Enlightened voters get betters services

NAIROBI: The ideological path it takes defines a nation’s destiny. Different countries chose different strategic paths; socialist, capitalist or communist ideologies.

Tanzania under the guidance of Julius Nyerere chose Ujamaa, which reduced tribalism but left Tanzanians as East African experts in Swahili, though the same can’t be said of their general educational competitiveness. Kenya under the founding father, President Jomo Kenyatta, remained non-aligned either to communism or capitalism.

That left the country with the largest economy in East Africa. Just like country ideologies, the political ideology a nation adopts defines its destiny. Kenya’s political strategy is defining Kenya’s destiny. What is the current political strategy?

Does Jubilee government have a political strategy? Yes. What Strategy is it? Public Relations (PR). How successful is it? Great success. The President and Government’s approval ratings on May 31, 2014 stood at 38 per cent, its lowest. The opinion poll by Ipsos Kenya showed a big surge in Mr Kenyatta’s approval ratings, from 43 per cent two months earlier to 71 per cent after his appearance at the International Criminal Court’s status conference. How was the President’s appearance at The Hague managed?

He addressed Parliament and “handed over power” to his deputy and went to the Hague only to come back in less than a week to have it back. Is that PR or delivery of Government promise? The president’s approval now stands at 75 per cent from the August 25 polls. This came after his State visit to Uganda, where he addressed the Ugandan parliament, promising to import Ugandan sugar and his stance on homosexuality during the Obama visit earlier. Is this a proof (of a successful government; what is happening in the country?

Teachers have been on strike; no learning. Doctors are threatening to go on strike. Nurses have been on strike in different counties, the sugar industry is bleeding, which means livelihood for about 6 million Kenyans in trouble. The Kenya shilling is sliding further and the list of troubles is getting longer as the President’s approval ratings go up – a clear indicator of a government with a PR Strategy. How has The Hague visit improved Kenya’s economy, created jobs, improved the value of the shilling? How has the President’s address to the Ugandan parliament enhanced any Kenyan’s chances of putting bread on the table for his/her family? Is this Government’s fault and can the voters turn the tide in their favour?

It is said in business that customer is king, so firms must give to the customers what they want in order to retain them. In politics, a nation gets the leaders it deserves. This means it is not the Government’s fault but our fault as a nation. Jubilee is simply giving us what we want in order to retain them in office come 2017. This could be the reason that Jubilee’s opposite continues to stumble as they haven’t got their strategy right.

When Raila was in the United States in May 2014, promising to bring some change on arrival, Uhuru’s ratings sank to their lowest (38 per cent). After he arrived and missed his steps with the issue of national dialogue, Uhuru’s ratings moved from 38 per cent to 71per cent. What can serve as better proof of lack of strategy than that? In that regard, it’s not the Government’s fault and this gives us a chance as a nation to turn the tide in our favour. This is by being enlightened voter and opinion poll respondents.

A voter, just like a customer, should not be deluded by the packaging of goods or advertising of a service, but the quality of the product.

The day the voters and polls will approve a Government based on delivery of public good, the voter will be a winner; but as of now, every Government that comes into office is the winner.

It doesn’t matter from which side of political divide the winner will be as we ought to be troubled less by the exchanges between Jubilee and Cord but more troubled by the gap between the magnitude of our challenges (Teachers’, nurses’ and doctors’ strikes, terror, fall of the shilling, poverty, and so on) and the smallness of Kenyan politics. Be an enlightened voter.

Dr Ogola is senior lecturer and academic director, MBA programmes, Strathmore Business School.