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Government and Policy

Five Important Things Kenyans Want Beyond Politics

BY Soko Directory Team · December 11, 2017 08:12 am

Once upon a time, Kenya used to be a working nation, then it became a walking nation, a crawling nation and now it has become a talking nation where its leaders talk more than they can deliver.

For more than 5 months, the country has been deeply rooted in politics. The politics almost came to a stop on the 8th of August 2017, but the outcomes of the elections were challenged in the Supreme Court of Kenya. The court nullified the results. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was taken back to the drawing board.

Another election was scheduled for 26th of October 2017. Raila Odinga withdrew from the race.  Since then, the country has been in and out politics each month. All these months, Kenyans have not been able to sit and think of what they need beyond politics.

Politics have their own benefits to a society as they give a people the chance to practice their democratic rights of choosing their leaders, but on the other hand, if not well handled, politics lead a lot of uncertainty and what suffers the most is the economy.

Kenyans have been forced to cope with the political atmosphere that has been so intense and it is about time that the country moves forward to dealing with other issues that are different from politics. The language needs to change as the year comes to an end since Kenyans have a lot more than they look forward to for their own benefit and that of the country.

The following are some of the things that Kenyans want beyond politics:

Economic Growth

A total of 700 billion shillings is estimated to have been lost by private businesses in a period of four months according to KEPSA.  The period was punctuated by deepening business uncertainties occasioned by sharp exchanges between government and the opposition. Most of the losses, Kepsa said, came from frequent disruption of transport and industrial operations during the campaigns ahead of General Elections and protests that followed the nullification of the presidential election.

The overall Kenyan economy, on the other hand, ended up losing a total of 1.4 trillion shillings.

According to recently released National Bureau of Statistics economic figures, exports dropped to a two-year low of 41.6 billion shillings, capturing the heavy economic cost to the economy caused by turbulent electioneering.

The number of tourist arrivals dropped to 89,782 in August from 105,241 in July; mobile money transactions also dropped, while new car registrations dropped to 5,162 in August from 6,828 a month earlier.

Political jitters among investors forced the government to lower its growth projections to 5.1 percent from the previous 5.7 percent. This is however in contrast with projections of independent analysts, who have predicted growth of below five percent.

In general, the country has lost a lot due to elections. People look forward to an economy that is not strenuous and one with a promise for the generations to come.

A Peaceful Country

War and violence extract huge costs from the economy. In the aftermath of conflict, private sector development is critical for peace in the long run. However, all too often, business perceives the risks in post-conflict settings as too great, locking many fragile sectors in aid dependence and economic instability.

A peaceful country leads to a stabilized and growth of the economy, which in turn builds the living standards of its citizens. Peace is key in every aspect of a country together with its people. When peace prevails, there is freedom, and with freedom, there is unity.

For the country to be peaceful, our politicians need to reconsider their priorities. Most of them have put their selfish interests first instead of those for the country. With this, citizens feel left out and thus lack of unity results.

Accountability

The most important result of accountability is trust, which is essential in any relationship.  Being accountable to something means that you’re willing to make commitments and be responsible for your own actions. This promotes trust between you and the people around you.

When done right, accountability can increase the people’s confidence in a leader. Accountability should not be mistaken for controlling behavior. The key is to provide the right support, give constructive feedback, improve on the suggestions of the people, give them the freedom to decide, and challenge them to think of better solutions.

Affordable Cost of Living

The cost of living in Kenya went up in the past few months and most households have been forced to dig dipper into their pockets and to stretch their budgets in order to meet basic needs.

The Economic Survey 2017 from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) revealed that GDP was estimated to have grown by 5.8 percent in 2016 from 5.7 percent in 2015.

The agricultural sector which is key in enabling the growth of the Kenyan economy for a long period of time, but the sector’s contribution to GDP declined by 0.4 percent to 21.8 percent and its weighted y/y growth rate slowed down to 4.0 percent from 5.5 percent in 2015. This was attributed to the drought experienced from the 2nd half of the year that rendered the weather conditions unfavorable for agricultural activities.

The growth of the financial sector also slowed down, growing by 6.9 percent in 2016 from 9.4 percent in 2015 driven by slow private sector money supply growth of 3.6 percent in 2016 from 14.1 percent in 2015, and a slump in domestic credit growth to 6.4 percent from 20.8 percent in 2015.

Political instability leads to high cost of living and Kenyans look forward to a cheaper and more affordable life. Households keep digging deeper into their pockets to be able to access the most basic items for survival. This needs to be looked into and be considered as a crucial issue.

Soko Directory is a Financial and Markets digital portal that tracks brands, listed firms on the NSE, SMEs and trend setters in the markets eco-system. Find us on Facebook: facebook.com/SokoDirectory and on Twitter: twitter.com/SokoDirectory

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