It breaks my heart to hear the rich tell the poor unemployed to their face that they are the cause and solution of their predicament and the helpless creatures humbly accept it.
It is even more disconcerting to hear them explain to the poor masses how they intend to create employment for them through “Biscuit” revolution model that involves availing magical tools of economic activities in fighting unemployment.
It is strange that honest but ignorant Kenyans are among those supporting such a deceptive economic agenda.
Even some educated economists, including top church leaders, progressive civil society members and experienced politicians have joined this utopian bandwagon.
If there is a resource this country has in plenty, it is consumnate liars and gullibles.
The narrative that millions of unemployed citizens lack basic tools to be rich is the biggest hoax of the 21st century.
No country in the world has ever pulled itself from unemployment and poverty doldrums by pursuing simplistic, myopic and self centred development agenda.
A brief scrutiny of the Asian Tigers, (Singapore, Malaysia, Taiwan etc), which were economically worse off than Kenya is today reveals a completely different economic development model than the one being promised to Kenyans by power hungry charlatans.
Modern Singapore’s celebrated founding father, Lee Kuan Yew articulated unity and ethos as critical ingredients for economic revival and progress for multi-racial Singapore.
According to Lee, what Singaporeans lacked was genuine unity of purpose and knowledge to get out of unemployment and poverty.
With a few good men and women of faith, it took Lee’s team less than a decade to prove this reality/truth to the whole world.
Lee and his team neither lied to the people nor pretended that the task ahead of them was simple.
Unlike our “saviours” they were not rich but leaders of good moral and ethical standing.
If knowledge and ethics could rid Singapore of endemic poverty and multi-racial differences, why would it fail to do so for Kenya?
The answer to this question is simply those advancing change in Kenya are not genuine.
As hard as it may sound to the converted, there is absolutely no way unemployment in Kenya can be tackled by dishing out wheelbarrows, vehicle washing, barber and saloon equipment to citizens free of charge.
If that were possible, those who have bought such tools by themselves could be rich making Kenya the country with biggest number of millionaires in the whole world.
What is this madness that everyone can only make it in life if they engage in business? Do all people pocess business acumenship?
Truth is that without a strong thriving economy, Kenya cannot create an enabling environment for the available labour force to be employed or engage in self employment.
What is the real cause of unemployment and poverty?
In a nutshell, it is theft of development resources by a few individuals, which triggers a multiplicity of factors to deny the majority their socio- economic and political entitlement.
To be candid and honest, even if the hustler handout revolution wins power, this country will sink into bigger and messier poverty than it is today.
Like the Asian Tigers, Kenya requires a paradigm shift and embrace knowledge economy and social capital.
As an important value, ethos is perhaps the most critical because without it achieving transformative change will be futile.
It would be fair if such leaders promise to revamp education, skills training, research, fight corruption and strengthen governance structures.
Unfortunately, what Kenyans are being promised are sweet nothings by power hungry leaders.
One shudders to imagine what such leaders can do if by bad luck they acquire power.
That as it may, a worrying mentality is emerging, whereby some Kenyans are asking who is honest or not a thief in this country.
My answer to such desperate souls is that there are millions of citizens who are not thieves in this country.
Furthermore, the theft that is killing the economy is not when Kamau steals from Otieno but when both Kamau and Otieno plunders the Treasury.
It is when funds that are allocated for development projects are misused, projects are shoddily developed, justice is denied, impunity is the order of the day and other malpractices.
These are the real causes and symptoms that any serious leader/s must promise to address.
Finally, Kenyans must not lose hope because there are still good men and women available in this country with genuine motives to moot and drive genuine change for this country and its citizens.
Kaunda wa Muchunku
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