How Kenyans Can Get Back On Track

Tuesday November 26, 2002 14:03

by Mwai Kibaki

There is no Palestine,only Canaan

Next year, Kenya will mark 40 years since it became a self-governing nation. Forty years is a remarkable duration historically and biblically: It took the children of Israel 40 years to travel from Egypt to Canaan, a distance no longer than from Mombasa to Kisumu.

One wonders why it took them so long. Is it that the terrain was difficult? Or is it that they did not have a clear road map? Or maybe they did not have anyone to lead them - someone with a clear idea of where they were going, or why?

Good leadership and vision and clear road maps for development: these are important factors in the life of a people and in the development of nations.

Singapore, for example, has been independent for almost the same period as Kenya. Singaporeans were at the same level of poverty and underdevelopment as we, Kenyans, were at independence. But, while Kenya's per capita income is still almost where it was at independence - just about $350 - that of Singapore is now a whopping $19,500.

Just imagine it: a small island with almost no known natural resources: not even enough land for each family for home gardening. All they have had since independence is an honest and hard-working political leadership in which the people have trust and confidence.

They also had, and still have, laws that are applied to everybody equally and a judicial system that works according to the rule of law.

In other words, when a society has good democratic governance, and when its leadership is honest, disciplined and hard-working, people will have confidence in their government and investments, both domestic and foreign, will increase by leaps and bounds. There is no magic and no secret about it.

We, in the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC), have decided to go straight to the point. In our economic blueprint, we begin with measures to establish good democratic and competent government in Kenya so we can enhance the level of confidence in our economy.

Good governance

Given that the fundamental law of the land - a new Constitution - has been drafted and is now under discussion by Kenyans, NARC will ensure that the government it runs is elected on the basis of this Constitution and will seek to implement it to the letter.

Within the first 100 days, the NARC government will ensure all the institutions the Constitution envisages are in place. Key to the restoration of constitutional governance is respect for human rights and the rule of law. This means, among other things, guaranteeing security to all Kenyans.

The NARC government, being a government of national unity, will represent the mosaic of the Kenyan society in terms of culture, ethnicity, region, faith, gender and age. In this regard, right from the word go, it will inspire all Kenyans to have confidence in their Government and to identify with its leadership.

One of the biggest problems Kenya faces today is corruption and economic mismanagement. Attempts to enact anti-corruption laws have been frustrated by the Moi Government because it has thrived on corruption.

Parliament appointed the Select Committee on Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes, which came up with draft legislation and proposed measures to curb corruption. It even identified corrupt individuals using public and parliamentary records. Yet the Government poured cold water on all this, called the committee names and used its majority in Parliament to throw away the so-called "List of Shame". The majority of those in the committee will be in the NARC government, this time to implement - and not simply to talk about - what they recommended in that report. We shall have zero tolerance for corruption on our very first day in office. We shall ensure anti-corruption and economic crimes laws are put in place within the first 100 days. Along with them, we shall set up a competent and well-run Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority. The offices of an Ombudsman, the Auditor-General, an Ethics and Integrity Commission and all law enforcement agencies will be run by competent persons and properly remunerated.

NARC intends to pay special attention to the police force. We will weed out corruption from the police force with lightning speed. We will ensure a well-trained, lean and trim police force, well-paid, properly housed and clear in its line of authority.

Infrastructure

No economy can grow without a proper infrastructure. Indeed, soon after independence, the Government launched a massive road building programme, extending telephone services and ensuring that our railways and harbours served the East African market competently.

The feeder and rural access roads were also expanded. So were the road networks in the coffee, tea, sugar, maize and wheat growing areas. Today, the main arteries of our road system have either collapsed, are poorly maintained or are grossly inadequate to serve the increasing demand. In the rural and agricultural areas, access has become impossible. Quite often harvested tea rots in lorries due to impassable roads during the rainy seasons. This is why poverty is increasing in rural areas and crime has become the order of the day. The Kenya Roads Authority was established to ensure proper management and development of a road network. But this it cannot do without proper budgeting, funding and investment. There must be priorities on how to use the Roads Levy Fund efficiently and cost-effectively. This is what the NARC Government will do within the first 100 days. We will give priority to rural access roads and to the development of our road arteries, ensuring meaningful long-term investments and safety on all our major roads. In particular, NARC will start an ambitious plan to build a dual carriageway from Mombasa to Busia, a project which we believe will have a tremendous impact on our economy.

We can rebuild Kenya Railways to the level of pride and competence it once had. Kenya can have a modern railway system of the same class as in any modern societies, with proper planning and investment.

NARC will evaluate the state of affairs in Kenya Railways and put in place a programme for revamping the system and modernising the corporation to serve the interests of our economy.

NARC is keenly aware that our economy has suffered because of high energy costs and an inadequate telecommunications system. Energy can become cheaper if we import electricity from South Africa and Uganda.

The service industry

The original Government vision soon after independence was to make Kenya a very attractive tourist destination and thus elevate tourism as one of the leading foreign exchange earners.

Along with this would have been the development of the service industry to buttress tourism and cater for the diverse interests of visitors and businesspeople. This vision was lost as corruption and mismanagement messed up everything.

NARC intends to make tourism a leading foreign exchange earner. But we cannot do this without a first class hotel industry, airports that work, hospitals that are well-run, a postal system that is reliable, and a financial and banking sector that is the pride of any modern nation.

NARC will establish a National Economic and Social Council to help advise on how to run the economy. The first item on the agenda will be how to make Kenya benefit from its comparative advantage in this region as a tourist destination and an economy that can provide needed services for its neighbours.

Agriculture

Kenya has the choice of increasing agricultural production and exporting the surplus or continuing with the status quo that will lead to a decline in production and increased imports. The Government has maintained the status quo. NARC intends to depart radically.

Shrinking land among small-holders has compromised agricultural productivity. Farmers are unable to adapt to new technologies optimally. These problems are not being faced or aired fully by the numerous commissions the Government has established.

NARC intends to put the issues squarely on the table within the first 100 days, and to come up with policies that will help the farmer. Most farmers would rather not engage in agriculture any more, especially when the costs of production are way above what they get from their produce.

In the immediate future, NARC will look at agriculture sector by sector in terms of domestic food production and security, agricultural marketing, livestock production, cereals production and agricultural institutions.

NARC believes there must be a new look at the GMR system. Farmers need security of inputs and marketing to make them invest substantially in farming - both in terms of labour and resources. In this regard, NARC will have to ensure that marketing agencies are strong, and that they pay farmers promptly. This cannot happen until such institutions as the Agricultural Finance Corporation, the Kenya Farmers Association, the Kenya Creameries Co-operative, the National Cereals and Produce Board and the Kenya Meat Commission either work properly or are replaced by institutions that do. On Basic Needs

NARC believes that no government can claim any reason for existence if it does not ensure the basic needs for its citizens. These needs include food, housing, education, health, clothing and security.

We will guarantee free compulsory basic education for all Kenyans. But we cannot do this if we, as a government, do not keep the promise we make to our teachers.

NARC will bring to Parliament a Sessional Paper on the Koech Report on education and ensure that we implement whatever promotes our vision for progressive education. We will also ensure that our higher education system is not tailored to benefit a privileged minority.

NARC will ensure a comprehensive health insurance scheme that does not discriminate against the under-privileged. Hence the National Hospital Insurance Fund will be reformed through an Act of Parliament.

A national Aids/HIV policy will focus on public awareness, removal of the denial syndrome in our attitudes, and openness in Government regarding the nature, extent and ramifications of this pandemic.

In this regard, NARC will not be shy to recommend a proactive policy. It will make society come to terms with the realities of the pandemic so that preventive measures can become more effective. NARC notes that the 2.5 million Kenyans living with HIV/Aids are not just a statistic in our public records. It is part and parcel of the mosaic of the Kenyan nation. These people need a place to feel at home. Any act of stigmatising them in any way is totally objectionable. Our Government will show compassion and seek to establish institutional mechanisms for upholding these Kenyans' human rights.

NARC will create a National Housing Development Fund to help finance housing development for ordinary Kenyans.

Economic Planning

To achieve all we want in terms of social and economic development, NARC envisages a macro-economic set-up that will be growth-friendly. This set-up must include fiscal discipline, proper monetary policies and a government that seeks to ensure that people have money in their pockets to spend, and not huge debts to pay due to the poor habits of an irresponsible and corrupt government.

NARC will, therefore, take measures to improve and sustain economic fundamentals, namely low inflation, stable and adequate balance of payments, a stable money supply and an investments climate that will translate into rapid economic growth and employment opportunities for Kenyans.

For every investment proposal, NARC will ask one fundamental question: How many jobs will it create? To stabilise the financial sector, we will pay special attention to the liquidity in the banking system, especially with regard to non-performing loans and assets.

Above all, our Government and people must cut down on consumption and increase savings. The economy will never grow until and unless the graph of domestic savings shoots up way beyond the graph of domestic consumption.

At the moment, we are in perpetual debt because we consume more than we save, and most of what we consume is wasted, anyway, through corruption and opulence. NARC believes that we must clean up our house and start on the serious job of governing this nation in a manner that will restore dignity to Kenyans. No Kenyan should go without a proper meal. Ignorance should have been a thing of the past had we kept our promise, a promise that was the rationale of our independence. No Kenyan ought to die simply because he or she cannot travel to the nearest dispensary and get a drug from a nurse to cure malaria. Above all, no Kenyan should be murdered in broad daylight because there are no agents of the State to keep law and order.

NARC's contract with you - the people of Kenya - is to make Kenya a land of plenty for all, with justice as our shield and defender.

Mr Kibaki is the National Rainbow Coalition's presidential candidate.