To move Kenya forward, William Ruto should uproot the old order

Additionally, the national malaise of cynicism, anything goes, jealousy, laisse faire attitude, contrived outrage, greed, corruption stand in his quest to deliver the Kenya we ought to have. What to do? Many observers have pegged President Mwai Kibaki's rapid turn-around of the economy after assuming office in 2003 to his clarion call of "tufanye kazi, tulipe ushuru".

Perhaps not so deliberate, but any other way one looks at it, President Kibaki's was a case of social engineering. He exhorted the people to work hard. By 2004/05 the people were convinced that hard work pays. To succeed, Dr Ruto will have to incite social change, somehow.

"Culture eats strategy for lunch", goes the common pep talk in corporate excursions.

So, unless the culture is right, the strategy will fail. In the same way, I suppose, if the national strategy is not accompanied by a shift in the mindset, it all amounts to naught.

Put it another way. For President Ruto to succeed especially with his economic model, it is not so much about the bolts and the nuts as about the software (mindset). And there are levels to consider when tackling the question of the Kenyan culture: At the governance level and the individual/personal level.

Sometimes the two levels are intertwined, but ultimately, they are related. Kenya's case is queer because of years of resistance to colonial rule.

DP Rigathi Gachagua (left) with President William Ruto during a past public event. [DPPS]

So again, what is Kenyan culture? Collectivism or individualism? At the governance level, President Ruto will have to cut down and uproot the political culture and the bureaucratic network so often blamed for breeding corruption and bad governance.

In the civil service, he needs to promote a culture of service, change and innovation and adapting to the new digital world. But then, culture change takes long. Perhaps the president's entire two terms, but he ought to start nevertheless.

-Mr Kipkemboi is Partnerships and Special Projects Editor, Standard Group