From: otieno sungu

Today, we quietly marked the 4th anniversary of the Coalition government in the backdrop of the death of a Cabinet Minister, a perfect camouflage to hide for an Executive which perhaps had been wondering what to show for the 4 years of corruption, impunity, lethargy and a general sense of disillusionment for Kenyans.

When the Principals signed the National Accord four years ago, it was an agreement not only binding them to end the violence but also to ensure certain progressive constitutional and developmental agenda are furthered. Among these are the Agenda 4 issues.

I do not want to dig much into what the two Principals agreed upon in the NA, but suffice is to say that much of what formed the core of this agreement is yet to be achieved.

Police reforms remain stuck while the implementation of the Katiba is snail paced. Fighting corruption has remained as sweet words on the lips of the Executive mandarins and totally refused to translate into any tangible action. It is no wonder that there is no haste and urgency to appoint the Director of KACC. Land issues which have dogged us for years are nowhere near settlement through a comprehensive land policy.

Youth unemployment is at an all time high, many IDPs remain unsettled and the cost of living is unmanageable to most Kenyans. These are very grave reasons why we must carefully scrutinize especially those seeking top leadership, it is imperative to scrutinize their levels of performance in view of their access to political power and influence which could have gone a long way in mitigating these challenges. Those who have not performed deserve no mercy from the electorate.

As we edge closer to the elections, we must carefully scrutinize all the top contenders and fish out our score cards in order to interrogate their performances, the promises they made and what they accomplished. 2012 should provide us with a perfect opportunity to bring to the platform all these contenders for a candid debate on their records, their ideological positions and policies. The type of leader Kenya needs at this point in time is not the funeral and road show type but a focused leader whose engagement with the common man goes beyond the impulsive and populist declarations but one with an understanding of the practical solutions that will drive both our political and socio-economic spheres and realms of life.

A new initiative by young entrepreneurs, Maisha Mapya led by Florence Kamaitha is already doing a great job interrogating Presidential aspirants especially on their policies towards supporting young entrepreneurs to spur job creation, create enabling environments for investment for SMEs and also to ensure access to open and uncorrupted government tendering.

This is the time to ensure we are engaging progressive leaders to fish out the best, our Obama moment is within grasp and we must take advantage of it. This is the time and the power is in our hands.

Otieno Sungu.

The writer is a budding entrepreneur, a mashinani and online civic educator.