Kenya: The Politics of Handouts Must End Now - AllAfrica.com

James Shikwati

It is election clip in Kenya; elections are the 1s that find the seed of leading in a democratic society. Drive to my rural home, I observed chilling seeds being prepared to take Republic Of Kenya adjacent year.

First, most parliamentary aspirers are promising to "give" development in tax return for votes. Second, the Kenyan electorate who surprisingly have got got a crisp oculus for detecting prevarications in politics, have invented a system where each politicians have to pay upfront before elections.

"Civic aspirers are being asked to pay a lower limit of Sh50 each, parliamentary aspirers a lower limit of Sh200 and the amount will be higher as the election day of the month approaches," an aspirer confided. Another parliamentary aspirer said: "...they cannot even let me to acquire to the toilet...each time, it is money and more than money!"

Sir Ketumile Masire, former president of Botswana, reasons that good political leading be givens to springtime from personalities that were loath to be politicians. Speaking at a public lecture at the University of Pacific Ocean in the USA, Masire argued: "All things said and done, a politician must be person who is loath to be a politician. If I became a politician, it was on that basis."

Both Sir Seretse Khama, the first president of Republic Of Republic Of Botswana and Sir Ketumile are celebrated for having turned Botswana, a largely abandon country, into one of the prima economical systems in Africa.

Lee Kuan Yew, the first premier curate of Singapore, propelled a once fishing small town into one of the World's economic topographic point in Asia. Spike Lee is known to have got transformed Capital Of Singapore into an economical powerfulness house, not through democracy but through a combination of economical and political authoritarianism.

He is celebrated for the phrase 'It is stupid to be Afraid'. The success of Capital Of Singapore is based on Spike Lee having worked difficult to do the state relevant to the world. What about Kenya?

Political leading have a batch in common with spiritual leadership- they both offering hope and promise, the duty to present on what is promised is not necessarily clip bound.

On the other hand, concern leading is much similar to military leading in modern times of war- you either present or you are dead!

The in progress political political campaigns in Republic Of Republic Of Kenya exhibit high degree organizational endowment among political parties.

The pressure level to acquire politicians to supply "tea" in tax return for ballots destructs the leading facet that we so much seek from politicians. Africa have been described as devoid of good leadership; this is largely in the linguistic context of economical development and political maturity.

Clearly, it is not easy in the Kenyan environment to acquire "reluctant" leading to autumn in politics, because one have to actively contrive a money factory for the electorate to listen to such as a person.

At the same time, talented Kenyans ought to take awareness of the statement that it is stupid to be afraid and simply witnesser the state fall in disrepair through poor leadership. Kenyans should therefore follow the business-military style of measuring which will guarantee that politicians acquire fired whenever they neglect to present services.

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Politicians should maintain a clear record of all the "free goodies" they give out and usage them against the electorate next twelvemonth when service-delivery questions protrude up from Kenyan citizens.

Kenyan electors on the other manus should maintain a clear record of all promises made by politicians and throw them to account after elections. The type of "give and take" political relation of money sets to inquiry the whole conception of democracy as a vehicle of identifying good leaders. This money political relation must stop now.

Shikwati Director Inter Region Economic Network