There is a pervasive feeling that Kenyans are once again being taken for a ride through convoluted arguments and theories that are at once populist and unworkable. They are being asked to choose between a cruel man-eat-man economic development model (trickle-down capitalism) and an equally impracticable bottom-up model that is somehow supposed to empower the common people to achieve societal and individual development goals. The Hustler Nation’s narrative is a myth designed to attract voters by lying to them that their future will be brighter with a new team at the top.
[ATTACH=full]369254[/ATTACH]
It is a very attractive notion, but it is so Utopian as to look like a blatant lie even to those who are un-schooled. I am convinced that those spinning the hustler yarn know for sure that there is nothing like free lunch in this world, yet they are promising, not just lunch, but breakfast and dinner as well. This of course means that those who swallow this tall tale are in for great disappointment once those preaching the wheelbarrow gospel achieve their goals. Indeed, they are as gullible as those who still believe the now moribund Building Bridges Initiative is the panacea for this country’s ailing economy and politics.
Let us put things in their proper perspective; I am not an economist though I once did read a book or two on the subject for my ‘A’-Levels, which was not enough to allow me to address the subject as authoritatively as I would wish. But I hold that the problems buffeting this country are not caused by the citizens’ laziness or lack of imagination. Given a chance, they will grab any opportunity and make something of their lives, but for some reason, all the noble initiatives meant to give a leg up to youthful entrepreneurs especially have systematically been stymied by mind-boggling corruption.
What has always remained unclear is how the new kids on the block, otherwise known as United Democratic Alliance (UDA), expect to address the issues of inequitable distribution of resources that allow just a few people at the top of the pyramid to control almost all the country’s wealth, leaving crumbs for the poor. The second issue, given that scenario, has everything to do with production. There can never be any significant redistribution of wealth unless it is first created. That is common sense.
[ATTACH=full]369253[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]369255[/ATTACH]
[SIZE=6]Run-of-the-mill politicians[/SIZE]
When you start creating class stratification in the name of a political campaign without indicating how you expect to incentivize manufacturers to produce more and better, then you are simply sowing the seeds of disaffection with the present without offering any hope for the future.
In the end, those convinced that the grass is greener on the other side of the political divide are bound to feel cheated. That has already happened in regard to the Jubilee administration and there is no guarantee that most of those seeking the presidency will have answers for us, for they have uniformly failed to ask the right questions.
That is why some sentiments recently expressed by presidential hopeful Mukhisa Kituyi may have resonated with many. Dr Kituyi is not one of your run-of-the-mill politicians; he is a brilliant, highly educated, and eloquent interlocutor. He has served with distinction both as a Cabinet minister in Kenya, and also held high positions in world organizations. His latest stint as the secretary-general of the United Nations Conference of Trade and Development (Unctad) is a case in point. He served for two terms of four years each without causing any ripples perhaps because politicizing the job could have been counter-productive. Thus, on matters of trade and industrialization, Dr Kituyi has few peers, and when he talks, he should be heard.
[SIZE=6]Hand-me-down patronage[/SIZE]
Said he last week: “The knowledge economy can never be bottom-up… you tell the people peddling this thing, it should not be a substitute for thinking”… “There is no way you can create a new livelihood and hope for the poor without unlocking the potential of the rich.”
[ATTACH=full]369251[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]369252[/ATTACH]
The lesson here is clear; you cannot distribute what has not been created, and the industrial and manufacturing sectors must be given space to thrive so that more job jobs can be created.
At the same time, the State must strive to cushion the vulnerable through regular stipends. This should not be regarded as creeping socialism; it is more like welfarism, which is different from hand-me-down patronage that seems to inform the hustler movement.
Dr Kituyi wants to go back to politics as a presidential contender next year. This is a very ambitious goal for a man who eschews demagoguery, and it will be a miracle if voters give him a fighting chance. For some strange reason, we seem to prefer the familiar faces with fossilised ideas, forgetting that those same individuals helped create most of the problems assailing the country. Fresh faces with fresh ideas stand very little chance in this country, which is our great loss. The day our politicians learn to seek votes by detailing their policies instead of invoking tribal or class differences is the day we shall be truly liberated.
Mr Ngwiri is a consultant editor; [email protected]