Is the glass half empty or half full?

A year from today, if everything goes according to script, Kenyans will be electing a new government; from the President, governor, senator, MP to MCA.

There are mixed feelings about both levels of government, obviously depending on who you ask.

For far too long, the joke those visiting other parts of the country from the Northern Frontier region got used to was that they were not a part of Kenya.

Years of neglect had cut them off from the rest of the country. There were no roads, no hospitals, no schools. Nothing moved, nothing worked in North Eastern Province.

But that is changing. Depending on who you ask, Kenya has been smitten by the charm of Devolution. But not as much as in the former frontier counties.

That devolution has stirred the country and things are moving even in the remotest of places is no secret. And that is with Sh1 trillion, or just a third of total revenue for three years.

Three years later, many agree that there is change and that things have become better. The once-broken-down infrastructure is slowly being mended and where none existed like in North Eastern Province, it is being set up.

At least water flows from many taps, there are doctors in hospitals with drugs, children are learning in classrooms and electricity supply is not as erratic and there is some sort of economic activity.

All these, thanks to the 2010 Constitution.

For once, the forgotten citizens feel accepted as part of the whole. While those used to the Big Brother from Nairobi feel a sense of dependence; of freedom.

Yet therein lies the rub. Even as the ruling Jubilee coalition oils its election machinery, one doesn’t fail to notice the panic, the apprehension; that perhaps it has squandered the opportunity to own the devolution story.

After spending two years fighting a needless war with governors, Jubilee clearly lost the dividend accruing from this marvel of the 2010 Constitution.

What you see when you visit wind-swept villages is the ingenuity of the peasant at work, who confronted by the new realities of devolution is making the most of life.

There is so much to look forward to. And life is no longer the primitive struggle to survive. Rather, a contest of ideas. The best ideas win the day; they feel their leaders; they know their leaders; they hold them accountable.

Small, but no less significant are President Uhuru Kenyatta’s efforts to make Kenya a better country and history would be less harsh on Kenya’s fourth president. It is the norm for people to look at the glass as half empty.

At the start of his third year, there was a growing feeling that he has delivered too little and disappointed too much; the economy had not attained the much acclaimed double digit growth and things were taking too long to take shape. That is getting better.

That is in spite of the long shadow of corruption, sleaze and the arrogance of power that seemingly took away the confidence that the people had in his new Government.

When the so-called Eurobond scandal risked becoming the scar that defined his administration in much the same way the Anglo Leasing did to Mwai Kibaki’s regime.

But generally life is better under Mr Kenyatta, especially for the middle and working class. The war against poverty has not been won, but there is progress.

With the introduction of the free laptops for primary school children and the free secondary education, literacy levels are set to go up.

His administration has breathed life into the once dead health institution and is connected millions into the National Grid. Obviously, there are those who will be tempted to feel that that Mr Kenyatta has given them less of what he promised.

And that no amount of figures about a buoyant economy and partying or backslapping about the SGR and electricity connection will mask the fact that millions still eke out a living on less than a dollar a day.

But somehow, somewhere I believe all these will meet and make one big narrative. No doubt, there is a feeling of exclusion and resentment especially from the other half that voted for Raila Odinga, his opponent and the 2013 elections and probably the man to beat in August next year.

That the other half feels alienated stands as a shameful rebuke of Mr Kenyatta’s administration that came to power on the promise of uniting Kenyans and a zero tolerance on corruption and promises to fire up the economy and create wealth for all.

Certainly, things are not worse off under Mr Kenyatta.

Measured against Mr Kibaki’s cocktail of corruption, laissez faire, ineptitude and bad governance, Mr Kenyatta scores handsomely. Under Mr Kenyatta, Kenya is more free, open and prosperous. If nothing else, Mr Kenyatta has restored Kenya’s standing regionally and internationally.

And most importantly, unlike his predecessor, Mr Kenyatta has not surrounded himself with a cabal of seemingly corrupt personalities.

He has come across as someone who is stridently decisive and hands-on. Kibaki’s laidback attitude provided fodder for his detractors who often lampooned him as lazy and non-committal. Mr Kenyatta is rather charming with a common touch and an impeccable sense of panache.