Presidential Aspirant Peter Kenneth has stated that the next election will be a two horse race between performers and non-performers.
In his weekly email to supporters he said that while we owe a great deal to the freedom fighters and the heroes of the second liberation, we must not remain there. He stated that we need to change our discourse from a reformist one to a developmental one noting that while the reformist agenda has taken us far the critical thing is the full implementation of the constitution which has a strong focus on the rights based approach to development.
Kenneth argues that Kenyans should now be debating how we will achieve the socio-economic rights in our constitution and base our decision at the next election on the that discourse. Hence, Peter Kenneth argues, and rightfully so, that the next election should be a race between performers and non-performers. Kenyans must evaluate the developmental record of those who are seeking positions of leadership. He wonders why we would reward those that have failed at lower levels with bigger responsibilities?
There are those who have expressed rather strong sentiments that they would not vote for Peter Kenneth at least not just because he has proven to be a performer. Indeed, there is no guarantee that if one has perfomed well in one position, he will perform well in all positions that he holds. Nonetheless, and probably most critically, it is clear that those who have failed to deliver in any leadership position will not be able to deliver in a higher one.
If one cannot manage himself, no one would trust his ability to manage their affairs. In a similar manner, if I am to offer one a bigger role he must have at least proven himself in present areas of responsibility. The performance of Peter Kenneth with regard to the management of Gatanga CDF and at the Ministry of Planning are useful basis for judging him against his contemporaries in addition to his stint at KFF and as Manging Director of Kenya Re. And while my choice of the next president may not entirely be based on that point, it is a starting point.
As Kenneth says, we need to be honest with ourselves, learn from our painful past and difficult present and elect a transformative leadership that will deliver development for Kenya without losing the gains of our reform agenda.
Kenneth is the man, Kenyan let’s move from the era of “mtu wetu” to the start of “mtu wa kazi”