This candidate, although young, is certainly not naïve. Many people have often reminded me that the kind of financial resources required to run a successful presidential or political campaign of the magnitude we are talking about here is colossal.
Others have been even more blunt. There is no way you will just give people your good ideas and fail to give cash handouts. It will not work.
My reply has been simple and has been in the form of a question. How much money did Narc use in 2002?
"Oh that was different. That was a wave," somebody told me a few days ago.
I do not wish to dwell too much on this issue. It is true that at some point financial resources will be required. When the time comes I am sure a way will be found, and indeed I am working on it as any good manager would, but meanwhile I have to use what I have, not only financial resources but assets and attributes.
Which brings me to what I want to say today. Has anybody done a SWOT analysis of Kenya before embarking on development projects or creating policy? I want to keep this very simple. SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity and Threats. It is the analysis done by marketing experts before arriving at their marketing strategy.
But it is a very useful tool for even an individual to use. You analyze your strengths and weaknesses and based on them you decide where the opportunities will most likely be for your profile and while keeping a close eye on possible threats, you arrive at your strategy to market and sell yourself to success. Works beautifully even where you are looking for a job in a market where they are very scarce like is the case in Kenya today.
What are our strengths in Kenya today and how can we use them to our advantage?
Today I will keep this short and give you only one example. My web traffic figures show me that I may be losing readers in this very important section because the posts are too long, so I have decided to keep them as brief as possible.
The Kenyan labour force is huge and well trained and currently most of it is idle and desperate and that's why the crime rate is where it is. I have heard the deep pocketed South African entrepreneurs who have swept across the continent in the last few years taking over everything, saying that they fear only the Kenyans in Africa. I was surprised because I expected them to mention Nigeria first.
Kenyans are today seen as a threat in the commercial arena and everywhere where jobs are being competed for right across the continent and beyond.
This labour force is one of our strengths and a very valuable asset, which I intend to put to good use, if elected president. Every policy, decision and strategy of government must be directed at utilizing this asset. This is the asset that will turn the Kenyan economy into The China of Africa.
The secret or the trick that will make all the difference is in directing our labour and efforts to areas where there is a huge demand both within the country and outside. One such area is the energy sector. One does not need to be a genius to realize that the world is drifting towards a very serious energy crisis. My vision for Kenya is people-driven economic growth, which will naturally put a lot of strain on certain resources, one of them being the energy resources. This means that any effort to produce energy at a cheaper rate than what we currently have will be wildly successful.
Something else we have in plenty in Kenya is sunshine. Scientists say that the amount of energy we receive from the sun in ONE MINUTE is enough to take care of all the world's energy needs for a FULL YEAR.
Solar energy and steam energy generated using the sun in Kenya's vast dry and hot regions can supply more than enough energy. Which we will be able to use and even export to our neighbors. These projects can be implemented in such a way that they are made as labour intensive as possible while keeping the cost down. This should not be too difficult considering that energy costs are already quite high and rising in the region. I am familiar with this technology having spend a brief stint working with a leading solar and alternative energy company in the region and I can tell you that it is very possible and very viable.
It is important that we make use of all the idle resources and assets that we have in plenty in Kenya but do not seem to see at the moment.
I want to end this by asking two questions and then answering them. Firstly, why is it that in Kenya we have never looked to use our strengths and assets? The sad answer is that we have been too busy with corruption to see the opportunities anywhere else. Because the tradition has been to use public office to enrich oneself, our leaders in the past have directed all their thinking and creativity towards finding innovative ways to steal from the public. The result is scams like Goldenberg that have cost the country billions and will take us many years to recover from.
The second question, which I've been asked, am I not afraid that another candidate will steal all my good ideas and present them as his own? The answer is that I am keeping very careful track of that and besides many of the older generation politicians we have today are focusing all their efforts on specifically saying what will please the electorate without really meaning it. A good example is the sweeping Narc statement that they will create 500,000 jobs a year and yet it is now clear that they did not have any clue as to how exactly they were going to do that.
President Moi put it very crudely and I want to repeat what he said here and was reported in the then People weekly newspaper. I am doing this not to offend the nice ladies who are the majority of my readers currently, but to show Kenyans exactly what the old order of Kenyan politics is all about.
Siasa ni kama mwanamke. Unapembeleza na mabo matamau lakini ukishatongoza yeye, bas. This roughly translates as; "The game of politics is like a relationship with a woman. You tell her all sorts of sweet nothings but after you have had sex with her, that’s it."
Kenyan voters please take careful note.
Anybody who steals these ideas will be exposed for who they really are, but even before that, they will have to back up their ideas with solid strategy and substance. That is not very easy to do with somebody else's ideas.
Besides Kenyan voters will not be easily cheated this time.
I do not mind exposing my driving force, what makes me different. It is the fact that I dream different dreams. Most of the politicians we know will dream of relaxing at State House (that's how people start getting ideas of putting up Kshs 100 million buildings in State House, while our people go hungry), a large presidential motorcade and inspecting guards of honour. The last two are both meaningless relics of the colonial era.
I dream of sleepless nights and a punishing 20-hour schedule. I dream of such sweeping positive changes coming for the ordinary Kenyan that they will be virtually impossible to reverse. I dream of a country prosperous and moving forward at high speed. I dream of a presidency that will be too busy in the thick of things and directing efforts that there will hardly be the time to inspect guards of honor. I dream of a presidency where honor will come from one source and one source alone. The ordinary, now struggling people of Kenya whose lives will have been changed by the efforts I will direct with all my strength, energy and being.
My fellow Kenyan, read very carefully between the lines to discover what your favorite presidential candidate really dreams about.
Link to two previous POSTS
Kumekucha launches Presidential campaign
Kumekucha’s Presidential Campaign: We Need One Priority, We Need Lots Of Creativity
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Weddings can be a complex financial undertaking that can prove to be very stressful for the unprepared and unorganized. The average cost for a 150-person wedding is about $25,000 (higher in urban areas).
Here is a basic breakdown of what you can expect to pay: Reception: 48%-50% Ceremony: 2%-3% Attire: 8%-10% Flowers: 8%-10% Entertainment/Music: 8%-10% Photography/Videography: 10%-12% Stationery: 2%-3% Wedding Rings: 2%-3% Parking/Transportation: 2%-3% Gifts: 2%-3% Miscellaneous: 8%. To avoid last minute heart failure, allocate about 5% of your budget for a "just-in-case" fund.
When approached with the seriousness it deserves planning this important occasion right down to the wedding cameras need not be too stressful.
