How to transform Kenya without political democracy

By Donald B Kipkorir

Last week, Kenya was exposed to sham democracy in political parties. At least, no party will handle a candle to another. All parties carried out what were charade primaries. The only nominees who can hold their heads above the water are those who went in unopposed. It is time we agree that Kenya is not yet ready for true democracy and agree to the barest minimum of democracy. And we don’t need full democracy to develop economically.

Franklin D. Roosevelt [1882-1845], who was US 32nd President is always ranked as America’s greatest President besides Abraham Lincoln and George Washington. In his famous State of the Union address on January 6, 1941, he said that mankind needs four freedoms only: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear. These four freedoms should be our reductio ad absurdum.

Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore were lifted out of poverty to developed economies by sheer charisma of its leaders and limited democracy. Park Chung-hee of South Korea, Mahathir Mohamed of Malaysia and Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore were benevolent dictators. Throughout their leadership, they may not have killed their opponents, but they brooked no opposition. But same time, they allowed minimum democracy to thrive. Taiwan was under martial law through its economic transformation.

Am not positing that Kenya dumps its democracy for economic development. Far from it. What am proposing is that we need strong leadership from the top that will guide us on the path to economic prosperity. Last week, I argued that Kenya would not achieve Vision 2030 because President Kibaki didn’t provide the environment for it. I want to provide the road map for our incoming Government.

In pursuance to Article 131 of the Constitution, the incoming President should issue executive decrees dissolving all state corporations, and have them reconstituted. This will enable the new Government to breakdown inbuilt tribalism, nepotism and cronyism. As the Constitution demands, public service must represent the face of Kenya. By this act, all Kenyans will feel true belonging. This reconstitution will plant the seeds for national reconstruction. Vision 2030 has to be reconstituted. Its economic projects should be such that it will spur over-all economic development. Tarmac-road network should be increased to over 100,000km.

We also need to develop real super-highways that will interconnect all counties. Our railway line, which was built in 1895, ought to be uprooted. Kenya needs a modern railway system. The ports of Mombasa and Lamu need development, and if need be, in partnership with Singapore. The telecom sector needs further incentives to expand.

To develop a large consumer market, the middle class has to be grown. One way of doing this is expanding the number of cities we have. Ruchir Sharma, a renowned world economist, in his book Breakout Nations supports rural-urban migration and growth of many cities.  South Korea that is merely 90,000 sq km to ours that is over 580,000sq km has over 10 cities with populations of over 1 million each. In addition to Nairobi and Mombasa, we need to develop Nakuru, Eldoret, Nyeri, Machakos, Garissa, Kakamega, Embu, Kisii and Kisumu into modern metropolis and encourage migration to them to boost their populations to over one million each. Rural-urban migration will free rural land for agriculture and livestock. The urban population will spur a middle class needed for domestic consumption, which is the engine for any growth of a middle-income country.

The Government will also have a duty to provide an enabling financial market. Central Bank has to be facilitated to play independently its constitutional role of formulating monetary policy and promoting price stability. A developing economy needs low inflation; stable but weak currency, low lending rates and budget deficit that should not exceed 60 per cent of its GDP. I trust Prof Njuguna Ndung’u to still seize the moment and re-position Central Bank to emulate the Federal Reserve of America and the central banks of England, Canada and South Africa.

We cannot develop without proper and appropriate labour market. The foundation of this is sound education system. I support conversion of all our public primary and secondary schools into charter schools. By this conversion, public schools will continue receiving public funding, but also private funding allowed. Above all, schools will be rewarded for exam success. Teachers will be given extra remuneration pegged on their performance. Private schools will be encouraged and their excellence will not be penalised. Research in universities, whether public or private will be supported by the Government. The bottom-line of an education system is to encourage and reward excellence. The cornerstone of all the above reforms and innovations is a functioning Judiciary and sound institutional framework. Under Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, I have total faith in the transformation of the Judiciary. A competent and functioning Judiciary promotes and encourages investment.

The civil service needs complete overhaul. Its culture is still steeped in bureaucracy, tribalism, nepotism and mediocrity. The incoming Government has to appoint a new Head of Civil Service who will re-engineer the entire civil service. The President and ministers work and implement policies through the civil service and we need one that is in tune with our aspirations. Like majority of Kenyans, I look forward to a new dawn on March 4, when a new Government will be ushered. Of it, we demand economic development built on sound principles and pillars. The main priority of Government is to provide an enabling and secure environment for investment. The Government should never see itself as welfare organisation, but a catalyst for economic development.

The writer is an Advocate of the High Court.

 


 

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