Nationalism is the key to development

In this globalised world we live in, the word “nationalist” or “nationalism” has taken on a negative character.

It is a term that has become synonymous with racism, anti-immigration, evil, and even that chap, Donald Trump.

Nationalism in Kenya, in Africa, and for me, however, is something entirely different.

It is a philosophy of unity, a call for service to a cause greater than all of us, and a banner under which nation-building can flourish.

It is not an outdated term, nor one that should be looked upon with suspicion. It is a necessary vision and philosophy that can guide our great republic towards prosperity.

When our nation’s founding fathers successfully waged the struggle for independence, they did so under a nationalist banner.

However, nationalism has since lost its significance in our politics.

It still has many practical uses that should be employed in the effort to bolster industrialisation and guide our journey to achieving Vision 2030.

The Local Content Bill 2016, developed by the Senate Standing Committee on Energy, was inspired by this nationalist philosophy.

The Bill seeks to introduce a set of rules and guidelines in the management of Kenya’s oil and natural resources as a means of protecting and facilitating the growth of local industry.

Oil and natural resources are notorious across the world for their exclusivity where profits benefit only a few large corporations.

DIFFICULT PROCESS

Rarely do these benefits trickle down to local communities and the wider population.

The Local Content Bill was designed specifically to ensure that Kenyans benefit from their natural resources.

There is no legislation in Kenya that addresses the question of local content development in the comprehensive and cathartic manner that this Bill does.

The Bill goes beyond monetisation of benefit sharing, looking beyond natural resource royalties to capture opportunities throughout the value chain.

In short, every Kenyan now has the opportunity to identify a niche area for local capacity enhancement. I encourage citizens to seize the moment.

The development of the Local Content Bill was as challenging as it was inspiring.

We traversed three continents in search of the perfect balance between unbridled protectionism and supportive local capacity building.

After all, in this integrated, free-market world, policies on local content seem retrogressive and have been labelled as such by a number of international financial organisations.

But the truth is that, in Kenya and Africa in general, these forms of protectionism are the only way to develop local capabilities and ownership so that our economies can diversify, become more complex, and thereby achieve what these international financial organisations continue to say is lacking in our nations.

PRACTICAL NATIONALISM

The need for this lies deep within the whole concept of globalisation, which has brought with it many opportunities in the form of enhanced markets, increased access to capital, and technological transfers.

While we in Africa must embrace this irreversible phenomenon and seize all the opportunities that it presents, we must do so strategically, keeping in mind the state of our industrial progress and the value of our natural resources.

We in Kenya have not yet reached a point where we can compete and come out victorious on the world stage and, therefore, we must do all we can to ensure that the resources beneath our soil serve to enhance our republic’s position in what sometimes seems to be a global game of monopoly.

The oil and extractives industry provides a perfect opportunity to leverage our natural resources to fuel socio-economic growth and develop strategic and sustainable supplementary industries that can compete at the global level.

The Local Content Bill is a step towards ensuring that this opportunity to supplement Kenya’s developmental trajectory is not lost, both in terms of grassroots benefits and local industrial participation.

This is nationalism in practice. It all begins through the identification of a national interest and its inculcation through the development of a vision for the republic.

We already have this initial requirement through Vision 2030.

Now what is required is tact and strategy in achieving this vision.

It is only through nationalism and patriotism that we will be able to carry out this demanding task and raise our republic towards prosperity.

The writer is the senator of Baringo county and chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Energy. [email protected].