BBI or not? We are thriving but our priorities are misplaced

Parliament in session during day two of the two days special sitting to deliberate on the BBI among other issues on April 29, 2021 [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The high-octane political season is here with us.

With slightly over a year to the 2022 General Election, that predictable vote taken in both the National Assembly and the Senate confirmed many people’s fears.

It showed that everything else now takes a back seat as political alignments and realignments start playing out with everyone wanting to be on the winning side.

The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill 2020, popularly known as the BBI Bill, getting overwhelming support from legislators means it now heads to the people for them to vote for or against it.

A referendum is looming and with it comes a prolonged political campaign period that will dominate virtually all our spaces. The Handshake witnessed in 2018 has given birth to something many did not envision and this is the moment most politicians have, for years, been preparing for.

But as the BBI drumbeats become louder by the day, the sound of other pressing issues bedeviling the country are drowned out.

Muzzled by the politics. Shoved aside. Treated almost like a nuisance.

Like the rest of the world, Kenya has been battling the Covid 19 pandemic and countries have directed their financial arsenal to curb this virus that is disrupting all aspects of society.

Stories will be told, books will be written about just how cruel this virus was to mankind.

With these harsh realities, one would have expected a more collaborative and united front in coming up with solutions.

Often, many have lamented the urgency with which the clamour for constitutional change has been treated, at the expense of more pressing issues.

How do you convince someone who has been jobless for more than a year that an amendment to the current laws will solve their problems?

How do you tell an entrepreneur whose business has been run down by the harsh economic times, that BBi will solve their problems?

What of that family that has to survive on one meal a day or at times even go hungry? Is it lack of empathy or just aloofness?

We are yet to cross the one million mark in Covid-19 vaccination, meaning the population remains vulnerable to the constantly mutating virus.

Even with the decrease in infections and the positivity rate, questions abound on whether  this is the true representation of the situation on the ground when most of the data is pegged on walk-ins in health facilities.

Proponents of the Bill have argued that life has to continue: that it is possible to handle all issues simultaneously.

Some have even argued that countries have gone into elections during these dark times and nothing stops Kenya from going to the ballot in its quest for constitutional change.

What we seem to forget is that the emergency here is the health crisis and its far-reaching effects on all social spheres.

This virus has humbled many countries. India’s health system is overwhelmed and the country continues to break records in the number of cases and deaths. Do we imagine that we are immune?

Our focus should be on building resilience in our health systems and the economy that has been dampened by this pandemic.

If the third wave threatened our health systems, imagine if it got worse?

If there was a time for concerted efforts around this, it should be now when the curve is seemingly flattening.

The State needs to push for a proper and well-funded vaccination plan and ensure mechanisms are put in place to stimulate the economy.

Also, there should be a countrywide public awareness campaign on the Covid-19 vaccine. At this point, it would appear, we are on our own.

The vote as it is will go on, a process the IEBC has projected will cost Sh14 billion. How it will be funded remains unclear with the budget estimates for the financial year 2021-2022 silent on this. But with the process on the home stretch, budget constraints will not likely bring it to a halt considering that it has the blessings from top leadership.

Only the courts now stand in the way of the BBI with the High Court set to rule on whether the process will proceed or not.

If given a green light by the courts, we are about to witness campaign rallies across the country as politicians jostle for your vote in a way that will set the stage for next year’s elections.

Focus will shift completely, even with the nagging question whether Kenya can sanitise its way out of a fourth wave now that only a small number of the population has been vaccinated.

Time will tell!