NATION AGENDA: Let’s use this election to fix problems, not create them

It’s an election, not an ethnic census. Kenyans, and particularly the political leaders, appear to be approaching the mobilisation of voters to register on the basis that the outcome of the elections will depend solely on the number of people registered from the various tribes.

This conflated view of the electoral process accounts for the sad place that Kenya is becoming, a place where leaders and the people do not think deeply about the problems facing the country.

Ordinarily, an election should not be the existential threat that it has become to Kenya; it should be an exciting time of renewal, of generational change in leadership, of a competition of ideas and visions and giving society a new beginning.

Unfortunately, elections have become something to fear; they destabilise the country and pose the grave threat of ethnic conflict.

Why? Because the elite have become invested in chaos.

Some do not have the confidence that they can win fairly.

Others have large egos that would not allow them to accept defeat, yet others see an opportunity in chaotic elections to negotiate an outcome other than what was intended by the voter.

That the electoral infrastructure is in a mess only five months to the elections speaks volumes about the lack of seriousness with which important issues are regarded.

NATION AGENDA

Every election year, the Nation issues an agenda, which it considers to be the most pressing for the country.

Of course, that list is not exhaustive, neither does it necessarily represent what the 44 million Kenyans individually consider to be the national priorities.

But it is an invitation to the voters, if not the leaders, to sit back and reflect on issues that affect their lives.

It is a challenge to rise above the primitive appeal to kinship and take the poll for what it is supposed to be: a democratic opportunity to negotiate a new contract with the political class in a way that most benefits the voter.

By casting their ballots purely on ethnic considerations, voters trade the chance to a better life for the right to brag that their kinsman is in power.

Yet, there are so many issues that require urgent attention.

CORRUPTION

As much as a third of the national Budget is wasted through corruption.

So bad is this vice that it appears to have become the whole point of national politics.

Kenya has the worst youth unemployment rate in the region.

One in every five young Kenyans of working age can’t find a job. This is truly a disaster.

Not only are they reduced to a life of penury, but the frustration of being educated, able and willing to work yet being unable to, creates a recipe for anger and instability.

This calls for disciplined application of public resources over a period of time.

Rather than sending youth to dig trenches, it is more meaningful to understand the reasons for unemployment — such as poor education — and address them.

But just to make promises, such as claiming to create a million jobs a year, or 2,700 jobs a day, which is impossible, achieves nothing.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Today, our perennial rivers, streams and springs are drying up.

The River Athi is not flowing, the glacier on top of Mt Kenya is all but gone.

It is not clear how long Nairobi will have water, but it must be years rather than decades.

Climate change threatens the lives of Kenyans. As of today, 2.7 million Kenyans need food aid.

It will not get better; it will get worse. It will require political will, research and policy mechanisms to survive climate change.

It will take enlightened leadership — rather than tribal movements — to develop those mechanisms.

This coming General Election is an important moment for national dialogue.

Let Kenyans debate and decide what are the important issues facing them and, ultimately, the best people to deal with them.

In the next 10 days, starting tomorrow, the Nation will make its contribution.