesion. Violence was concentrated in low-income areas. Crime is concentrated in the same places. Citizens in these places, dream of becoming rich some day. If violence provides such an opportunity, they are likely to take advantage of it; not because they are bad people or less law abiding but the reality demands so. In the keynote address to a recent conference on cohesion in America, Randall Kennedy, a Harvard University don identified poverty as America’s deepest fault line."Poor people in America don’t have the chance to participate fully in society because their circumstances hold them down," he said. That is not different in Kenya.Instead of focusing on economic solutions to anthropological problems, we are making matters worse by issuing statistics which makes it appear some people or regions are poor because other regions are rich. This zero-sum game thinking is a recipe for instability.How do we foster cohesion and integration through economics?Let us learn from others. How does the US integrate nationalities, let alone tribes, into one nation? For your information, if you consider Native Americans, commonly called Indians, US has more tribes than Kenya.Ends meetWhy do Kenyans "disappear" in the US but not in our counties? They are attracted by economic opportunities. They are also "less tribal" in the US because they can make ends meet.If we have to integrate this nation, let us do it economically. Runda and Muthaiga are integrated by affluence; Mathare Valley just across the Mental Hospital is "disintegrated" by poverty.The questions our policy makers, read politicians are unable to answer is how to make a critical number of Kenyans affluent, now that affluence integrates us, we even build houses closer to each other through estates or gated communities, even forming residence associations.Economists have also toyed with the same question for generations.The easiest way to create wealth is to let wealth creators create wealth. That is the essence of market system. But in Kenya, we seem unimpressed by some people making money, yet we want to make money ourselves.Entrepreneurs bore the blunt of post-election violence. We offer few incentives to those who try hard to make money. Talk to any businessman or entrepreneur in Kenya. They are treated more like thieves than wealth and job creators. Just witness a City Council askari clamping a car worth Sh2 million for failing to pay Sh200. Our legal system has not evolved much from the colonial era when keeping natives down was the main objective. Our laws and regulations must be revised to make it easier to do business. The county council by – laws should be revised by economists not lawyers.The laws and regulations, conspire with our education to make us think small and worthless. We think too much of kiosks not multinational corporations. More ominous is that those who make it economically spend too much time keeping the rest down to keep their class undiluted.Cohesion and integration are also enhanced by sharing. That is what taxation is all about; those who can make money share it out with the less endowed ones leading to access to basic services like education and health. In developed countries, the poor get more access to basics through welfare checks making their involvement in crime and violence unlikely.Philanthropists enhance this cohesion further by sharing wealth with the society. The US is awash with foundations that reach out to blighted regions including some in Kenya. Such sharing reduces the zero-sum game thinking.Where do we go from here?We could be doing more in discouraging cohesion and integration than enhancing it. Are our counties not constitutionally recognised tribal enclaves? Tribal statistics on jobs are hardening tribal feelings. Two, we must make it easier for entrepreneurs to pursue opportunities wherever they can be found in the country and in the world. Our diplomatic services must go beyond issuing visas.Three, can we focus on incentives. Why not start awards for the most diverse firms?Four, it can be boldly counter argued that affluence is a necessary but not sufficient condition for cohesion and integration; the late Tanzanian President, Julius Nyerere successfully integrated his country which was less economically advanced than Kenya. Why can’t we learn from our neighbour to the South?Five, let us be realistic, tribes are real, and give us identities. What credible alternatives to tribe do we offer our youngsters as a source of identity? Would accepting our diversity not be the starting point on our road to cohesion and integration?Six, why should cohesion and integration be issues in a religious country, where love your neighbour is the greatest commandment? Are we pretenders religiously?XN IRAKI is a University Lecturer

Road to national cohesion is paved with money

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