Across the spectrum, political leadership has mostly deviated from selfless service to the public, to focus more on selfish pursuit of power mainly for the purposes of self-enrichment.
I pray that sooner than later Kenya lands inspirational and selfless leadership that can correctly shape and entrench an affirmative moral code for public service.
This week is dedicated to national prayers. And prayers often entail thanking the Almighty for blessings He has bestowed on us as a country and as individuals, while beseeching Him to protect us from known or imagined disruptive forces.
Above all, we ask the Higher Power to support and bless our efforts to improve our lot. Prayers are a two-way process which should include our demonstrated efforts to proactively correct and improve ourselves and the country, lest the prayers become one-sided and hypocritical.
In respect of the Covid-19 epidemic it is still work in progress and all we can pray for His wisdom to make correct protective decisions as we remain firmly disciplined and watchful. I believe the world and indeed Kenya will find sustainable solutions to either obliterate the virus or learn how to live alongside it, as we have done with many other novel diseases in years gone.
I believe that national prayers should also be an occasion and opportunity to re-examine and hopefully reinstate our national and individual value systems, which over years appear to have degraded to levels that are worrying. At the top is how we have wrongly allowed politics to become divisive and often hateful, most of the times derailing planned socio-economic development.
Across the spectrum, political leadership has mostly deviated from selfless service to the public, to focus more on selfish pursuit of power mainly for the purposes of self-enrichment. I pray that sooner than later Kenya lands inspirational and selfless leadership that can correctly shape and entrench an affirmative moral code for public service.
How we conduct electoral politics is also a subject of major concern. History has shown that out of every five years of government mandates, two to three years are mostly lost mainly due to disruptions caused by pre-election politics and post-election uncertainties and chaos. In essence this means that in every five years, as much as 50percent of potential development time and opportunities are lost, making Kenya to always lag in its efforts to become a truly developed nation.
Yes, elections should add value to governance, and not cause fear to Kenyans and disruptions to economic development. Elections should not be the reason why investors delay investment commitments when they characterise Kenyan elections as credible “country political risks”, nor the reason for NSE investors to routinely divest prior to elections due to uncertainty about how peaceful or violent elections will be.
Kenyans mostly abhor being treated to daily acidic and often hateful political rhetoric and news especially during elections. It is even worse when this happens too early in the electoral cycle as is already happening. Kenyans are feeling annoyed by these interruptions at a time when they are reorganising their lives and businesses after the Covid-19 disruptions. Yes, we need to pray that the current seekers of high offices see sense in moderating their electoral rhetoric.
The other lost national value is absence of honest public resource accountability, which has caused Kenya to miss critical socio-economic development opportunities and milestones. This is a curse for which we need to continue praying and seeking lasting solutions. To inspire honesty in public finance management, it will require leadership with proven and demonstrated aversion for corruption. Getting such leadership should be a key focus area during our prayers.
A good number of churches that should be spearheading prayers for national moral rearmament have apparently and unfortunately fallen into the trap of easy access to dubiously sourced cash. These churches should be in the forefront in strengthening national value systems, and there is no grey middle for them to hide in. When politicians and the church swim together, the corrupt crocodile will gleefully devour Kenya. Yes, we need to pray that the concerned churches see true light to guide their flocks correctly.
The major fear of my senior generation is that degraded value systems are effortlessly passing on to the younger people who regrettably appear too busy to critically analyse what is happening around them.
This week of prayers should be time for introspection by all Kenyans to seek a clear and clean path forward for our country.
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