We must change our attitude to work and leadership if we hope to prosper

Shortly after the death of Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew, there were many analyses in Kenyan media comparing our country to Singapore, especially on politics and economic development.

The long and short of it is that Kenya lost the plot long ago and has instead perfected its missteps. I have had the privilege of visiting that Asian Tiger and can confirm that we are worlds apart. 

Kenya’s undoing is corruption, which is anathema to Singapore. Whereas our approach to leadership has been that of self-enrichment and misuse of power, in Singapore it is strictly a duty to improve the lives of the citizens. Every society has its shortcomings, but looking at what could bedevil Singapore is nothing compared to Kenya. Part of our challenge is our culture towards work and service to others.

I would not advocate tyrannical leadership to solve Kenya’s problems as it has not worked before. In any case, so many African countries are in a shambles because of dictatorship.

Among the factors that distinguish several South East Asian countries are discipline and dedication to work. Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Taiwan illustrate what a well-educated and disciplined workforce can do.

Another characteristic of their leadership is focus on the global market. While our politics is to fight village wars and ethnic battles, the Singaporean leadership and politics is focused on an export-oriented market. Yes, politics is difficult everywhere, but ours has been infused with negative ethnicity and corruption to stunt our nation.

Meritocracy has suffered over the years and many Kenyans have resigned themselves to the rotten culture of corruption and tribalism. Many Kenyans are too inward-looking and take a short purview of affairs. The thinking of enterprise is shortsighted in many respects.

We have many good brains and some commercial enterprises have started taking a continental and global focus. Some have had the courage to set up new models and tapped into friendships beyond traditional partnerships to look East.

A few years ago, I had a conversation with an Australian who has invested in agriculture in Kenya. He told me that he supported the Mwai Kibaki regime’s thinking of looking East. He said relying on Western prescriptions and partnerships alone would not help us because global trade was skewed against us. To crack this, we needed to broaden our partnerships and thinking, he said.

Countries like Singapore have found a way to place themselves strongly in the global market place. At the same time, they have managed their internal affairs well. Can we emulate them?

HARRISON  MWIRIGI  IKUNDA, NRB