Kenyans have nothing to lose but their chains

By Roseleen Nzioka

The long-awaited ‘The Kenya we Want’ conference has ended in Nairobi. It brought together the who’s who in Kenyan politics, the corporate world and the civil society among other groups.

Whether the forum was just another talk shop – as Moi warned – will be judged by its outcome.

The message resonating from the floor of the conference hall is that Kenya needs "real change". And there is no doubt whatsoever that Kenya is in dire need of a total overhaul in every sector.

The question is not whether or not Kenya can change and become a progressive country, but rather when we as Kenyans are going to get serious and haul out the current crop of politicians and replace them with high performing, visionary leaders.

You know, the likes that transformed Botswana from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country. With its proven record of good economic governance, Botswana was ranked as Africa's least corrupt country by Transparency International in 2004, ahead of many European and Asian countries. And it all began with visionary leadership. The kind Kenyans are seeking.

For now what we have are politicians who are busy doing what they do best - politicking.

What is tragic is that the same politicians calling for this "real change" have already proved beyond doubt that they are incapable or unwilling to steer this good country in any other direction except to chaos and more chaos.

Unfortunately for them the evidence is all around. From one mega-scandal to another; famine; diseases; poverty; strikes; deplorable infrastructure; inadequate government services; displaced Kenyans. The list goes on.

As one wise US leader recently said we cannot keep on doing the same things over and over again and expect different results. In the case of Kenya we cannot keep on electing the same leaders since independence and expect them to bring about change. They can’t and they won’t.

Yet for some strange reason we seem chained to our old guards, otherwise how else can we explain why we still have pre-independence faces in the cabinet and in the Parliament? Even the so-called reformists of the 90s seem to be singing the same tune as the old timers.

Time has come to elect a new generation of leaders. The days of foolish optimism are over. Kenya is bursting with potential. Our skilled human resource is unsurpassed in Sub-Sahara Africa. It is a given that Kenyans are hardworking. With proper guidance and channeling, this potential can and will take Kenya to the next level.

To paraphrase the famous words of the old Marxist manifesto, "Kenyans of all tribes unite. You have nothing to lose but your chains!" We might also add that all Kenya has to lose are leaders wananchi don’t want.