Democracy is a luxury Kenya can't afford if it has to grow the economy

In a society yet to attain socio-economic development as understood by global parameters, basic decision-making and priority-setting is too complex for the man and woman on the village path or slum. Yet, we have given them power to do so via “democracy”.

Do they understand education, economics, or health theory and policy? So why give them the power to decide who should be President, MP, Governor, Ward Representative, etc? How can they know who has competence to manage the very areas they hardly fathom?

The so-called middle-class and its “analysts” decry the “lack of issues” in the campaigns. Which issues can you campaign on in a rally of hecklers who do not know or appreciate what tax is for?

We often mouth the cliché of being at the same level of development with Singapore and South Korea 50 years ago, but have been left behind. What would we have expected? Those countries rolled out deliberate programmes to grow trained citizens in all areas, elite, not distracted by any pretence at democracy.

On our part, we started with an alien governance structure of Parliaments, Senates, maces, horse-hair wigs, etc. The result? Intellectual mediocrity and a knowledge deficit of the juveniles in our Assemblies. Any wonder all they discuss is “rain does not come from trees” and sex in the family?

Let us learn from the same Singapore, and its Lee Kuan Yew who made that Singapore of today possible. From Conversations with Lee Kuan Yew, we should learn that: we need to create a new society using a different governance system; this society should be grounded on family-based and community-orientated values such as discipline, and hard work; we should apply what works — utilitarianism (not formless “reforms”); and we should have a leadership of intellectual and proven merit — thinkers (not crowd pullers) and those with discernible competencies.

These are not in today’s universities, assemblies, political parties, etc, nor are they “electable”.

We are going nowhere beyond the ethnically structured politics of today with the current governance model. Indeed, on the one hand, not only has devolution emphasised that deeply-entrenched mind-set, but it has also revealed the undying allure of the “presidency” for our tribesman.

Therefore, this democracy of elections will never resolve our deep-seated tribal antagonism.

Our parties are not based on ideology because they are following the Leninist path to capture power, no more, no less.

By the same token, our “elections” are simply a mechanism of assigning power, with no qualitative purpose to it.

MICHAEL HATEGO, Nairobi