Healing Kenya calls for action on issues cited in poll standoff

President Uhuru Kenyatta is escorted by Chief of Defence Forces General Samson Mwathethe after inspecting a guard of honor during the 54th Jamhuri Day celebration at Kasarani Stadium on 12/12/17. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

In his remarks during the 54th Jamhuri day celebrations at the Kasarani Stadium yesterday, President Uhuru Kenyatta emphasized on what every Kenyan must internalise: “There will be a 5th, 6th and even 10th President of Kenya, but there will not be a second, third or fourth Kenya. Leaders come and go; but Kenya remains.”

That was apt. At no other time in Kenya’s history has peace and stability been threatened as has been the case in the period immediately after the August 8 general elections.

Political fragmentation led to running battles between Opposition supporters and the police, the result of which was deaths that could have been avoided. Indeed, the electioneering period is behind us, there is a Government in place, and the business of moving the country forward must begin in earnest.

However, the underlying reasons for the divisions that have threatened to tear the country apart largely remain unattended. It would be an error of monumental proportions for President Uhuru to assume these problems will go away, or, as he so casually remarked recently, wait until 2022 for his heir apparent William Ruto to handle. In line with his Jamhuri day promise to work with all leaders, including his ‘worthy competitors’, the President needs to extend the olive branch to the Opposition, listen to their side of the story and work out an amicable solution.

Needless to say, peace is the guarantee Uhuru needs to actualise the promises he made to Kenyans, which include job creation, better housing and medical care besides working hard to improve the manufacturing sector.

To improve the fishing industry and enable it process 18,000 metric tonnes annually, the problem of the water hyacinth on Lake Victoria, a major source of fish in Kenya, will need to be tackled first.

An atmosphere of tranquillity is likely to attract many foreign investors than a situation in which nobody is able to predict what would happen the next day. Investor confidence is crucial to any plans we have for strengthening our economy.

On corruption, rather than simply instruct the Kenya Revenue Authority to destroy counterfeits on site, emphasis should be laid on dismantling cartels involved in the tendering process within Government that has a bias for projects that attract kick-backs over projects that generate economic and social value. This is a salient point that was raised by IMF President Christine Lagarde during this year’s World Anti-Corruption Day.