We have failed the citizens by not prioritizing their needs

Way back in 2008, after the signing of the Serena Peace Accord under the Kenya National Dialogue and Reconciliation (KNDR), we carried out public opinion surveys on the state of the nation at the time.

KNDR was a watershed moment for Kenya in many ways. It is this particular moment when Kenya stopped at the brink of a civil war following a violent conflict arising from the disputed December 2007 presidential election result.

This violence divided the country into two blocs with each having loyal supporters not ready to compromise on their position. Put simply, President Mwai Kibaki and his Party of National Unity (PNU), controlled one bloc; and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) controlled another. ODM believed and presented evidence that election had been rigged in favour of President Kibaki. On the other hand, Kibaki believed he won fair and square.

International mediation by for UN Secretary General, the late Kofi Annan, ended the violence. The violence ended after both parties agreed to share power under a Coalition Government. They agreed on a road map to a new constitution to address many challenge regarding distribution of power. In particular, there was concern about how power was used to marginalise some regions and advance others.

Institutional reforms

Both parties also agreed that the violence was a symptom of longstanding issues that Kenya failed to address. This included lack of institutional reforms such as police and public sector reforms; and failure to address unemployment, especially among the youth; the land question; poverty and inequality; and governance challenges.

These issues would lead to violent conflicts during elections as groups and their ethnic leaders sought to outcompete one another and control the government and its institutions. Therefore, after the Coalition Government was formed, citizens were upbeat about how Kenya would change for the better.

Immediately after the Coalition Government, there was great interest among Kenyans, the international community and the region in general in tracking progress in implementing the agreement. Out of this need, we began conducting public opinion surveys focusing on issues such as the priorities that the Coalition Government would address, and how people felt about the state of the economy among other things.

 The questions also touched on the state of governance and people’s trust and level of confidence in institutions such as the police, political parties, the election management body at the time. We also wanted to find out how much people trusted social institutions such as traditional and cultural groupings including councils of elders where they exist. We included religious institutions and the media, too.

Public surveys have continued to focus on these issues to get a feel on the state of the nation. But from early 2008 to the present day, December 2022, citizens have continued to emphasise the same thing in terms of how they feel about the society they live in. They have continued to express dissatisfaction about how the society is governed and how institutions operate.

Disturbing is that nothing has changed between 2008 and today December 2022. It is as if we do not listen to these voices when we are making policies on development. A close look at these issues will show that the priorities of what people want government to focus on have not changed since in 2008.

Challenges and priorities to focus on

Way back in 2008, citizens sampled in these surveys were asked to state what they considered to be the key challenges facing the country. They were asked also what the priorities of the new Coalition Government of President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga should be. About 58 per cent identified jobs as a priority. A similar number had cited unemployment as a major challenge. Next to this was the high cost of living.

This period was marked by increasing inflation. They wanted the Coalition Government to address unemployment and reduce the cost of living by bringing down prices of basic commodities. Fighting corruption, though widespread, was not a concern for many people.

Several years later, in 2012, we asked the same questions. About 45 per cent stated that the high cost of living was a major problem. Another 14 per cent mentioned lack of employment (jobs), and 10 per cent mentioned corruption. About 7 per cent cited poor leadership (alongside a similar number who cited insecurity). 5 per cent stated that they were worried about ‘tribalism’. Important here is that both the cost of living and addressing unemployment were very visible as top priorities.

Some years later in 2017, just before the August 2017 elections, surveys asked respondents similar question. The answers were not any different. People wanted jobs and cost of living to be addressed. Again in 2022, the same issues in the same pattern, feature as key priorities.

Both before and after the August election, as many as half of the population identified the high cost of living as a major problem they faced. Lack of employment featured too. Drought and famine would also be mentioned severally.

Overall, for over 10 years, a majority of Kenya have underlined the problem of jobs and the cost of living as key issues they would want the government to address. Indeed, following the August 2022 election, as many as 80 per cent want the government to reduce the cost of living.

Over half want jobs. In other words, Kenyans have been consistent with what they want addressed but we have a ‘hearing impairment’ and have become hard of hearing these voices. This is unfortunate given that the signs appeared way back in 2008 following the violent conflict that almost turned into a civil war.

Absence of Institutional reforms

The failure to listen is manifest in how we address institutional reforms too. In 2008, only less than 30 per cent were satisfied with how the police performed. A similarly low number trusted the courts and judges. There was very little trust in the police, the Judiciary, Parliament, political parties, and government institutions.

 Following the making of the 2010 Constitution, there was expectation that this would change. But by 2012, only 40 per cent had trust in the police. Confidence in the Judiciary improved considerably during the tenure of the Emeritus Chief Justice Willy Mutunga. People believed in the courts and trusted that the judges would be impartial. This remained the case until trust levels - in some regions - began to dip following the Supreme Court ruling of the 2013 elections. Trust in the Judiciary took regional lines of how people voted. This regional pattern in trust in institutions has not changed.

Why are things this way?

Nothing has changed for these years because we plan and prioritise for the middle class, the elites or those who have. In other words, the elites in our society prioritizes policies that address their immediate needs rather than the needs of the society as a whole.

Among other things, policies should have focused on improving conditions for agricultural production and improving value-addition through agro-processing industries. But this has not been the focus of policies. And where there has been an attempt to do so, it leads to an attempt to generate some money through corruption to benefit the same elites involved in planning and making these policies.

The circus continues. We have prioritized building of a fertilizer manufacturing plant from the 1960s to the present. Money is raised for feasibility studies and other plans but nothing happens. We prioritized increased production through irrigation and even started Galana farms. But nothing has happened.

 The circus continues. This will be an endless game unless we focus attention to interventions that address the needs of the ordinary citizens. We have not done so. Our failure to prioritize what they need will lead to them forcing us to listen and to do as they wish. This may not take long to happen.

Prof. Karuti Kanyinga is based at the Institute for Development Studies (IDS), University of Nairobi, [email protected], @karutikk