Opinion: Mr President, deliver your promise to the people of Kenya

President Uhuru Kenyatta photo:courtesy

Saturday’s gazettement of Uhuru Kenyatta as the winner of the August 8 presidential election set in motion a process that, barring a petition at the Supreme Court, will see him being sworn to serve a second term.

Last week’s election was a confirmation of the enduring appeal of democracy; the freedom to pick a leader.

Though the elections offered the country a chance for a new start, we acknowledge that it won’t of itself, solve many of the problems we face as a country. Oxford professor Paul Collier warns that despite regular elections, there is so much wretchedness across most of the democratic world, Kenya included.

But in spite its failings, democracy still offers a better governance option and that is why this newspaper exhorted Kenyans to get out and vote on Tuesday. The President-elect knows what challenges lie ahead for him and his administration.

He should harness his overwhelming mandate and goodwill properly and make Government work for the people.

Commendably, Kenyatta has reached across to his competitors and their supporters. He ought to be mindful that nearly half of his compatriots didn’t find him fit for the job. By all means, he should strive to bring them on board.

Hopefully, Kenyatta will use this election win prudently, unlike what he did after 2013. It seemingly took him too long to appreciate that half of the country voted against him in the last election.

Generally, putting people from one or two tribes at positions where key decisions are made, as he has occasionally been accused of doing, disadvantages others and goes against the Constitution. Faced with criticism, Kenyatta has at times even dismissed newspapers as only fit for wrapping meat in butcheries. He looked on as the media was trammeled through toxic legislation. That needs to change.

The fight against corruption has been tardy and inadequate and Jubilee has often found itself in knots in courts. He needs to lead the charge against those who squander public money.

With corruption denying estimated 250,000 youths job opportunities every year, it is astonishing that the efforts to fight off the menace have been fickle at best. Kenyatta has shown that he is no prisoner of any political grouping.

When he speaks, one is accosted by a sense of exaggerated hope, which wilts in the face of present realities; corruption, unemployment, economic stagnation and tribalism. He must address these as he seeks to cement his legacy. He needs to deepen the reforms in education, health, public finance management, security and general governance and ensure a free and fair society takes root.

To do that, he needs to address concerns about social mobility. It is too slow and measures put in place so far have not achieved much.

He should also ensure that noble social welfare schemes like the cash transfers for the old and the NHIF scheme actually work and that employers stick to the guidelines on minimum wage. Loans for SMEs would do much to the re-energise the economy, which has slackened lately. He should also ensure that devolution is working by say, auditing what has worked and not worked so far after Sh1 trillion was sunk into the new units. Besides, his government should put in place mechanisms to catalyse the agricultural sector to absorb many of the jobless youths.

This should include value-addition of farm produce through the establishment of cottage industries. At the Nairobi Securities Exchange (a bellwether for economic progress) for example, investors have suffered one of the worst haemorrhage in living memory with Sh250 billion wiped off in 2015 alone. This attributed mainly to reduced corporate earnings and a weakened shilling.

Only a fifth of the 65 listed firms recorded positive earnings in 2016. In 2013, the US dollar exchanged at a mean of below Sh90. Now it is exchanging at Sh103. Although some of the causes of this are not Mr Kenyatta’s making, a lot has to do with what seemingly is a lack of willingness to act, and a general misalignment of resources for economic progression.

For example, there are genuine fears that at 55.1 per cent, the debt-GDP ratio, is unsustainably high. This is especially alarming given that in 2012/13 the ratio stood at 42.1 per cent.

He needs to assuage these fears and ensure resources are used prudently and in projects that guarantee maximum returns. The million-acre Galana-Kulana irrigation, the SGR and the Last Mile connection to the National Grid are good causes, which should be propped to ensure taxpayer value.

The President deserves plaudits for recasting the image of Kenya as a regional powerhouse. Nevertheless, the success of this will depend on whether we get it right on critical domestic issues.

If nothing else, self-pride should nudge the Jubilee administration to deliver. Set to retire at 61, it is highly improbable that Mr Kenyatta will relish walking around for more than 30 years being touted as the man who could not deliver.