Time to pluck up courage to confront problems

Matatus impounded [Courtesy]

Kenya’s political modus operandi is gradually evolving from the historically politicians’ controlled narrative to a more people-centred and issue-based approach.

Political leaders are now awake to the fact that the respective societal sector concerns and engagement in shaping the national discourse are not an option as opposed to previous dramatised and venom-spewing sessions while addressing the electorates.

A case in point is the decision by a business lobby group, the Mount Kenya Foundation (MKF), to meet aspiring presidential candidates for the 2022 General Election.

Despite being a regional lobby outfit, the concerns raised are not isolated to any part of this country, rather, the cited challenges are cross-cutting with the realities of the time being constant common denominators.

This sparks a positive bubble in molding an all-inclusive debate where all sectoral facets of the society–may they be business oriented, think tanks, civil and advocacy groups, religious, professional groups and academia–become critical cogs in shaping the national political agenda.

However, it is instructive to note that these groupings should be active participants in offering solutions as opposed to being passive pawns of political endorsement in a big political game plan.

On Tuesday, the group chaired by businessman Peter Munga met ODM leader Raila Odinga. They are still scheduled to host One Kenya Alliance (OKA) leaders; Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper), Musalia Mudavadi (Amani National Congress) Baringo Senator Gideon Moi (Kanu) and Senator Moses Wetang'ula of Ford Kenya.

During the Raila-MKF meet, if the past is anything to go by, the repeated pitched calls and clamour for nationhood, shared prosperity, economic revival and peaceful co-existence are rhetorical choruses thrown around for political expediency with no political will to action.

It is time to take the bull by the horns and genuinely address and implement measures to resolve the issues affecting the country. The economy has been on a nosedive, coupled by external factors like the Covid-19 pandemic effect globally. Majority of the youth are unemployed.

The situation has been exacerbated by national fiscal policies on commercial borrowing, that has denied the private sector much-needed access to credit, and lack of synergy of national government and county government policies not to mention corruption. 

Simply put, the issues ailing the country and possible solutions are known and documented but the blueprints are gathering dust on the shelves. What is lacking is the political will to implement.

Economic revival and turnaround strategies to cushion businesses through meaningful safeguards like stimulus programmes, review of the tax regime to be more investor friendly, and fighting corruption must be the bare minimum.

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