Why we must safeguard peace and stability

Kenya has made commendable progress in its journey to become a vibrant democratic nation governed by the rule of law where enterprises, communities and individuals can prosper. We are just days to the August 9 General Election and, compared to the last three polls, the country has never been calmer.

Though we still don’t have a perfect track record when it comes to curbing election disputes, Kenya’s electoral and judicial institutions today enjoy strong public confidence. Our main international partners, including the United Kingdom and the European Union, have also expressed confidence that the polls will be credible.

We must remember that this progress can be lost in a few days if we do not remain committed to safeguarding peace and promoting political stability. Even with the progress we’ve made, our painful past, including unfortunate episodes such as the 2007 post-election violence, should serve as a reminder of the national and individual responsibility to uphold peace.

Rogue politicians

We must not allow rogue politicians accustomed to unethical manoeuvres such as tribal and divisive politics, baseless propaganda, voter bribery and other misdeeds to create a bad reputation for all leaders. Public service is a high calling that determines the rise or fall of communities, and even entire nations.

Politicians should reach out to all corners of society and all players in the economy, including the business community, for views on the best way forward.

The private sector and investors overall have tremendous value to add to national discussions. We, for example, need to see sustained efforts in ensuring predictable and fair policies, regulations, and taxation for enterprises, cognisant of the role the private sector plays in supporting communities through production of goods and services and provision of employment.

Economic Survey 2022

This means that, regardless of the political camp that ends up running the next government, there needs to be continuity and improvement in the policies, laws and regulations affecting different industries. In the capital markets, for example, we need to fast track the process of privatising selected state-run enterprises via the NSE. This will increase activity in our capital markets and help the government raise additional funds without putting additional pressure on KRA. By bringing in domestic and international institutional investors through the NSE, parastatals that undergo privatisation will also improve their governance standards.

In the last two years, we’ve lived through unprecedented global challenges that have affected billions of people around the world. These include the Covid-19 pandemic, inflation, supply chain disruptions, protests and political instability, climate shocks such as droughts and floods, the Russia Ukraine crisis, and renewed Western-Chinese tensions. Yet, Kenya remains the preferred investment destination in the region.

The Economic Survey 2022 published by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics shows that our GDP has increased a cumulative 50 per cent in the last five years, increasing from Sh8.23 trillion in 2017 to Sh12.09 trillion in 2021. There are well founded reasons to be optimistic about our future as a country.

Mr Kittony is the Chairman of the Nairobi Securities Exchange [email protected]