WAKE UP KENYANS:BY OSCAR WAFULA

No matter what party you're belong to. No matter which tribe you belong to, at the end of the day what really divides us is the amount of money in our pockets. Politicians will cry foul about his/her tribe being left out of the national cake, a Luo will perpetually blame a Kikuyu for all his woes but at the end of the day if you analyze objectively you'll come to realize that there's one community in Kenya that hasn't even had it's representative in the cabinet but it's the richest community in Kenya. And the worst part is that they are not natives of this country. Welcome to the Asian community. It's easy to see that these guys have never occupied any influential political power in this country but are calling the shots in nearly all economic sectors in this country. If I may name a few examples; Celtel Kenya, nation media group, Yana tyres, Sarova hotels, Bidco industries, Jubilee holdings and a dozen more. They have dominated the construction industry and the manufacturing sector. Other `foreigners' from the British descent have dominated the hotel industry and other sensitive areas like security. There's also grown trend where the Chinese have started to infiltrate the core industries like construction and trade. But every day we hear of politicians fighting each other concerning how many cabinet slots have to be allocated to their communities. I'm also ashamed to hear my own MP castigating family planning and encouraging overpopulation at the expense of quality education. But who's to blame. Is it the electorate or the leaders? I think it's both. We Africans are the biggest enemies of ourselves. Since the times of slave trade to the new world order our leaders have always been putting our dignity at the expense of the highest bidder from the west. The situation has become worse with the arrival of the East (Asians). How many times have indigenous firms been denied construction contracts in favor of the Chinese, Indian and German construction companies? And the main excuse is that Kenyan contractors do a shoddy job, but that's only an excuse, some government official has to supervise the works anyway, be it a Kenyan or German contractor. There has also been a talk going round that Kikuyus have taken all prime jobs in government and parastatals. They land on every single consultancy tenders offered by the public sector. Part of the reason might be tribalism but I believe that since the days of independence these guys have ensured that their children get quality education so as to be competitive in the job market.So let's be competitive. It's also an open secret that 80% of Nairobians live on 20% of the land and vice versa. Some people find it so easy to pay Ksh 250,000 PM on rent in Runda but someone is busy dodging the landlord over a Ksh 500 rent arrears in Kibera slums. At the end of the day what we want our leaders to face is this kind of socio-economic disparity. No one is talking about flouting of the minimum wage rule by the employers while we know very well that many Kenyans take home less than $2 after a full day's work. 90% percent of goods we buy are not made in Kenya starting with your clothing to your kitchen appliances. A good leader for this country is one who is going to ensure that these socio-economic disparities are tackled, our children receive quality education and health services, raising of the minimum wage so that there's equitable distribution of wealth and sound monetary liquidity ratios, encourage consumption of Kenyan made goods so as to strengthen the growth of local industries and creation of employment. Quite frankly the Kibaki administration has failed. We need a new Kenyan order!!!!!! oscarwafula@gmail.com