Putting faces to projects more believable

The State of the Nation address has now become an eagerly awaited annual presidential ritual.

It is, after all, a constitutional requirement for the President to address a joint session of the Senate and the National Assembly, broadcast live on national TV.

It was first done by the third President of Kenya, Mwai Kibaki, in 2011 and also in 2012.

His successor, Mr Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta, made his maiden address in 2013, and his latest was on Wednesday, March 15, this year.

A characteristic of the past sessions has been some resistance by the Opposition that made it difficult for the President to be heard by an eager nation.

But the last one was different! For the first time, the President had all the 80 minutes to himself without interruption.

Last year, Mr Kenyatta had to contend with the blowing of whistles and howling from opposition MPs.

Parliamentary orderlies fought off some MPs who attempted to block the ushering into the House of the mace.

This time, the President also found time to inject a song in the speech, to the applause of both his parliamentary and television audiences.

His rendition of the legendary Boniface Mganga-led Muungano National Choir’s "Safari ya Bamba" was not only an illustration of a point he was trying to make about his government’s efforts in building roads, but also a welcome comic relief to spice up the day.

Though lacking in the unanimity of the standing ovations witnessed during the 2015 address, when the entire House acknowledged his pledge to fight corruption as he led by example by asking 175 senior state officers cited by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission on graft allegations to step aside for investigations, this year’s address was equally captivating.

It was, especially so, when he said he would support the Salaries and Remuneration Commission recommendation to cut the salaries of the elected leaders, including himself.

SUCCESS STORIES

Here the members looked startled, only to start clapping and rise in ovation when they realised TV cameras were focusing on their gloomy reaction.

And when the President mentioned Caleb “Balozi” Omino, a farmer in Kisumu County living with disability and his daughter Esther as beneficiaries of the revamped National Hospital Insurance Fund and picked him out in the crowd, he made the point that this was not just talk, but a fact.

Mr Kenyatta also named a life-saving bridge in Mbita constituency as a project his administration has implemented.

The Mbita Causeway that links Rusinga Island and Mbita in Homa Bay County was completed recently.

This bridge, precisely the lack of it, reportedly led to the death of the father of current MP Millie Odhiambo Mabona 40 years ago.

Wajir got its first tarmac road, as residents of Modogashe in Garissa witnessed the first Caesarean section done in the area.

The Mwatate-Taveta Road is also a reality after decades of waiting. The 51-kilometre Mariakani-Bamba road, though I am not sure whether it motivated the composition the "Safari ya Bamba" song, is now a reality.

Jacob Shirandula of Fubuye Village in Malava, Nancy Ekeno of Ogilgei, Njoro, and Jackson Wamai from Murang’a, were named as some of the beneficiaries of Jubilee administration goodies.

The use of real-life examples in narration is an effective way of communication.

Whether or not the President was right to take credit for the projects in his 82-page speech is open to debate, but credit the speech writers!

Mr Mugwang’a is a communications consultant based in Nairobi. E-mail: [email protected]: Mykeysoul.