Who Will Win the March 2013 Elections?

Who Will Win the March 2013 Elections?

Finally, the elections are here. 

In the next six days, Kenyans will troop to polling stations to elect their president, governors, senators, women representatives, members of the legislative assembly and county representatives. 

Who could tell elections could come this soon?

After the elections, Kenyans would be anxious. Who will take the day? Will my party trounce their party? Will we win? Who is the winner?

The answer is plain: Kenyans. 

Certainly, this stand, to many, passes as unsophisticated. Purist. Untrue.

However, a closer look at the campaign period reveals for sure that Kenyans, irrespective of their current political alliances, stand to reap big time from the outcomes of the elections. Essentially, Kenyans will be the winners.

The party manifestos are a good starting point. 

Party manifestos of all the political parties and alliances taking part in this year’s elections have the Kenyan at mind. In fact, a cross section of these documents reveals that politicians are focusing their energies to Kenyans. They clearly articulate on such developmental issues as education, employment, healthcare and security. None says that the winning team and its supporters are the only bonafide beneficiaries of the inherent benefits. 

For instance, when the CORD manifesto talks about improving infrastructure and sponsoring free elementary and secondary education, Kenyans stand to benefit. Similarly, the promise of free maternal healthcare as well as the improvement of the economy by the Jubilee Alliance targets Kenyans. Similar sentiments are echoed in Narc-Kenya’s, ARK’s, Amani’s and Eagle’s manifestos. Professor Ole Kiyiapi’s Restore and Rebuild Kenya also reiterates his commitments to develop Kenyans. 

While it could be naïve to expect the manifestos to be tools of achieving nothing but promoting the selfish motives of the politicians, it is imperative to examine what accompanies these documents. During the Presidential Debates, every politician talked about ending corruption, tribalism, injustice, impunity and insecurity. Of course, some are louder than others are on particular issues. The point is that by denouncing these issues in public, the politicians are raising the political bar. Here, Kenyans have a basis with which they should evaluate the performance of their leaders. 

Particularly, the resolve to safe guard and implement the New Constitution, to me, appears very promising. While in their campaign trails, politicians from all affiliations are preaching their commitment to implement the new constitution to the latter. This means a lot to Kenyans. The new constitution comes with a new system of governance: devolution. Devolution is touted to be a sure way of promoting inclusivity in leadership and development. Developed economies like the United States, have been using this system of governance for eons. 

Cognizant of the significance of sharing out power, countries such as France and the United Kingdom had to adopt devolution. Note that these two were amongst the most centralized states in the world. The most conspicuous benefits of devolution include the easing of regional, tribal and ethnic inequalities in the society. Multiethnic societies such as Sri Lanka and Indonesia are great beneficiaries of devolution.

Kenya is not any different from Sri Lanka or Indonesia, in terms of its demographics and traffic jams. In terms of development, Kenya is worlds apart from these countries.  

Could the system of governance have played a role in this inequality?

Nevertheless, the three economies share regional, ethnic and religious peculiarities. When left unattended, these inequalities can be major catalysts for suspicion, strife and underdevelopment. Thank God, Kenyans unanimously passed the new constitution in 2010, making a giant leap towards having the panacea to these eventualities. 

The commitment by all the politicians on implementing and safeguarding the constitution hints that the general elections greatly benefits Kenyans. With such commitments, Kenyans can rest assured that all regions will now have the same potential for development, thanks to the devolved system of governance. Kenyans residing in rural areas will not necessarily have to troop to urban centers to find conventional jobs. Instead, by utilizing their resources well, they will stand high chances of trading with other counties in a number of commodities. Counties that would have what it takes in terms of legislation, infrastructure and resource endowment would be attractive to local, regional and international investors. 

Recent gestures where politicians commit to upholding peace during and after the elections should serve as a reassurance to Kenyans that it is no longer business as usual. Such utterances are not commonplace especially in the period preceding general elections. This time round, aspirants to various posts are treating Kenyans to a rare spectacle where reiterating commitment to maintaining peace is now the signature adjournment to political rallies. Convergence of the National Repentance meeting with Prophet Dr. Owour was the icing in the peace cake.  Here, various aspirants, including Raila Odinga, Uhuru Kenyatta, Martha Karua, Peter Kenneth, Kiyiapi and Abduba Dida, reiterated their commitment to promoting peace and reconciliation. 

Essentially, Kenyans will be the winners of the forthcoming general election. Politicians are continually reiterating their commitment to serving Kenyans. The campaign period has been galore with the utterances that indicate the level of commitment that the various aspirants have for developing the country. These are contained in the manifestos and their words of mouth especially on implanting the constitution. It is therefore important for Kenyans to participate in this worthwhile cause come March 4.

Kenyan media should up their game to cultivate patriotism

Kenyan media should up their game to cultivate patriotism

Communication experts on Tuesday urged the Kenyan media to change tact to be effective in driving the patriotism agenda. 

  

Dr. Levi Obonyo, the Head of Communication Department, Daystar University and Mr. Ken Njiru of Uungwana Initiative, were speaking in a media roundtable organized by Media Focus on Africa themed on the role of the media in cultivating patriotism. 

Need for relevance in the dynamic society should motivate the Kenyan media to drop their business- as-usual approaches, the panelists concurred. 

Citing the United States media history, they contended that the media shoulders the responsibility of cultivating patriotism amongst the populace.

They concurred that this responsibility entailed inculcating hope and pride on the people.

“Media should deliberately set these agendas through programming,” Obonyo said.  

However, the preponderant commercial motivation behind the mainstream media could make this responsibility unattainable, he added.   

Njiru concurred. 

“Balancing between profit making and serving their responsibilities can be challenging.” 

Besides searching and reporting the truth, avoiding bias, avoiding harm and maintaining trust, the media should strive to escape manipulation, he added. 

Media in developing countries is significant in influencing a great deal of social causes and nurturing democracy.

  

For relevance, the panelists contended that Kenyan media should change their approach to match the dynamics in the society.

“Media should invite criticism and be accountable to the public,” Njiru said, adding that media that lacks accountability can be tyrannical.

The issue of media endorsements, where media owners took sides in political discourses, surfaced.

Njiru mentioned how endorsements are global phenomena in the media by quoting the openly anti-Democrats Fox News as an example. 

“Taking of sides should not compromise the objectivity and professionalism of the media,” Obonyo said. 

Reacting to a concern from the audience on whether the clamor for patriotism was not a contradiction of the tenets of objectivity, the panelists clarified on the essence of patriotism. 

Njiru chided the behavior of media houses drying any feelings of pride amongst the people by focusing on the negative sides of their founding fathers. 

“If you focus on the skeletons, you will be skeletons yourself,” he said, adding that in doing so, the media houses should not be driven by a paradigm of fear but a paradigm of patriotism.

Asked whether the patriotism responsibility holds across all media, Obonyo answered to the negative. 

The national broadcaster, KBC, has more responsibility compared to commercial media, he said, adding that social media hold negligible levels of responsibility. 

“Social media is not a source of mainstream thought,” he said. 

They concurred that regulation is essential for the media to serve the patriotism responsibility. 

Elias Makori moderated the 2-hour media roundtable, venued at Nairobi’s Alliance Francaise. 

Pius Maundu

 facebook.com/pius.maundu

@piusmaundu

How SOC rose to Fame

SOC duo testifies that talents grow on the noblest of platforms

                                                                                                                                                                                     Photo: Courtesy Joseph Ndaka, SOC member, tries on a creative angle with the camera. Ndaka urges the youth to discover their taents and exploit them fully.

For those nursing the notion that success starts big, they should reconsider these positions. 

Saints of Christ, SOC musicians this morning testified that it does not take big platforms for talents to sprout.

Joseph Ndaka, 25 and Amos Kimani, 26, in an exclusive interview with Faith Muturi of NTV’s Cross Over 101, owned that their success in music had humble beginnings. 

“Together with my brother Mutua, we used to hum favorite beats and later marry them with appropriate rhymes,” Ndaka said. 

Today, SOC is amongst the most acclaimed music groups with a Christian and youthful flair. 

It is famed for such numbers as Kul and Izy (Kulandizi) Raw, Bila Yesu and Parara. 

 Ndaka and Kimani urged the youth not to hesitate in discovering their talents.

 “Discovery of one’s talent begins by an evaluation of the immediate environment,” said Kimani.

The youth should not allow obstacles such as lack of funds cloud their creativity, he added. 

SOC’s message complements the clamor for jobs by Kenyans.