Private sector key in stemming disasters

By Wafula Nabutola

It is barely a month since the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport fire. Predictably, the incident has receded into oblivion. Given the immense loss of property, loss of incomes and loss of employment, and the national shame and disgrace that comes with it, it is worth revisiting.

Lest we forget, last year, the VIP Lounge at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa, burnt down completely. Several things are common in both incidents.

Cash Cows

Both airports are cash cows and represent Kenya’s front window; both are managed by the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA).

KAA is a parastatal, meaning it operates under some pseudo commercial principles, but “corporatisation” is frequently overshadowed by government interference.

Both airports ought to be at the cutting edge of technology, being windows into the soul of the Kenyan nation. The same applies to Eldoret, Malindi and Kisumu airports. In order for these airports to be “world class”, they need to meet some standards in terms of design, ergonomics, choice of materials, support infrastructure.

Most of all, their operations and maintenance, including response time and improvements to meet new and emerging standards.

Below are some basic considerations.

Automatic Sprinkler Systems

This is a universal basic requirement at all international airports. But it took outsiders (passengers arriving at JKIA) to notice the fire, by which time avoidable harm had been done.

It would be interesting to know if anyone at KAA has ever pointed out this anomaly of lack of automatic sprinkler systems, which would go off in event of any smoke, given that Mombasa’s Moi Airport had suffered the same fate.

What about management? We have taken to comparing ourselves with the best in the world, and that is as it should be. But there are serious shortcomings in our preparedness for emergencies. The symptoms are everywhere from the villages to the national level.

Vocational and technical training skills, even apprenticeships, are rare. Most middle level colleges in Kenya have been converted into universities, which focus on abstract thinking, creating many managers and few skilled hands-on doers.

Fifty years since independence, we are still surprised when terrorists attack, when land slides, when fire starts, when floods come, and when drought strikes.

It appears that, as an independent nation, we are well schooled, but we are less knowledgeable. We are better educated but functionally inept. It is the same everywhere. Our hospitals have better educated managers but stink; roads have more engineers but more potholes, less signage, leading to mortal dangers at every turn.

We have large research budgets, but weaker food security. More forest managers, but fewer trees.

What ails our nation? It costs so much more to cure than to prevent, but somehow, it is not our national priority.

My view is that the private sector in general and particularly the insurance industry, should come out of their cocoon, engage government, and take the lead in developing preventive measures and educating Kenyans about the need for preparation for emergencies.

Prvate Sector Role

The private sector should spearhead the development of disaster policies and legislations. It is in their best interest to do so because their growth, credibility and acceptability depend on that.

We should put our mouth where our money is. If we wait for the Government, it will take a long time; yet we cannot do it on our own, it will have to be a partnership.