Politicians charm voters with bag of promises, from jobs to reviving economy

Youths seek handouts from the window of a politician's car at Egesa in the outskirts of Kisii town on Feb 2, 2022. [Sammy Omingo,Standard]

It's that season again when politicians, like a suitor, wax lyrical about what they intend to do if elected.

Every election cycle, aspirants make lofty promises to voters, but as soon as they are elected, they quickly forget those pledges. Some even go underground for years only to resurface when seeking reelection.

In most cases, the promises are music to the ears of voters.

The big question is: Will this election be different given the many promises being bandied around?

Aspirants have made numerous pledges including reviving the economy, reviving agriculture, reviving industries, creating jobs for the youth, building affordable housing, and revamping health and education sectors. 

Agriculture is Kenya's economic mainstay with the sector contributing at least 15 per cent to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Horticulture, dairy, tea, coffee and miraa are the mainstay of Mt Kenya region economy. Top on the list of promises for voters in Mt Kenya region are plans to improve farmers’ incomes from cash crops such as tea and coffee.

These sectors have experienced extensive reforms in the past two decades, but farmers would like to return to the golden age when the crops were the country's top earners.

Politicians are riding on this hope, promising farmers a guaranteed minimum return on all cash crops. This would entail capping the buying price for these commodities.

There have also been promises of crop insurance and guaranteed minimum returns so that when prices go below the set mark, the government would chip in to protect farmers.

Within Kirinyaga County, rice farmers have been promised markets for their produce in Mwea Irrigation Scheme.

Politicians have also pledged to revive industries and businesses in the region as well as create jobs for youth who have little interest in agriculture.

Another promise central Kenya voters have heard time and again is that politicians will push for the principle of one man, one vote, one shilling, which seeks to ensure that resources are distributed based on the number of people in an area as opposed to the size of land they occupy.

In Meru County, voters are often wooed with promises of markets for miraa produce. In North Eastern region, politicians have promised to address insecurity, which has plagued the region for decades.

Insecurity stemming from banditry and inter-clan rivalry has been a sticking point for North Eastern region.

The voters have also been promised markets for their livestock with no clear roadmap on how this will be achieved.

Politicians have also promised the region access to water, ensuring boreholes are dug and maintained in the arid area.

Other campaign promises include addressing perennial drought and hunger in the region which are yet to be accomplished to date.

In Nyanza, politicians have promised in their manifestos to among other things address issues touching on the struggling fishing industry, the collapsed sugar sector, and health and infrastructure development.

These issues have dominated past campaigns, including the 2013 and 2017 elections where politicians marketed themselves as the leaders with the solutions to revive these sectors.

In Kisumu, Homa Bay, Siaya and Migori, the revival of the blue economy is a key campaign tool for politicians. Almost all candidates eyeing governor seats have promised to revive the sector.

In Homa Bay, governor candidates Gladys Wanga and Evans Kidero have promised to transform the fishing industry.

The sector has employed thousands of people directly but has been struggling due to dwindling stocks and frequent harassment by Ugandan authorities.

Both have promised to construct roads to improve access to beaches. Some of the beaches have been inaccessible as a result of poor roads and thus affecting movement of goods.

In Rift Valley, agriculture, security and creation of jobs for the youth are the top pledges that leaders use to entice residents.

The top two political formations, Kenya Kwanza and Azimio la Umoja, acknowledge that the region is the country’s food basket.

Agriculture employs more than 70 per cent of the population, and its one of the issues that politicians campaigning in the region capitalise on.

Promises ranging from providing subsidies to make the sector profitable have become the order of day in rallies. Currently, fertiliser prices have gone through the roof with a 50kg bag of the commodity retailing at Sh6,500.

Aspirants have promised to lower fertiliser prices to Sh2,000 per 50kg bag through subsidy programmes. They have also promised to lower cost of fuel to ease mechanisation, address market challenges to make the sector more viable economically.

These promises did not begin today. Over the years, politicians have been promising to enhance agribusiness through value addition initiatives. This includes establishing cottage industries such as dairy cooling plants.

Leaders often woo votes by promising to pump in resources into the sector and encourage diversification through high-value crops, including French beans, avocado, and macadamia. They also promise to provide incentives for the production of cash crops such as tea, coffee, pyrethrum, dairy, cereals, wheat, sugarcane and horticulture.

During Kenya Kwanza Economic Forum held in Uasin Gishu and in Baringo recently, residents gave a long list of demands to Dr William Ruto’s running mate Rigathi Gachagua, laying bare their tribulations in the agriculture sector.

“Cost of credit is not favourable to farmers and insurance is inadequate. When one takes insurance he or she is taken in circles. We need insurance to deal with farmers similar to NHIF,” George Kibet said.

Leaders across the political divide have promised to revive and fund institutions to enhance services to farmers. Some of the institutions include Agricultural Finance Corporation to ease access to affordable loans, Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (Kalro) to enhance research on animal and crop diseases and Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC) to enhance production of quality seeds and semen.

In volatile regions of Elgeyo Marakwet, Turkana and West Pokot the leaders' top campaign pledges are addressing insecurity and installing irrigation projects to guarantee residents better livelihoods.

Kenya Kwanza leaders have pledged continuity of dams, which they claim have been politicised and stopped in the region.

They have also pledged to upgrade infrastructural development to open up the region for investors. They cite Eldoret International Airport, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret, and Two Public Universities among other public and private institutions as key installations that need to be tapped through good road linkages.

The existence of minerals, including oil in Turkana, is also key as leader’s pledge to leverage the opportunity to transform standards of living.

Leaders within multinational ventures, including those in tea belts, promise to influence service provision to neighbouring communities through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to better livelihoods of rural communities.

They also promise to restore National Police Reservists (NPR) to contain cattle rustling menace in Kerio valley region.  

Political leaders also pledge to enhance medical provision through establishment of more health centres and also enhancing medical insurance schemes to end situations where families auction properties including land to meet medical bills.

UDA flagbearer William Ruto and his Azimio counterpart Raila Odinga are out to woo the 1.8 million votes at Coast with big promises.

For the first time in many election circles, Mombasa port and logistics services have emerged as the main bait to lure Mombasa while in Kwale, Kilifi, Taita Taveta, Lamu and Tana River it is land.

Ruto has promised to reverse the directives that transferred port services to Nairobi and Naivasha dry ports.

“On matters to do with the port it was never the intention of the government to build the SGR so that the Coast can be impoverished. The converse was the intention,” Ruto said during his tour of the Coast a fortnight ago.

The DP has said that all the legal and administrative issues on SGR and port services shall be undertaken within the first year of his administration. 

Raila and Ruto have also proposed major land reforms to deal with historical land injustices bedevilling the Coast since the 1960s. Ruto and Raila have said they will set aside funds to buy land from the absentee landlords.

DP Ruto has pledged to buy one million acres of idle land to settle squatters at the coast. Raila has also promised to negotiate with absentee landlords to settle the landless.

In the recent past, the National Land Commission (NLC) has said that most of the absentee landlords who own huge parcels of land at the Coast have rejected State overtures to buy their properties. 

In Mombasa, the ODM candidate for the governor seat has promised to revive the multi-million-shilling water desalination that was abandoned following studies that revealed that it was costly and environmentally unfriendly.

Abdulswamad Nassir said he would fast-track the Sh16 billion water desalination plant to address the acute water shortage affecting over 1 million residents of Mombasa.

In Kilifi, ODM governor candidate Gideon Mung'aro has promised to settle squatters in settlement schemes. He has also promised to create 20,000 jobs in the textile industry. 

In Laikipia, good roads, clean water, better health services, quality education, security are among the top promises being given to the voters on the campaign trails.

Laikipia Governor Ndititu Muriithi who is seeking reelection through the Jubilee Party has pledged to uplift education and health standards in the county where literacy levels remain low.

“We target to attain 100 per cent enrollment in early childhood education by increasing the facilities from the current 442 to 600. We shall also improve our polytechnics and establish innovation hubs in smart towns,” said Ndititu.

Muriithi has also promised to implement the Sh117 billion county water master plan if he wins re-election. 

The plan which was unveiled last year covers the county’s water requirement for the next 20 years and aims at ensuring that all the citizens have access to water.

He said his administration was targeting to de-silt 231 dams, invest in five mega dams and drilling of 113 boreholes in the next five years.“Our goal is to reach 50,000 acres under irrigation agriculture to increase the production of food and fodder. 

Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui vying on Jubilee Party has promised to revamp avocado and pyrethrum sectors saying that efforts put in his first term have paid up for many farmers.

“The uptake of the two crops has been on the rise with the market demand still high. We shall continue to support farmers from subsidy programmes and free seedlings,” said Kinyanjui.

The governor has vowed to continue with his road network improvement programme saying this will go a long way in boosting business and agricultural activities in rural areas.

Provision of clean water supply has been one of the major promises as UDA’s Senator Susan Kihika seeks to oust Governor Kinyanjui who have promised to drill more boreholes to boost supply both in rural and urban centers.

In Baringo County, security is among the pledges made by the candidates, including incumbent governor Stanley Kiptis who has initiated a titling programme to address land-related conflicts.

“Security disrupts our economic activities causing us to lag behind in development. In collaboration with the national government we shall ensure we come up with lasting solutions,” said Kiptis, an independent candidate.

Baringo County is among the areas worst hit by banditry attacks as communities in the county and its neighbours raid each other for livestock.

His predecessor Benjamin Cheboi who is vying on a UDA ticket has vowed to help the residents who face perennial food shortages rise above the biting drought.

“We endeavour to put mechanisms to maximize the use of arid and semi-arid lands of our county to increase its productivity through livestock and irrigation for food production,” said Cheboi.

(Reporting by Lydiah Nyawira, Harold Odhiambo, Titus Too, Kennedy Gachuhi, Nikko Tannui and Bernard Sanga)