Our dreams of bright future on course despite the mudslinging

This week saw two tumultuous events on the local and international scene.

First, the Opposition, Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), held its long-awaited Saba Saba Day rally at the historic Uhuru Park grounds to ostensibly rekindle the Kenyan dream, but ended up calling for a referendum.

And second, Tuesday night saw the home of the ‘Beautiful game’ that is Brazil, humiliated by a German blitzkrieg with a heart-wrenching (depending on which side you are on) and emphatic 7-1 semi-final goal deluge at the World Cup stadium in Belo Horizonte. The Brazilian football dream was nearly mortally punctured and the cloak of invincibility snatched from their shoulders.

Why am I going on about these two?

A sizeable number of human beings on the planet have been for the past month had to reorganise their schedules to cater for the World Cup extravaganza.

But, getting back in Kenya, I have argued before in this column that a strong and vibrant Opposition is absolutely necessary to keep the Government on its toes and provide checks and balances, even as they remain a shadow Government in waiting.

Their calls for a re-examination of the litany of woes Kenyans bemoan daily are welcome, but  their calls to mass action are contrary to the letter and spirit of the covenant we made with the voters on March 2013. The merits or demerits of their choice of platform do not concern me here. The common denominator should be whether the Kenyan Dream remains valid? I vote an emphatic and resounding Yes, and Amen to that.What is the Kenyan Dream?

The Kenyan Dream is clearly anchored in Vision 2030 which aims at ensuring we are a middle-income economy in the next 15 years. It is a template of our common aspirations of access to affordable goods and services and achieving our individual and collective goals.

We are at a point where we are making our dreams come true, and a lot is ongoing towards this goal. Even as the Opposition declared their wish for a referendum on issues affecting Kenyans, President Uhuru Kenyatta was on two tours of key projects.

He started by inspecting the Land Survey offices to see the ongoing reforms which the Lands CS said had resulted in a record revenue collection of Sh3.1 billion in three months. He then went to see the newly-built terminal at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.

It is thus clear that Kenya is now working towards achieving her dreams and this momentum should not be lost. We should not allow partisan political interests or selfish individuals to derail this process.

Look at the Standard Gauge Railway, which will be operational in the next three years. This will not only modernise our railway transport but will eventually help bring down the cost of doing business by cutting transport costs.

Another gigantic, integrated and transformative infrastructure project is the Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET).

This project will not only open up the Northern Frontier to development but will also enhance trade with our neighbours in the north.

We should not forget the Isiolo International Airport, which is key in stimulating growth in major sectors of the economy such as tourism, horticulture and trade.

And as these projects are implemented, there is creation of jobs and business opportunities.

The Kenyan Dream cannot also be achieved without enhancement of other areas of society, especially dealing with unemployment and improving service delivery. This is why the points raised by CORD are important to address through legally set structures.

Clearly, the Jubilee administration has neither veered from the Vision 2030 economic blueprint, nor decked the Second Liberation. It is, in fact, actively and incrementally stoking the embers of the Kenyan Dream.

We must stand united remembering that the obstacles we face are what we see when we take our eyes off the goal.