Change of political leadership makes me optimistic about 2023

William Ruto (left) arrives at State House for a meeting with Uhuru Kenyatta ahead of the former's swearing-in ceremony at Kasarani on September 12, 2022. [PSCU, Standard]

The year 2023 started peacefully in Kenya. I woke up to the new year with optimism that 2023 shall be better than 2022.

On the evening of the 1st of January, the traffic was unusually heavy in Nairobi clearly showing Kenyans are ushering in the new year with hope and vigour.

What awaits us ahead depends on our expectations. Investors use the economic theory of expectations as a yardstick for gauging how to plan in the short and long term with their investments.

Similarly, there are many ways for ordinary Kenyans to plan and organise themselves ahead. In particular young people need to start understanding the dynamics of the markets.

The world is changing very fast and only those who understand this will benefit from this change. The youth need to adopt IT technology and maximise the benefits of trading globally through their mobile phones. But why am I optimistic despite many people complaining about challenging economic times?

One key indicator of my optimism is the change of leadership in Kenya. To be brutally honest, I have a feeling we now have a president who is really in charge and has the passion and cognitive strength to steer the country in the direction of economic growth.

Listening to his speeches on several occasions I see a sober man on a mission. My other source of optimism is the resilience of the Kenyan people. Recently I had an opportunity to converse with a petrol station attendant on
Mombasa Road in Nairobi who revealed to me why he thinks 2023 will be better than 2022.

This young man thought very deeply and said Kenya had gone through a more difficult time in the past and the only opportunity left is for us to forge ahead with good planning for better times.

'I look forward to owning my own home and taking my children to a good school he said'. The foundation for economic takeoff is all available. Compared to many countries in Africa and the developing world, our banking and telecommunication service, roads, and both sea and airports are good ingredients for giving us a competitive edge.

The devolution of funds to the sub-national level if well managed is also a way of stimulating the economy to grow faster. The most challenging issue for Kenya at the moment is the biting drought and the impacts of climate change.

Though problematic these challenges are not really beyond our ability to solve them. In the past successive governments never really invested sufficient funds in the counties severely affected by drought to cushion them against the shocks caused by the failed rain seasons.

Under the current president, there are indicators that he plans to change this narrative by putting in place ways of harnessing ground and rainwater. Recently President William Ruto pledged to convert three million hectares of land in the arid and semi-arid regions into irrigation-fed farmlands. The problem we have
in Kenya is implementing the good plans we have.

Vision 2030, the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, and other policies only need a political will which the current president confirms he has.
The most important driver for better prosperity is for Kenyans to grow out of the mentality that it is difficult to grow wealth because of a lack of funds.

Even with limited funds, it is not difficult to gain financial independence. The resources around us including arable land and the ability to sell our labour to other countries are all ways of making money and progressing well.