Why new path to power is threat to progress in Kenya

NAIROBI: One of the aspirations behind the Constitution was equity in access to national resources. That aspiration was taken care of through devolution, where counties get a certain share of national revenue (not surplus), irrespective of their contribution to its generation.

What about the distribution and access to less tangible resources like privilege, honour, recognition and high-level jobs that make you visible both locally and globally, nourish your pocket and often your ego. I have in mind jobs that get you a bodyguard, a driver and take care of other mundane tasks of your life.

For a long time after uhuru, access to such jobs was through merit, and the education system created a meritocracy where working hard in school assured your rise to the apex of society to become MP, judge, CEO of a listed firm or some other prestigious job that made you eager to carry business cards. (What do you call cards for public sector workers?)

The path to the top of the elite pyramid used to be clear. You worked hard in any primary school in Kenya, passed well in your KCPE or CPE, got into any high school and got good enough grades to get into campus. It paid if you got into the original national schools, like Alliance (Bush), Mang’u, Limuru Girls (Chox) or Loreto Limuru (Kotet).

TOP PERFORMERS

This generation of top performers ran the country after independence. Interestingly, most are still there, which explains why they are forever quarrelling in Parliament.

They were the first in their villages and hamlets to get into high school and university and don’t understand why anyone challenges their ideas. Have you noticed how Kenyans like dismissing others’ ideas?

President Moi tried to break this cycle through the 8-4-4 system of education, which removed one hurdle to the merit list: the A-Levels. Curiously, he did not remove another bottleneck — the few elite schools, called national schools. We had to wait until recently when this elitism was diluted by increasing these schools from 17 to 105.

By failing to take this step, the invisible hand of the market did its work. It created a new form of elitism epitomised by academies. The private sector did not try to scale this elitism up to high school and university because of the resources and time needed.

Therefore, 8-4-4, and an attachment to Britain, has spawned a type of meritocracy that has been creeping in unnoticed. This meritocracy goes beyond your intellect and good grades into self-perpetuation.

The post-independence elite realised being at the top is very nice. They took a bold step to perpetuate themselves.

That is how we got political dynasties that have a reach beyond the public sector into the private sector.

Some big family names we used to hear about have started re-appearing in both the public and private sectors.

It is not just Kenyatta and Odinga; do your homework. Interestingly, the elite pyramids in the public and private sectors meet at the top.

To perpetuate themselves, the elite need conveyors.

One is private schooling, all the way from kindergarten to university. Two is foreign education. If you are keen, you will notice that the top elite in this country have some foreign education credentials. Listen to their accents.

Three is networks. If I scroll through your phone address book, who is the highest-ranking person likely to be there? Who are your family friends?

DIVERT ATTENTION

The Kenyan elite knows how to divert our attention. There is always talk of how bad the 8-4-4 system is — this gives their offspring a huge boost in the job market.

Some have argued that this elite is ring-fencing itself genetically by marrying across racial lines, browning Kenya and making it hard for the hoi polloi to copy them. Noted lots of hyphenated names lately, Njoroge-Thompson, Ogutu-Steinberg, and so on?

Some have suggested that in the public space, the elite reduced competition by creating devolution, so that every county can boast of its elite or pseudo-elite. The counties swallowed the bait, they have excellencies, waziris and other devolved titles. But the real base of elitism, money and prestige is still in Nairobi.

This new meritocracy is a threat to socio-economic progres. By shutting out the majority of the population from power and prestige, you create anger and bitterness.

Many of us know there are only a few CEO, judge or commissioner positions, but everyone should have a chance to get into these positions. Diversity is the mother of innovation and socio-economic progress. Ask Silicon Valley or any great city.

We copied the US constitution, but I doubt we copied their culture, which puts a premium on meritocracy. Remember the founders of the US were running away from a monarchy, where your parents mattered more than your natural gifts. Would Obama have become a president in Kenya? Singapore’s progress was about meritocracy, which gave the brightest a chance to serve the nation.

If we allow the new meritocracy to flourish, the brightest and the most ambitious could end up channelling their energies into unproductive ventures, from crime to online fraud. Noticed how walls around our homes are getting higher and topped with the razor wire found in battlefronts?

In the next 50 years, our socio-economic growth will largely depend on how we treat the vast majority of Kenyans, how we inspire them and give them access to not just roads, water and power, but soft resources like power, prestige and self-worth.

After all, the progress of any nation is not measured by how well we pamper the elites, but how well we take care of the disadvantaged, who will always be with us.

By the way, how will the ban on ranking of schools play out in the new meritocracy?

The writer is a lecturer at the University of Nairobi and a global journalism fellow at Munk School, University of Toronto. [email protected]