Key pillars that drive national progress, stability

Kenya flags fly at Uhuru Gardens Park on December 11, 2021.
What you need to know:
- The sectors that should be treated seriously are education, health, the Judiciary and security.
- For a country to develop, it must prioritise the education of its people.
The success of our country can always be gauged by how effective and efficient certain pillars are, as they are the ones that if compromised, can bring our progress to a stop.
The sectors that should be treated seriously are education, health, the Judiciary and security.
Education is one of the sectors that should never be played with, no matter the cost, as it remains the backbone of everything in our country.
This sector holds the key to a nation’s success as it gives birth to professionals and experts in every field that is required for our country to grow.
Be it food experts, teachers, lawyers, doctors, nurses, or those in the security field, they are who they are because of education. Therefore, it remains the foundation of any society and should be nurtured and protected.
For a country to develop, it must prioritise the education of its people. While the sector receives funding through yearly government budgets, we must ask ourselves if these funds are sufficient to ensure quality learning facilities, from ECDE to university levels, as well as necessary equipment, and the hiring of enough teachers and tutors with better remuneration to prevent persistent industrial strikes.
As a country, we need to allocate resources to this sector with the utmost priority for it to progress.
In fact, education should always receive additional resources, even if it already gets the lion’s share of the Budget.
The government should focus solely on education because an educated society is self-sustaining. Tampering with education is essentially tampering with the future of the nation. And no child should drop out of school because of fees.
Prosperity
A healthy nation is a prosperous one, and for that to happen, the healthcare system must be efficient and effective. After providing the best education, the government must ensure the people receive the best healthcare to foster productivity across all sectors of the economy.
A country cannot achieve productivity when its health system is dysfunctional, especially when continuous industrial strikes leave the population vulnerable and struggling.
Resources must be invested in healthcare because a compromised system is a ticking time bomb, as we saw in 2020.
This sector must be funded adequately, without hesitation. Empowering healthcare does not only mean funding but also ensuring that all personnel, from data clerks to nurses, clinicians, and surgeons, are well-remunerated. Health facilities should be plentiful and well-equipped, with an environment conducive to work.
Even if medics are paid well, a poor working environment still jeopardises the system and, equally, when medics are not paid-well. Once education and health are functioning effectively, the Judiciary and security sectors become crucial for governance and the rule of law.
A strong and independent judiciary ensures that those dissatisfied with actions in society have a place to seek justice. Since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, Kenya has made significant strides in judicial independence, as seen in the presidential election disputes of 2013, 2017, and 2022.
The judiciary's role in governance and law is indispensable. Any attempt to undermine this institution risks plunging the country into chaos.
The judiciary must be independent, adequately staffed, and well-funded. More judges, magistrates, court clerks, and other personnel must be recruited. Compromising the judiciary would lead to the collapse of law and order.
Furthermore, delays in justice where cases drag on for years must be addressed. Justice delayed is justice denied, and the judiciary must work efficiently to ensure timely outcomes.
For law and order to prevail, security forces must be effective and well-resourced. This requires adequate funding, proper remuneration for personnel, and strict measures to curb corruption or misconduct within the ranks.
Rogue officers must be held accountable to protect the integrity of the security sector. Continuous training of our security personnel can also help in instilling discipline among them with the end result being efficiency in the line of duty.
By strengthening these pillars, education, healthcare, judiciary and security, a nation can thrive and pave the way for sustained development.
Mr Muthama is a member of the Parliamentary Service Commission (@nduyamuthama).