Wajackoya offers fresh breath in corridor of ideas

One of the shortcomings of our leading presidential candidates is the dearth of ideas. Listening to their campaign promises, it becomes clear that they have no foolproof plans to re-engineer our dying economy. Theirs is a regurgitation of the usual pre-election promises such as reduction of prices of various commodities and creation of job opportunities.

Which brings me to Prof. Wajackoya’s pledge of legalising and subsequent commercialisation of bhang, if elected president. For me, he offers fresh breath in the corridors of ideas.

Holding other factors constant, it isn’t difficult to see how the crop, if cultivated, would yield profit. Consider the Galana Kulalu project that gobbled a whopping Sh2 billion. If the same field would have been put under the said weed (assuming its legality), the proceeds would have offset some of our needs. For instance, we could exchange it for human drugs from pharmaceuticals that may need it as raw material.

Actually, Wajackoya’s only fault is his dalliance with pragmatism. If this country has to move forward, it requires unpopular but realistic ideas. Whether in education, manufacturing, civil service or health. But hollow promises such as creation of extra ministries for youth and women, or pouring of unavailable resources to this or that group, is typical of rudderless leadership.

Ditto highfalutin manifestos that die upon pronouncement. Kenya needs urgent reforms in the manner it conducts its business, lest we go the Sri Lanka way.

You don’t have to look far to detect the escapist nature of the factions in the contest. Evidently, none of them seem seized of the tragic path that our education sector is bound. One of them attempted to poke holes in the Competency-based curriculum – methinks it was a populist gimmick – but beat a hasty retreat upon sensing rebellion from an equally uncertain public.

Barring the national debt, the country is faced with a ballooning wage bill that is at times funded through loans. But none of the factions addresses this, what of the wastage that defines various state departments. We must ask whether we can sustain the unjustifiable expenditure by the top offices in the civil service who spend exorbitantly on unprofitable junkets; maintenance of top-range vehicles; funding of ritualistic seminars; payment of multiple allowances; and expenditure on branded assortments (for instance t-shirts, caps, jackets, umbrellas – as if the government is advertising itself!), among many other facets of conspicuous consumption.

We must call out thieves that hide behind bureaucratic procurement processes. Pray, why should a pen that ordinarily goes at a retail price of 15 shillings end up at 100 just because it’s being procured by a government agency, never mind the economies of scale? In truth, these bodies can operate at half their current budget if funds are used prudently. Can’t we take cue from the private sector?

We may talk of manufacturing for all we care, but all will be naught unless we figure out the kind of industries we can sustain against global competition. For now, cottage industries will do, if we get the electricity bills right, among other overheads. With efficiency, critical sectors such as health will easily be funded. But until the government gets its act together, we remain doomed.

Wycliffe Osabwa, Busia