Key policy areas the next regime should prioritise

With the coming of a new government in August, Kenya will have an opportunity to set new socioeconomic development milestones and possibly redefine and upgrade its brand which is fairly strong.

Democratic nations hold elections to provide opportunities to modify or drop what has not worked and to introduce realistic plans to fulfill emerging national ambitions and aspirations, always building on previous successes and learning from past pitfalls.

I have been around so many decades since pre-Independence and this qualifies me to label Kenya as a country that always had immense potential and diversity in natural resources and a population that is truly enterprising, fairly educated and generally with progressive attitudes to advance to the next level of human achievement.

And these are the attributes that have for decades made Kenya a preferred destination for foreign investments.

And Kenya knows how to quickly wake up and turn around when it falls, for indeed it has unnecessarily fallen many times, often making the country play catch-up games with those contemporary nations that have avoided frequent falls.

Incidents of disruptive electoral-related violence have in the past diminished our national esteem and created doubt and hesitancy among our economic partners.

This time around, our political leadership will hopefully restrain themselves and deliver a normal election that leaves the country ready to immediately and cohesively move on, without any socioeconomic disruptions.

Peace and calm will permit whichever political team that wins to hit the ground running with their development agenda.

No matter how advanced economic development models the winning team has crafted in their manifestos, meaningful progress will not be achieved unless basic morals and standards are reinstated in public resource governance.

Corruption and political patronage in Kenya have over decades significantly diminished our public service delivery systems, with patriotism and professionalism having been progressively replaced with self-gain by public servants and political players.

This has made it difficult to deliver full taxpayer value to the economy and citizens.

Forward, backward

Unfortunately, public resource governance debates have been missing in the ongoing electioneering, creating doubts that significant governance improvements will be effected.

Unless the coming leadership acknowledges and makes visible efforts to strengthen public resource management, Kenya will be moving several steps forward and equivalent steps backward, with efforts and resources deployed not sufficiently reflected in GDP and household incomes improvements.

Kenya has remained great mostly because of private businesses in production, distribution, and services, and the very enterprising Kenyans who produce and link up supplies with demands.

The incoming government should see the private businesses and enterprises as critical instruments for advancing its socioeconomic agenda, especially in the provision of jobs and critical technologies.

Taxation policies and other sector regulations should enable, not hurt or slow down, private businesses. This is why consultations and dialogues with various private sector players should become a routine.

Kenya’s economic and diplomatic greatness has often been defined by the country’s significance as a preferred convergence for global and regional activities supported mainly by its excellent communication and hospitality.

Improvements in infrastructure and services should aim at giving Kenya and its cities an added edge.

Insecurity in whichever part of the country should remain a priority for new leadership and indeed all Kenyans. Insecurity repels investment and reduces human efforts and dignity. The incoming leadership should, therefore, target the elimination of local and territorial insecurity, using effective initiatives.

Guaranteed security will unlock socio-economic development in many sleepy parts of Kenya.

In respect of global diplomacy and geopolitics, the new leadership will need to exercise maximum wisdom in choosing paths that are mostly non-aligned and which provide Kenya with diverse economic opportunities, while leaving us flexible to associate with most of the world.

The world is unfortunately slowly drifting into a new era of divisive geopolitical and economic groupings.

Winning an election is one thing, creating an agenda and code of governance that enhances greatness and delivers improved incomes and dignity to its citizens is a greater challenge.

Kenya and its citizens should stretch to maximum potential and greatness. It should not be business as usual.