As we grap­ple with inef­fi­cien­cies and the cycle of ear­ly elec­tion­eer­ing, it’s sober­ing to observe the seam­less tran­si­tion in the Unit­ed King­dom, where elec­tions were con­duct­ed in a sin­gle day, and the new gov­ern­ment began its work swift­ly. Min­is­ters in the UK earn approx­i­mate­ly half of what their Kenyan coun­ter­parts make, yet oper­ate in a sys­tem where cor­rup­tion is strict­ly pro­hib­it­ed and effi­cien­cy is para­mount. In con­trast, Kenya’s polit­i­cal and gov­er­nance land­scape appears marred by inef­fi­cien­cies, ram­pant cor­rup­tion, and resource mis­man­age­ment. This rais­es a crit­i­cal ques­tion — Who are we emu­lat­ing? Are we learn­ing from the best prac­tices glob­al­ly, or are we falling into a pat­tern of dys­func­tion? It’s time to press the reset button.

Gen Z has fear­less­ly high­light­ed our gov­ern­men­t’s inef­fi­cien­cies and ram­pant cor­rup­tion, drain­ing resources meant for devel­op­ment. Despite high salaries, politi­cians have not improved gov­er­nance or reduced cor­rup­tion. Fre­quent ear­ly elec­tion­eer­ing dis­rupts gov­er­nance, caus­ing insta­bil­i­ty and divert­ing atten­tion from crit­i­cal devel­op­men­tal issues. More­over, projects from pre­vi­ous admin­is­tra­tions are often dis­man­tled to deny polit­i­cal oppo­nents mileage, result­ing in wast­ed resources and halt­ed progress.

Our neigh­bors in Rwan­da offer a com­pelling exam­ple of what can be achieved with a zero-tol­er­ance approach to cor­rup­tion. Under Pres­i­dent Kagame, who recent­ly won re-elec­tion, Rwan­da has imple­ment­ed strin­gent anti-cor­rup­tion laws and an effec­tive judi­cial sys­tem to pros­e­cute offend­ers. This has led to sig­nif­i­cant improve­ments in pub­lic ser­vice deliv­ery and eco­nom­ic growth. Sim­i­lar­ly, Singapore’s trans­for­ma­tion from a devel­op­ing nation to a glob­al eco­nom­ic pow­er­house is due to its focus on mer­i­toc­ra­cy and strict account­abil­i­ty. Pub­lic offi­cials are select­ed based on mer­it, and cor­rup­tion is met with severe penal­ties. Singapore’s trans­par­ent gov­er­nance and effi­cient pub­lic ser­vice are exem­plary mod­els for devel­op­ing nations.

Tak­ing a glob­al tour, New Zealand is renowned for trans­par­ent gov­ern­ment oper­a­tions and strong anti-cor­rup­tion mea­sures, rank­ing high in glob­al trans­paren­cy with effi­cient pub­lic ser­vice and swift­ly imple­ment­ed poli­cies due to high eth­i­cal stan­dards for offi­cials. Ger­many’s effi­cient bureau­cra­cy deliv­ers prompt pub­lic ser­vices. Strict adher­ence to rules and a strong anti-cor­rup­tion stance ensure opti­mal use of resources. Robust infra­struc­ture and eco­nom­ic sta­bil­i­ty high­light its effec­tive gov­er­nance. Canada’s gov­er­nance mod­el pri­or­i­tizes inclu­siv­i­ty, trans­paren­cy, and account­abil­i­ty, ensur­ing pub­lic par­tic­i­pa­tion and com­bat­ing cor­rup­tion. Effec­tive pub­lic ser­vice and high liv­ing stan­dards reflect its suc­cess­ful practices.

Con­tin­u­ing our cur­rent path, Kenya risks per­pet­u­at­ing inef­fi­cien­cy and cor­rup­tion. We need to learn from suc­cess­ful coun­tries like Rwan­da, Sin­ga­pore, New Zealand, Ger­many, and Cana­da. Imag­ine a Kenya where every trans­ac­tion is online and trans­par­ent, reduc­ing cor­rup­tion. Blockchain can ensure trans­paren­cy in pub­lic pro­cure­ment. While devo­lu­tion has shown promise, we must pro­vide more resources and pow­er to local gov­ern­ments to meet spe­cif­ic needs. Train­ing local lead­ers in eth­i­cal gov­er­nance and project man­age­ment is cru­cial. The pri­vate sec­tor can play a sig­nif­i­cant role in pub­lic ser­vice deliv­ery through effi­cient and inno­v­a­tive col­lab­o­ra­tions, extend­ing suc­cess­ful prac­tices in health­care and edu­ca­tion to infra­struc­ture and utilities.

How can we pur­port to deal with envi­ron­men­tal issues when we have not laid the fun­da­men­tal foun­da­tion? Every Kenyan has a role to play in this trans­for­ma­tion. Engage in civic edu­ca­tion, par­tic­i­pate in local gov­er­nance, and hold your lead­ers account­able. Let’s cre­ate a cul­ture where pub­lic ser­vice is seen as a noble call­ing, not a path to per­son­al enrich­ment. Kenya has the poten­tial to become a bea­con of good gov­er­nance and eco­nom­ic pros­per­i­ty. By learn­ing from the best glob­al exam­ples and imple­ment­ing bold, trans­for­ma­tive steps, we can over­come our cur­rent chal­lenges and pave the way for a brighter future. It’s time to ask our­selves very tough ques­tions and take deci­sive actions to make Kenya the great­est coun­try of its time. Who are we emu­lat­ing? Are we learn­ing from the best prac­tices glob­al­ly, or are we falling into a pat­tern of dys­func­tion? The answers to these ques­tions will deter­mine our future as we press the reset but­ton. We must embrace the courage with­in because bold­ness breeds bless­ings! Think green, act green.