To say politics is a dirty game is an understatement. Kenyan politics is a notch higher. It is filled with propaganda, deceit, malice, threats, and fraud. All these served on one plate. Unfortunately, there are some who can take in all that any time of the day, while others are not able to stomach it at all. The air is currently filled with dirty politics and propaganda. Just like Groucho Maxx once said “politics is the art of looking for trouble, finding it everywhere, diagnosing it incorrectly and applying the wrong remedies” such are the antics of our politicians. Recently the tunes and beats are BBI and most people are excited at the drop of reggae tunes accompanying the BBI referendum. The major theme in the political arena is the politics of succession and the drums are enjoying the political flow of events. One would think that we are in the electioneering period.
John Adams once said ‘Government is instituted for the common good: for the protection, safety, prosperity and happiness of the people; and not for the profit, honor, or private interest of any one man, family, or class of men’. Many countries are busy working round the clock to bring back their economies, but the Kenya government is busy paving the way for the BBI referendum. As a country and the citizens of this country, we expected a great economic comeback instead of an enormous political comeback. People lost their jobs, companies lost huge profits, and businesses were ruined as a result of the corona novel. The government should come up with strategies to ensure that those who were fired from their jobs to be reinstated and move on with their lives as before. The government should restore sanity to the people and ensure that we are back to where we were economical. There should be economical strategies between the government and companies, the private sector, and various institutions in ensuring the steady flow of businesses and government activities.
In political rallies, the crowd is unfathomable. Lest I forget, the WHO standards are also not adhered to. We have completely forgotten that there is an ongoing pandemic and one may be excused for asking if the virus was true with us. As patriots of this nation, we all want economic growth. We want our lives improved and poverty fought by all means. Every one of us has a responsibility in ensuring that the country is developing so that we all experience personal growth that we can be proud of. But our leaders are acting contrary to our expectations. There is lots of politics and propaganda going on to an extent that they have forgotten their sole duty to the citizens which is service. Some think that they are in those offices by their own right, while others feel entitled to those offices yet most of them are in there for personal selfish gains without really serving the interest of the people who elected them.
If I am to choose between politics and economic development, I would go for the latter. I would dance to the tunes of economic freedom, I would dedicate all my time towards achieving economic growth whether at a personal or national level. I believe all the citizens of this country would go for the economic path to have financial freedom because that is what we all need as a country and not the political theatrics we are experiencing in this COUNTRY today.
Written by Barbra Ouma from Kisumu county
Twitter: @barbaraouma18
Facebook: Barbara Ouma