Comments for The Corporate Begging Bowl at http://www.stwr.org , comment 1 to 1 out of 1 comments http://www.stwr.org Wed, 03 Dec 2008 19:56:41 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.stwr.org/multinational-corporations/-the-corporate-begging-bowl.html#comment-7 KENYA: THE CURSE OF THE BEGGING-BOWL AND HAND-OUTS When leaders are committed to their subjects, they will seek to empower them. They will use their influence and rapport to improve people’s lives. Kenya’s leaders hold sway with a number of particular groups at the grassroots. These subjects will do literally everything the leader instructs even if it puts their lives on the line. The sad thing is the leaders exploit this loyalty to push personal political agenda. They will use these groups to protest, riot, attack other groups and all other evils. But what happens when the political agenda has been achieved? The leaders slide into a coma and turn a blind eye to the same groups’ plight. A lot is left to be desired; for example: why wouldn’t leaders call rallies to mobilize the people to work hard in their farms? Why won’t they lead a demonstration to protest against the rising prices for food and fuel? When will we see them moving from one continent to the other passionately raising funds to finance income generating projects for the masses with the same zeal they raised for their campaigns? Why will they year in year out campaign with what needs to be done yet they never make an honest effort to solve these problems even when they have a chance to solve that problem? It has been noted that these leaders who are considered “popular” have never pioneered any important motion that directly affects the situation of the masses. For example; the crucial sex offences bill was spear-headed by a nominated Member of Parliament who has since been sank into oblivion. How we get fanatical with popularists and totally forget the competent. The popuralists only used the masses as a political tool while the competent are a political tool in the hands of the masses. The popularists rule with strings attached. Even when they seem to be helping they have their eyes on something. It’s sad to say that their motivation is greed and service is only a public relations gimmick. They make us live with fear for tomorrow; having to start our lives afresh every five years. No wonder we will have to stick our tongue out longer to convince investors that it’s alright to do a long term investment in Kenya. Yet amidst the disillusionment I still hold the belief that there is a leadership out there. A leadership whose foundation is servant-hood to the needs of the people without necessarily being slaves to their demands. A leadership which doesn’t view positions as a way to escape from the poverty trap but as a chance to empower the least of their subjects. A leaderships which knows how to fairly distribute rather than how to selfishly accumulate. A leadership honestly and fully dedicated to service without caring who gets the credit; ever seeking the untapped potential of the nation and seeking way to exploit it for the benefit the masses. A nation doesn’t have to be endowed with valuable natural resources to turn itself around. For example: there are several established food manufacturing companies in Kenya. Almost all have to import even the locally available raw materials. For instance one of the firms imports sunflower oil from Malaysia. Don’t we have one intelligent leader who would come up with a friendly way of having these industries contract the local populations to produce quality raw materials by providing them with seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and specifications? Then the cost for these can be deducted from their earning. Or which other way is the government hoping to create jobs directly for the ever increasing numbers of young people roaming the country and terrorizing the cities? How is the government aspiring to sustain the back-breaking free primary education and health care unless it embarks on a well raid attainable goal for empowering the masses so that they can eventually afford these services? We don’t build a working nation by endless speeches and papers alone but by rolling up our sleeves and making everyone participate in the economy. Think of what would happen if every able-bodied individual contributed just a little in the economy every day? In a very short time we would have all the money we need for the infrastructure; crimes would go to near-zero; investors would be over each over seeking investment opportunities in Kenya and the relief agencies would be sent packing for good for lack of demand for their services. It sounds like utopia but that is the lie we’ve been made to believe. We’ve been lied to that there is no way around our problems. We’ve been lied to that our population is too large to feed itself. We’ve been lied to that hand-outs and the begging-bow is our eternal portion. - Eric Nyaga Mon, 23 Jun 2008 13:16:10 +0100