The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting,
digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading
multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and
international interest.
President William Ruto interacts with small-scale traders during the launch of Hustler Fund at Green Park in Nairobi. [File, Standard]
Unless you are daft, it is obvious we are on to the 2027 political train. It is a perfect demonstration of how Kenyan politics is really yet to mature to a level that can bring the transformation Kenyans yearn for.
It is only two years after the last election, yet we have started being treated to theatrical machinations and political chess games that do not signify anything else other than a linking up of ‘political influencers’ in the name of broad-based government.
We must really find another name for the kind of government being formed because the endgame is obvious even to the naked eye, and there is nothing broad about it. The wider plan is to have Kenya Kwanza and all main parties of Azimio in one basket. Even Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka is not likely to escape President Ruto’s charm. Parliament will fast-track some recommendations from the NADCO committee deliberations that he co-chaired. The one that concerns him most is creation of the Office of the Leader of Opposition with deputies.
That will settle him in opposition but also give him free access to other power brokers in preparation for 2027.
As obvious, not everything always works as planned and so the contingencies must be placed by pressing other buttons. These include the IEBC, which is yet to be formed, and the Judiciary. For this reason we should not be brought into every battle being waged against Chief Justice Martha Koome and the Judiciary at large.
Yes, the Judiciary has its failings and may need some radical surgery akin to what happened under Kibaki. However, this must not be done under political terms. Struggling Kenyans had placed all their hopes in President Ruto following his hustler narrative. However, today, the person at the bottom continues to suffer the most, and not from policies inherited from the old regime, but new ones under the BETA plan.
Small-scale traders hoped for an easier way to access credit facilities. The Hustler Fund is yet to solve that. The unemployed and low-earning Kenyans hoped for better and affordable medical care under the Universal Health Care.
That is work in progress but should have been the quickest win if it had been implemented properly and without additional financial burdens.
I still hope it succeeds because nothing has impoverished Kenyan families more than medical costs. The other easy win under the BETA plan is free and accessible education for all.
Despite the education budget taking a huge chunk of Kenya’s budget, education is yet to be affordable. Things seem to have gotten worse with the adjustments in funding students proceeding for various levels of higher education.
If I were the President I would rework the policies on the three above points, rectify mistakes and respond to feedback. That way, he wouldn’t need to keep adding new political influencers to his bulging 2027 WhatsApp group.
The Standard Group Plc is a multi-media organization with investments in media
platforms spanning newspaper print operations, television, radio broadcasting,
digital and online services. The Standard Group is recognized as a leading
multi-media house in Kenya with a key influence in matters of national and
international interest.
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