From: odhiambo okecth Feb 25 2013

Dear Friends,

We are on the home stretch and come Monday the 4th March 2013, the 14.3m registered voters in Kenya will be invited to step forward and help make a clear choice. As we do this, we must know that our votes comes with clear consequences and for those who have not yet made up their minds, tonight's Presidential Debate may help.

 Kenyans united in Peace as One Family under God

I was pleased watching our Presidential Candidates uniting in Peace at Uhuru Park yesterday and I have all the confidence that Kenyans are going to vote en masse and vote in Round 1 for a clear winner. As we do this, let us also pause for a moment and think.

Listening to our Presidential Candidates on the campaign trail, and looking at their Party Manifestos, I am tempted to think that Kenyans are being taken for a ride once more. The politicians are lying to us and we are dancing and shouting as they talk. We are not listening to what they are saying.

They are talking about issues they have failed to address even as they held offices that could make them address these issues. The leading contenders have been part of the top 5 political leaders in Kenya and they had an equal opportunity to do what they are saying they will now do for us. What held them back?

Garbage, garbage, garbage and yet, no politician is seeing this.

President Kibaki's partner for the last 5 Years has been Raila Amolo Odinga- the Prime Minister of Kenya. President Kibaki's Principal Assistant has been Steven Kalonzo Musyoka- the Vice President. The Rt Hon Raila Amolo Odinga's Principal Assistants have been Uhuru Kenyatta and Musalia Mudavadi- both Deputy Prime Ministers. They have been part of the out going government and they must share in the successes and failures of the same.

Kenya is dirty, very dirty, with garbage mounds competing for space with roads and every open space in our Towns, and no politician is talking about the opportunities that garbage and waste present for the Country as an Industry that can create massive employment opportunities for a large number of people. Not even the potential capacity of using the raw waste that we have as a source of power generation. Yet, the Presidential Candidates are talking about jobs and unemployment without giving us any details on how they will create the jobs they are talking about and how they want to tackle the menace that has been unemployment.

Just the other day, His Excellency the President was invited to launch the Syokimau Railway Line as a Vision 2030 Deliverable and two months down the line, Kenya Railways have quietly halved the fares to Syokimau and even reduced the rail frequency. And still, there are no people to board the Train. Now, when building this Railway Line, did the mandarins at Vision 2030 and at the Railways have any idea of what the Rail Line will serve? Where were the people the Rail Line was being built for?

I bet any simple and logical reasoning would have told you that an effective and economical Rail Service would link Kayole to Nairobi, or, Kangemi to Nairobi. Those are the places with the kind of human traffic that can save the people of Nairobi the man hours we waste on the roads every morning and evening. Syolimau has no human settlement. It is a jungle. And yet, the mandarins at Vision 2030 still went ahead to build a Rail Line to nowhere, and even had the audacity of inviting our President to launch this white elephant. And all the politicians kept quiet. Yet, they want the Presidency!

Again, recently, the President was invited to launch a County Road at a time the main artery of Public Transport in Kenya needs a major facelift. The Mombasa- Busia- Malaba Highway is an International Highway. In fact, it is part of the Great Northern Corridor and it needs to be built to better standards. The section of this road that stretches from Mau Summit via Kericho to Kisumu has been on a permanent mode of construction since 2002. And yet, the mandarins at Vision 2030 only saw it fit to build one County Road to 8 lanes standards and leave the main road that is of immense economic value to Kenya.

A dirty Nairobi even as the the politicians pretend about it

Again, no politician raised a voice. They all clapped as the red tapes were being cut. Now, let me ask, of what economic value to Kenya is Thika Road compared to the Mombasa- Busia- Malaba Highway?

In the recent past, many if not all middle level educational institutions have been upgraded to University Level. What happens to all the huge numbers of students who are unable to meet the cut-off points for University entry? All the Village Polytechnics and Teacher Training Colleges are now some constituent Colleges of some University. This simple means that when you drop out at class 8 or at Form 4, you are done with and you simple become some statistics for our Presidential Candidates. I have not heard any of them give us a clear picture of how they are going to address this situation, yet, we are busy clapping and shouting ourselves horse in the campaign trails.

The cost of fuel and electricity has become a known joke in Kenya. We are the only country in the world where costs of fuel and electricity is changed every month. This has very serious economic implications on the people and on the Industries. People cannot plan and Industries cannot plan. The end result is, people are crying and Industries are either relocating to more stable regions or down sizing on human capital. These are hard realities our Presidential Candidates are giving a wide berth. And they have the audacity to tell us about jobs creation, security and education.

I bet Kenyans are smarter and time has come for us to start holding our leaders to account. The times when we were being taken for granted is gone and I am happy the coming Elections are also going to end political impositions, where voters were saddled with favorite candidates against the will of the people.

The times have changed and the people who handle our Presidential Candidates must wake up from their self imposed Mr. Know-it-all.

Let us all work for a Clean Kenya, a Clean Africa and a Clean General Election as a Transformative Deliverable as we turn 50 in Kenya. 

Odhiambo T Oketch,
Executive Director,

The Clean Kenya Campaign- TCKC

Tel; 0724 365 557

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