Rather than donate relief food every year, why not change government?

My heart swelled with pride last Friday watching Kenyans happily raise hundreds of millions for the hungry. It was one of those ‘Najivunia Kuwa Mkenya’ moments.

But truth is that at the end of that star-studded gala featuring who’s who in our corporate boardrooms, I was deeply ashamed.

Ever since I could walk, I have seen Kenyans called to give for famine relief and the government stretch the begging bowl towards foreign donors.

I was in Form Two when I took part in the annual Freedom From Hunger Walk, the last time that the event was held over the grueling 40 kilometres.

After the event last week televised live from Nairobi’s Serena Hotel, I resolved that never again would I give towards famine relief.

Today, we have forgotten that famine is not a natural disaster or an act of God. Famine is man-made, and represents nothing but a monumental failure of governance.

There is no doubt that Kenyans4Kenya is a noble initiative and an outstanding demonstration of the harambee spirit.

The half-billion shilling target in four weeks was reached with miles to spare when corporates gathered to add to what ordinary people across the country and beyond had sent in via MPesa and other mobile telephone money transfers, or direct deposits in the given bank accounts.

Such generosity demonstrates the solid strings that bind us together as a united nation despite the best efforts of politicians.

But that doesn’t detract from the fact that the whole show obscures some very unpleasant sub-texts.

Corporate titans jostling to outdo each other amid the protocol feuds of who speaks first, who speaks last, and who doesn’t get the microphone at all, reminded me somewhat of those Moi-era harambee rallies.

The difference was that this time, it was at a plush hotel rather than a dusty stadium; and the dramatis personae were designer-suited CEOs rather than boorish politicians.

And they were squired by glamourous TV celebs rather than some self-inflated Cabinet minister or a pith-helmeted, swagger stick-waving Provincial Commissioner.

The other notable difference was the virtual absence of government, save for Health minister Beth Mugo who cut a rather lonely figure, and for once, had very little to say.

It became forum for some of those who spoke to deliver choice broadsides at a government that surely must take the blame for failing to give Kenyans real freedom from hunger.

True, the government must bear full responsibility for refusing to plan for seasonal drought and for refusing to put in place long-term measures to ensure the weather does not regularly condemn Kenyans to death by starvation.

Despite its gross failings, however, the government still got a bum rap. Hardly anyone was willing to acknowledge that the impressive sums raised by Kenyans4Kenya are only a fraction of what the government has set aside for famine relief.

The Kenya Red Cross can confirm that the bulk of food it is distributing has come straight from government stores. Therefore, it was rather uncharitable for some who spoke at the function to dismiss other relief efforts or to pompously declare that the money raised would be used to purchase food, irrespective of the fact that food already in the stores was just awaiting distribution.

This noble effort really is not about chest-thumping, but about Kenyans coming out to play their roles too in the service of the less fortunate.

But today, I say never again. With 2012 around the corner, we must all resolve to elect a government that can handle such basic tasks as planning for a dry day and extending development to impoverished, marginal areas.

That actually, is the real problem. It is not drought, but poverty caused by skewed development that exposes our people to famine.

That is why Kenyans in Turkana and Wajir can be facing death by starvation, while the shelves at Nakumatt, Uchumi and shops in the swankier suburbs are full of imported rice, flour, pasta, meats, dairy products and all sorts of exotic processed foodstuffs at obscene price tags.

If those Kenyans in neglected lands had the wherewithal to buy their own posho, there would be no threat of famine.

mgaitho@ke.nationmedia.com