It is time to fulfil all the promises made

Presiding and deputy presiding officers for various polling stations in Soy Constituency, Uasin Gishu County, and security officers at County Hall in Eldoret town, the constituency tallying centre, on August 8, 2022.

Photo credit: Jared Nyataya | Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • The IEBC allowed all qualified candidates to make their political promises which are of two sets: the realistic and euphoric ones.
  • Making false and unachievable political promises breaches ethics and trust.
  • It is also up to us the citizens to open our eyes and mark those politicians who are used to giving false promises.

During the campaign period, different candidates representing different political parties visited counties promising the sun and the moon in their manifestos.

Sadly, many politicians usually fail to keep their campaign promises.

Some will disappear after they are elected, only to come back with another round of promises while seeking re-election five years later. Once a promise is made, it is expected that it will be kept.

Because of hunger for power, many leaders are prompt to promise anything so as to be part of a gravy train of high salaries, perks and access to patronage.

The IEBC allowed all qualified candidates to make their political promises which are of two sets: the realistic and euphoric ones.

The realistic ones are those that are usually well thought out and structured while the euphoric is the crazy ones which are made by the roadside without much thought.

Manifestos

The Azimio la Umoja coalition, for example, vowed to implement a social protection program for the poor by giving a Sh6,000 stipend every month to two million households that are considered most vulnerable.

Kenya Kwanza, on the other hand, promised to set aside Sh100 million for each of the 290 constituencies to support small and medium-sized businesses that are managed by the youth and women.

These are absolutely good promises but they will only be impactful if they are implemented.

Kenyans are tired of false promises every election period.

After repeated cycles of broken promises, voters are becoming increasingly sceptical and pessimistic about voting.

Making false and unachievable political promises breaches ethics and trust.

It is not wise to fabricate your promises and later deceive voters — many of whom are desperate and illiterate. You will be undermining the credibility, legitimacy and trust of our electoral system — and politics.

It is high time our next leaders awaken from their slumber and face the reality of ensuring that each promise, whether realistic or euphoric, is fulfilled.

Furthermore, no politician would wish to be tagged as an immoral and irresponsible person who makes unrealistic promises.

It is also up to us the citizens to open our eyes and mark those politicians who are used to giving false promises.

In addition, let us avoid falling prey to leaders who want to use us to ascend to power by giving us false hope.

John Kennedy, who was an American president, once said that he would rather be accused of breaking precedents than breaking promises.

Fulfilling promises spelt to Kenyans is the first — and major step toward achieving the Sustainable Development Goals of Vision 2030. All successful politicians must remember that power is transient. Their days in office will soon end .

Rodgers Otiso and Maxwell Kamau, Migori