Gender Bill exposes our shortcomings

Losing has a way of clarifying things. Parliament’s failure to enact the Duale Bill last week was a significant loss for women and the country.

We had an opportunity to rise above ourselves and begin to entrench the Constitution as an inviolable social contract and the supreme law but we chose not to. But it is also an opportunity to reflect on the type of leadership we have and what we need.

While citizens can’t abdicate their responsibility to entrench and support change, it is the role of leaders to make the difficult decisions when the nation is at a crossroads or reluctant to act as it should.

It seems to me we need leaders in Kenya with four attributes: non-negotiable principles; long-term view; peer to peer accountability and intolerance of mediocrity. In Kenya, by virtue of the oath that political leaders take, the Constitution is non-negotiable.

This is especially important for political leaders because it defines some decisions as outside the political realm, beyond the reach of the political negotiations and situational crises.

Good leaders must then have the courage to ruthlessly apply these principles to themselves, their team and the organisation. In Kenya there is a world of difference between what we say and what we do.

In addition to non-negotiable principles, good leaders must of necessity take a long term view.

One of the truly shocking things for me about the failure of the Duale Bill and the lack of committed government action on women’s equality is that the global and regional trends are established and unambiguous. Gender equality is the regional and global standard.

Indeed, Sub-Saharan Africa leads the world in women’s representation in politics. Fighting to exclude women from the social, economic or political realm is not just politically incorrect, it is passé.

As such, only short term political calculations and a limited time horizon warrant expending scarce national and leadership resources to reinforce historical notions of male privilege.

We are in desperate need of leaders who play the long game; who make decisions based on where Kenya is going and not where we have come from.

This isn’t to imply that these decisions are easy, but they are necessary. Done well, these are the decisions that define the legacy of leaders.

There is an aversion to discussions on accountability when we are discussing politicians because it usually means citizens holding them accountable.

But I believe, in addition to citizen accountability, we need greater peer to peer accountability among the political leadership class.

When the Duale Bill went for a vote on April 27, 2016 it garnered 195 votes in support. Those were MPs who were holding each other accountable to a constitutional standard.

They were MPs who acted consistent with the constitutional responsibility and in so doing helped other MPs to do so as well. Frankly had the President come out to publically support and campaign for the Duale Bill there is no doubt it would have passed.

Human nature is to care more about the opinions of those like us. As difficult as it may be it is the only way to create a critical mass within the leadership class that can sustain progressive change.

Finally, we need to kill this lowest common denominator approach to leadership. Leaders by definition are supposed to take us further than we can go as individuals; they are stewards of progress.

If we dummy leadership down to the average then we are selling ourselves short as a nation. The same House that failed to enact the Duale Bill refused to confirm Dr Monica Juma as Secretary to the Cabinet despite, or perhaps because of, superior credentials and unparalleled experience.

We need more people in leadership who set the bar higher than it currently is and this isn’t just in terms of academic achievement, but also in terms of overcoming adversity, integrity, and even commitment; maybe a passionometer is not such a bad idea.

High standards are attainable by regular Kenyans but they need to be desirable and preferable in the leadership class.
Rahm Emanuel the Mayor of Chicago and former Chief of Staff for President Obama said “You never let a serious crisis go to waste...it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.”

The failure of the Duale Bill isn’t a crisis yet, but it portends one. When the crisis comes, Mr President, don’t waste it.

Take the opportunity to reset the tone for the type of leader you are and the leadership and followership you expect, raise the bar.

Kenyans deserve better than what we have right now.