Patriotism

Wananchi show leaders what patriotism means

Politicking and misguided politics do not develop a nation. It is the people, the, ordinary Kenyans who will move this country forward by realizing that when one of them is dying in Turkana or in another part of the country because of starvation they who live in Nyanza or Central Kenya cannot be proud and at peace. And there is so much to be proud of as ordinary Kenyans.

Nothing better illustrates this than the spirit demonstrated by wananchi when hunger struck Turkana in 2011. The response was overwhelming.

When simple folks responded to the hunger cries of their fellow Kenyans by calling on the government to come and collect farm produce from their small pieces of land and take it to their starving brethren, it was something to be proud of.

The "Kenyans for Kenya" initiative was spearheaded by Safaricom Foundation, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Media Owners Association (MOA) and Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS). The fundraiser that was started in July 2011 in response to media reports of famine and deaths from starvation in Turkana District.

The group aimed to mobilise corporates and members of the public to raise Sh.500million in five weeks towards relief for three million Kenyans faced by starvation in the Northern part of Kenya then.

The leadership and governance challenge is on how does Kenya stop disasters before they happen or mitigate their effects? Droughts, floods and epidemics are three top disasters that haunt the nation.

No answers have been forthcoming on why Kenya should have recurrent Turkana scenarios yet we have mechanisms to predict these droughts (and the droughts are actually predicted yet no action is taken to prevent the suffering). Why does the country use trucks to transport relief food where it is urgently needed when the roads are bad and the vehicles get stuck in mud while hungry Kenyans wait for ages for help to arrive? Why not use planes as the country has airstrips all over the country?

Generally, why is it that in Kenya we close the stable door long after the horse has bolted?

When the nation cannot use technology (such as Geographic Information System or GIS) wisely to know that it is ill-advised to deliver food by road because vehicles will break down on the way, then maybe  someone somewhere is sleeping on the job.

But of more importance is that no Kenyan should die of a cause that should be avoided – whether it is hunger or disease.

Brain Waste

Why is Kenya wasting its top brains in hospitals?

Kenya’s top brains - the KCSE ‘As’ and ‘Bs’ scorers are too gifted to be left to lead ordinary lives. Let’s take medical doctors as an example. These are top brains who scored ‘As’ to be allowed to study medicine. Yet these are the same people striking on almost a regular basis and demanding better pay. They are at the mercy of bureaucrats who may have not performed as well academically but who decide how much medical personnel should be paid and which resources should be put at their disposal.

Who allocates resources?

As a country, we need to take a long hard look at ourselves and reassess where we are wasting our top brains.  Shouldn’t the ‘A’ holders be the ones at Afya House deciding which drugs should be bought and how to ensure they reach the doctor in far-flung Moyale -  hundreds of kilometres away from Afya House?

Hospitals without facilities

Why should we train doctors and send them to work in hospitals where there are no facilities and no drugs, thus turning them into mere vegetables, yet we know they are our top brains? Shouldn’t we train them to take up managerial positions, policy making positions, decision-making positions? Shouldn’t we give them more clout?

Brain drain

Kenyan doctors and nurses are highly mobile. A good number fly out of the country to seek greener pastures elsewhere. Why train doctors for other countries who pay them better?  Can’t we also pay doctors well and attract expatriate ones so that we can improve the management function, the policy making function, the resource generation function and then we will be prosperous as a nation?

This way we will be on our way to achieving Vision 2030 that aims at turning this country into a middle-level industrialized country in the footsteps of Malaysia and other Asian Tigers.

Leave routine jobs like medicine to average students

Routine jobs like medicine should be taken up by the ‘C’ graders while politics should be left to those with the rest of the grades – the ‘C’ minuses and below.

Lest we forget, parliamentary representatives are some of the most highly paid people on this land (and this for spending more time bickering in public – not debating issues of substance -, absent from parliamentary sessions and away from their electorate).

So, why isn’t political leadership the magnet it is supposed to be to young people?

Africa's 2010 hopes?

The FIFA World Cup Trophy is making its way across Africa. Only the heads of state (and some unintended guys) have touched it. What are the chances that the trophy will remain in Africa?
I am an ardent football fan. But I can bet that this cup is going south - Not the host country - but to South America !
So, Africans had better stop dreaming that now that South Africa is hosting the latest edition of the four-year fiesta the trophy may as well be locked in the cabinet! Take a good look at Diego Armando Maradona's outfit and prepare to watch as the South Americans spirit away the golden cup.
Which African team can win it? Is it South Africa, the host nation? No. They may have the home ground advantage but the likes of Benni McCarthy & Co. do not come near the Doctor Khumalo team that lifted the 1996 Africa Cup of Nations and brought tears of happiness to Mzee Nelson Mandela?
Will Ghana prise the trophy away from Italy? I highly doubt that. The Black Stars may have in their ranks the likes of Chelsea's Michael Esssien but haven't they been perennial underachievers since the days of Abedi Pele and Tony Yeboah?
What about Nigeria, which sneaked through by a mere point? Ask any soccer enthusiast and he will tell you the current squad pales in comparison to the team that boasted players like Daniel "The Bull" Amokachi or the gifted Jay Jay Okocha and the magnificent Sunday Oliseh.
Will it be Cameroun's time? Honestly, other than captain Samuel Eto'o, who else can take the Indomitable Lion far?
Ivory Coast was at the last World Cup. Look at the team sheet; what new faces are likely to give it the punch it lacked last time? And don't forget that, Didier Drogba, ravaged by injuries and stalked by age, will be like a toothless lion in front of a herd of buffaloes. Where will the goals come from for the Elephants? I really don't know.
Whether it is Egypt or Algeria - whichever team makes it from the penultimate game between the two sides - nothing much should be expected from either. Remember, at this year's Confederations tourney in SA, Egypt were humbled. As for Algeria, well, how realistic are their chances?
Africa, it is time we went back to the drawing board. Or maybe the whole continent should select the best footballers from each country and send two African Union teams. They might fare better!