Time to celebrate our numerous achievements

By BEATRICE ELACHI

KENYA: As we celebrate 50 years of independence, we must pat ourselves on the back for making numerous achievements on different fronts even as we address what may have hindered faster execution of our national goals, plans and programmes. 

I am personally proud as a Kenyan each time I witness the commissioning of one mega-buck project or another.

But as President Uhuru Kenyatta unveils our game-changer projects, there are those who are forever throwing missiles and barbs at every move made. While I am not sure what the motives of the detractors may be, I, like my fellow countrymen, have not forgotten that the same people yelling from the rooftops — and not too long ago — held very senior Government positions when the projects they now seek to besmirch were conceptualised.

Naturally, these people must have participated in making the decisions that gave rise to these projects. One, therefore, wonders whether this is a case of sour grapes or lost ‘opportunity’, which their cronies or business buddies cannot secure through the back door now that a more transparent way of doing business is with us. 

As I listen to some of the croaking of the naysayers, I am reminded of the story in which a man and his son took their donkey to the market hoping to sell it. But before they could reach there, they threw it into a river and drowned it after listening and taking into account lots of conflicting advice they received from people they met along the way.

Unsolicited counsel

There were those who took the position that the man needed to ride the animal as his son walked along while others advised the man to dismount the beast of burden and allow his young son a ride. At some point, the two even carried the donkey on their shoulders following some of the unsolicited counsel they got from bystanders and passersby. But this was before a malicious fellow happened from the blue and convinced the duo to throw the poor animal into the river as punishment for its laziness! The moral of this story is rather obvious, I guess?

The all-too common complaints, particularly by CORD guardians and jesters, rekindle in my mind the story of Moses who received lots of barbs from fellow Jews as he led them from slavery in Egypt. At some point, the masses even refused to believe in the promises made by Yahweh and relayed to them via Moses. This they made known to him by fabricating their own god. Exodus 32:19 narrates how Moses could take it no more and, in utter disgust, the worn-out man ended up hurling the tablets that bore the 10 commandments to the ground.

Yet these same people who gave Moses high-blood pressure and ulcers were elated when had Moses deployed the powers given to him by Yahweh to part the Red Sea for their safe passage. The shortsighted lot even sang and danced following their successful crossing of the sea towards the Promised Land.

I fully understand when some of us say the President is not their ‘Moses.’ But together with other leaders as well as his Cabinet, he is the man we gave the mandate to run this country. We must also acknowledge that what he and his government have done goes to fulfill the plans that were put in place long before he became the President. Indeed, some of the plans for the multi-billion shillings projects he has been commissioning lately were made even before he had expressed any wish to become President. 

Collective efforts

President Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto, one can safely say, are only making good of things that former President Mwai Kibaki initiated. And by doing so, Kenya stands to achieve more in the coming five years than was ever achieved in the last two or three decades.

Rather than throw missiles at such achievements, the CORD brigade ought to join other Kenyans in celebrating the deeds and actions aimed at delivering Kenyans to their rightful destiny.

Indeed, these projects are borne of our collective efforts. They do not belong to Uhuru or Ruto, neither are they being implemented for the good of a select few. In fact, these projects are bankrolled by all of us taxpayers and we should actually regard them as proceeds from our hard labour.

In the case of projects financed through overseas loans and grants, we must not forget that ultimately we shall be the people to pay. Why then are these steps by the President being made personal? 

It is time some of our leaders realised that they cannot mesmerise everyone forever on empty rhetoric. The days of political razzmatazz and spider-man politics are gone and in any case, our youth are no longer interested in political brinkmanship and showmanship.

Yes, it is the right of the opposition to criticise the government of the day, but Kenyans deserve a break from whining for the sake of it.

The writer is Majority Whip, Senate