It is exactly three years since President William Ruto narrowly won the presidential election. To be honest, he has very little to show. He keeps on reminding Kenyans that his performance should be judged after five years. Yet, already past the halfway mark, it is difficult to see how he will earn a pass mark from voters or even attain Kibaki’s feat let alone transform Kenya into a Singapore.
The other day he reiterated what now seems to be Kenyan presidents’ obsessive comparison with Singapore.
I believe that Kenya has a generational problem that needs an inter-generational solution. My problem lies with the pre-and post-independence generation of leaders. Mostly born in 1940s up to early 1970s, they all proffer a unifying but tiresome theme: “At independence, Kenya was at par with South Korea and Singapore”. I find myself constantly irritated with this regretful remark.
Uhuru Kenyatta, Raila Odinga, and now William Ruto are in a better position to know this because they were there when Korea and Singapore made tremendous strides.
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Indeed, the problem lies with the bulk of pre-and post-independence generation and generation of leaders because the political scene continues to be heavily populated by pre-and post-independence generations, old guards. They are unimaginative and can’t see beyond the next elections.
A critical function to deliver services to mwananchi is taken as a deal-making opportunity. Every major infrastructure project is seen as a deal-making chance by inflating project costs. All that their minds can develop are political party manifestos, not to implement, but to bait voters and later leave the voters high and dry.
Kenya needs inter-generational leaders with a long vision. When he rolled out the free primary education programme, President Mwai Kibaki observed: “Education is now the most important factor of production. No one, no country can be competitive without massive investment in education. We must therefore ensure all our children have access to quality education. This is the way of giving them a fair chance in life in today’s world.”
He followed through this pledge by investing massively in education through upgrading of classrooms, recruitment of teachers among others.
Uhuru’s Jubilee government then came and promised to revamp public education by modernising it through curriculum change and digital education. To date, the education sector remains in a shambles. Compare our situation with Rwanda which announced a similar programme in 2013. Ten years later, the Digital Acceleration Programme in Rwanda has become a success with the help of the World Bank and other donors. Now, almost every Rwandese child can access digital learning in public schools. Even worse for Kenya, the current regime abandoned digital learning in formative years in favour of Information and Communications Technology centres. This speaks volumes about a nation lacking foresight, especially in the current Artificial Intelligence age.
Kenyan voters must elect a new generation of leaders. The post-1980 generation is the most educated, least tribal and comprises thinkers who are imaginative and can transform this country. But not all apples are bad. A considerable number of pre-and post-independence leaders can assist in this endeavour.
The emergence of Gen Zs has birthed a new generation of voters, leaders and thinkers. This group has described itself as tribeless and leaderless. They have stood without fear to fight for justice and Kenya. I have no doubt that this group, if incorporated or it seizes the reins of leadership, the infatuation with Singapore will turn into reality.
For Kenya to replicate the Singaporean progress, we must change our mindset through a generational shift of politics. If not, like our parents and grandparents – the pre-and post-independence generation – in 20 years, we shall be telling our children that Kenya was ahead of Rwanda in 2020.
Mr Kipruto is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. [email protected]
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By David Kipruto