We have power to chart our course

By the time this article goes to print, Monday will have come and gone.

We will either be picking up the pieces after yet another disastrous round of protests or we will be breathing a sigh of relief after dodging a figurative bullet.

Just today, I have received no less than half a dozen messages, one of the benefits of living in a highly connected era. Though I cannot vouch for their legitimacy, their underlying tone is the same; Monday June 6 will be particularly brutal, be extra careful. Some of the messages are extra chilling, they mention the kind of violence we could do without, the kind that plunges us into our darker moments.

Last week I spoke of us allowing ourselves to be caught up as pawns in wars that we had no reason to be caught up in, the brutal display of egos clashing and our involvement as their collateral damage.

But then, in what felt like the reason to breathe easy again, it seemed as if sanity had reigned and the interests of the country were surpassing those of a few, a comfort that is now appearing as transient as it is naïve.
I am undeniably optimistic about our country. Is it rooted in naivety? Maybe it is. But what choice do we have?

I have often said that we do not have a spare country, so we must make this one work. But I am also tired on so many levels, at the damage that we are aiding and abetting by being complicit to this recklessness that accompanies the search for power and dominance.

Historically, the years leading up to and immediately after elections have been shown to be bad for Kenya’s economy.In the last seven of 10 elections the country has had, the rate of economic growth slows down in the year after polls. Statistics show that it takes, on average, 26 months for the country to recover from an economic downturn in this multi-party politics era.
Not only is slow-down in growth a major concern, but in instances such as tourism, the insecurity that comes with election strife is doubly damaging.

It negates any gains we have made from the significant funds spent to get the sector back on track as violence is inevitably followed by travel advisories, severely impacting the GDP.
Additional knock-on effects include fewer job opportunities, a slow-down of investor confidence and the resulting investments, a rise in inflation, unemployment and in some cases, increased taxation.

Agriculture, the mainstay of our economy, is severely impacted by regional unrest, eventually causing an even worsening status of food insecurity.

Simply put, pre and post-election violence see the country’s growth practically slowing to a crawl as the country reels from its after-effects.
And while this is not the focus of today’s article, let us not forget our emotional scars.

While we pride ourselves on being resilient, which to me seems like a silly euphemism for tolerating the folly of poor leadership, the scars that we never really heal from will well and truly catch up with us and it will not be pretty.

This year, we have well and truly got a head-start damaging the country’s economy. The private sector is reeling from the incessant violence over the past couple of weeks.

It is estimated that on each Monday protests take place, businesses lose about Sh80 million. This is entirely too high a price on the back of a country that is dealing with unsustainable debt levels and an ever-increasing tax burden.

Make no mistake about it, you as the taxpayers are the only people who will pay for it; not your elected office holders who are insulated against taxation due to their undeserved advantageous position.

And neither are the officials who have taken the last couple of months, in the amped up quest for personal enrichment, lined their pockets to protect themselves against the shocks they know will undoubtedly hit us over the next many months.

I concur that using the Constitution selectively only when it suits the interests of certain factions is both hypocritical and pretentious.

But this, descending into anarchy and lawlessness is only going to hurt us both in the long and the short term. As the citizenry, we are unwitting and unwilling collateral damage in a war that has no long-term benefit for us.

And still, we watch by the sidelines as if we are powerless spectators; all 45 million of us being held to ransom by and paying for the sins of a few who choose not to show true leadership but instead are hell-bent on protecting their interests.
I may not have all the answers. But what I do know for sure is that we are not as helpless as we think.

But most importantly, we still have a chance to make a difference before we hurtle into certain oblivion. And in the year to come, we can still make a difference in how our future plays out.