Corruption, tribalism hold back our dreams

This month Rwandans mark 25 years after one of the bloodiest genocides in history.

Since then, they’ve pulled together to create one of Africa’s fastest growing economies.

Despite some obvious challenges, including the general neglect of rural populations, and a leader on autocratic overdrive, Rwanda is known around the world as Africa’s development miracle.

Were it any other African country, the genocide would have thrown it off track completely.

Instead, Rwanda has had an impressive 25-year run. Now, can Kagame and Co. keep that same energy for the next 25 years? That remains to be seen.

There have been concerns about the pace of Rwanda’s economic growth and questions around its ambitious plan to reach middle-income status by 2020. Still, you can’t fault the Rwandans for trying. They’ve done more than recover, they have excelled.

Kenya’s record over the same period pales in comparison. In 1994, the embers of the tribal clashes that started circa 1991 were still burning.

Thousands had lost their lives, and thousands more their livelihoods.

So yes, many Kenyans had experienced the trauma of violence. And yes, we did begin the post-conflict journey with an autocratic leader, albeit the same autocratic leader we had had before.

So, if violence followed by authoritarianism were the only factors that determined Rwanda’s rapid rise, Kenya should have been a first world country by now.

Being milked

Instead, we’ve squandered almost every chance we’ve had to make this country great.

One of the better chances we had in recent history was the 2002 election, when voters dislodged KANU from power, and replaced it with the National Rainbow Coalition.

In its early days, the NARC administration performed somewhat of a miracle by creating an environment in which people and businesses could thrive.

Things were good for a while, but it wasn’t long before the recycled conglomerate of KANU and opposition leaders burst out of their new threads to pick up the old skin they had worked so hard to shed.

The old vices of tribalism, nepotism, corruption, waste, and gross mismanagement made a comeback.

In 2013, those analogue vices were recast in spectacular digital format so much that the teats of the government cash cow are now being milked with high-tech efficiency.

Kenya has lost trillions of shillings to corruption, mismanagement and misappropriation in the six years since the Jubilee administration swaggered into office on the premise that it was going to be the best government Kenyans ever had. So much for that.

Racial segregation

In other news, South Africa also celebrates a milestone this year.

On April 27 it will have been 25 years since the historic election that marked the end of apartheid. While Rwanda has come to be known as a ‘developmental miracle’ South Africa is often referred to as a ‘democratic miracle’.

With one huge step, the country crossed the bridge from racial segregation to a rainbow nation where all citizens were created equal.

But in many ways, not much water has flown under the bridge. The country still grapples with social injustice. The majority black population is still broadly disenfranchised.

Black people in South Africa are still at the rear end of socio-economic progression.

Even so, the South African economy remains one of the biggest on the continent.

Its economy stays standing despite suffering a series of internal and external shocks, not least of which was the Zuma presidency, and the fiscal irresponsibility that became its trademark.

But at the heart of the country’s problems is the gap between the rich and poor, the fact that most of its wealth is concentrated in the hands of a tiny minority, and the sad realisation that democracy did not drive racial discrimination away, it just pushed it under the surface.

It’s interesting to see what some countries have achieved, and what others could not in 25 years.

What is it about Rwanda that has allowed it to rise from the ashes so incredibly? Why can’t Kenya make the most of a good thing? Does South Africa have what it takes to entrench a true equality of the races?

I’m sure there’s a cohort of social scientists working hard to find the answers.

But even without the benefit of science, one thing is clear: we only get so many chances in life to get things right. It is only so often that the universe conspires to create an event with the capacity to change the trajectory of our misfortunes.

When these defining moments occur, it is one thing to ride the momentary euphoric wave, and quite another to do the work that makes change last.

Kenya needs to become that country that puts in the work.

Ms Masiga is Peace and Security editor, The Conversation Africa