Commentaries

SERIOUS NATION BUILDING

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Published on Tuesday, 12 June 2007 09:39

Nothing demonstrates resiliency like a baby trying to find his first step. The act is truly inspiring, and does often shame parents, who have quit a course, simply because stuff didn't work out on their early attempts. No doubt a baby begins by admiring the ease with which those around him move about. He is never sorry, angry or content with using all fours to get around, while the rest of the world seems to be going at lightening speed with brisk strides, passing him all the time and covering greater distances effortlessly.

Now imagine a crawling toddler trying to run, long before he learns to walk, stand or even sit upright on his own. No question, the child will fail terribly. Not that he can't do it, but because running is an ability that is developed methodically through a period of time.
Kenyans are eagerly looking forward to a new government, with very high hopes. Indeed, many are over ambitious and too eager to realize an overnight transformation of the economy. But are we really going to be financially well off as soon as the new president is swoon into Office?
Not exactly, a new government's only guarantee is a fresh start. The degrees of such a government's resolve, determination, sacrifice and enforcing productive economic policies are among, but not all of what it takes to improve the economic situation in Kenya.
Since the new government will certainly inherit a broke treasury. It behooves them, to expedite a restoration of relations with the World Bank and the IMF. Resources from the named sources should be channeled to productive initiatives. We are talking, projects that will return the invested capital along with sizable profits. Proceeds, from those projects should be used to initiate other missions. This chain of expansion has to be nurtured and sustained to ensure its continuity.
We are so desperate to let pass any money we can make in the international market. Kenya has to negotiate with respective nations on terms of exporting the most quantity they can allow and always ensure to obtain the best price for Kenyan exports. No potential market should be overlooked. We can kill two birds while at this. Demand calls for more production, which subsequently leads to more jobs.
Granted, Kenya doesn't boast inexhaustible reserves of oil, diamonds or gold. If anything, these are easy sources of wealth for the endowed nations and they strike me as superficial. We all know, the fun is in the chasing, whether it's women or wealth. Lack of such valuable resources should not be an excuse for us to accept poverty. Look at Bill gates; the man's worth is over $60 billion. I'll need a calculator and many zeroes to convert that into Kenyan shillings. And did his wealth originate from inheriting an oil well?
My point is; our nation's unprecedented wealth could be rotting unexcavated in a few heads roaming about in the country. Having had the privilege to school and live both in Kenya and the United States, I can testify that, under the same working conditions and environment Kenyans have the brain capacity to compete with Americans from science to technology.
With this background, it only makes sense for the government to identify and invest in students who demonstrate a special gift in science and technology. It should fully sponsor these students to join the best universities in Asia, Europe and the United States of America. These students will be more like Kenyan agents and the Kenyan embassies in the respective countries where such students will be studying should see to it that they have a conducive environment to take advantage of everything the western education has to offer and that should include research.
These agents' mission will be to come up with inventions that can help the Kenyan economy. These means they are, to have an interest in things that can be viably produced in Kenya and have a high demand internationally. A good start will be to study existing technologies critically and figure ways to come up with something more attractive, and effective than what is already in the market.
I'll assume the new government will have made the country a safe and friendly bastion for potential investors, the right infrastructure will be in place, and corruption will be an ugly memory of the past by the time these agents start bringing in results of their hard work.
The inventors will work in conjunction with the Kenyan government and international investors to build companies that produce their inventions locally and export them to ready markets abroad. Or the inventors can start companies for the production of their inventions abroad and dedicate a generous proportion of proceeds to support the Kenyan Economy in crucial areas.
It's serious nation building.