It's not clear how this referendum will help our economy

Good leadership is about empowering citizens to be better than they were yesterday and transforming their lives for the better.

It’s about creating more leaders who are better than those in power, not followers, and entrenching institutions to nurture and sustain governance that is fair, equal and proportional.

It is not about individualism, tribalism, nepotism or unfairness in the distribution of national resources.

Good leadership is what we hoped for as Kenyans when we voted on and passed the Constitution. Unfortunately, we seemed to have ushered in a new cabal of leadership whose intent and purpose is self-preservation at any cost.

Most Kenyans who oppose political events like these ignore one simple fact. We cannot talk business, employment, security or food sustainability if we are not willing to engage in political affairs that influence and determine the outcome of these issues.

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Yet we also cannot expect to have an environment that nurtures these issues when a cabal of illiterate and greedy leaders are in charge. We are unable to resolve the issues we face because we picked the worst among us to govern us.

SELF-PRESERVATION

From 1963, the political class has campaigned on a platform of better roads, better health care, better security, better sharing of national resources, and better agricultural policies. The youth have been lulled by being referred to as the leaders of tomorrow.

Today, the same political class still uses promises of better health care, infrastructure and security to attract votes. Has our capability to reason as Kenyans been taken away from us?

I am heartbroken by the numerous calls for a referendum, and for a simple reason. There are no indications that if we go a referendum the business environment will be better, or that jobs will be created, national resources shared equally, or the tax code reformed to empower more investment.

As an entrepreneur, I would like to see a political class that focuses on growing entrepreneurship that can take this country from a frontier economy to an emerging one.

Cord is keen on the preservation of its leader Raila, not the interests of the people. The governors are even worse. They simply want more money, the better to nurture their personal interests.

Jubilee is a comic book cast in the 1960s, given how they have managed to run the country in the past one year.

IMPEACHMENT BY THE PEOPLE

Wanjiku does not have a leader who is speaking on her behalf. Civil society has been compromised, and now Wanjiku is left to her own devices.

If I am to participate in this referendum then it must truly address my concerns. It must ensure that I, the citizen, can elect and fire any political leader who fails.

Any referendum must represent what we need to move away from 1963 and into the 21st century, and address issues that touch on ordinary Kenyans, not politicians.

These issues include casting in stone the percentage of the national revenue that must be allocated to the counties, who is eligible to sit in the county assemblies and what their academic credentials must be.

The role of MPs and senators must be cast in stone to end the supremacy wars that have seen all our institutions lose their credibility.

If the Constitution is to be amended, then the power to impeach governors must be handed over to the electorate and not the Senate, to ensure that we as a people remain in charge.

Any call for a referendum, to be considered worthwhile, must demonstrate the benefits to job creation, innovation, human capital improvement and economic development.

Twitter: @SokoAnalyst