Thank you - President Uhuru Kenyatta !

 

Thank you, President Uhuru Kenyatta,

 

Mr. President, I know you have your own ideas about your Big Five Agenda, but to evaluate your legacy we must look beyond building projects. We must look at the anchors you have prioritized that will aid the establishment of the nation for generations to come. Now that you have been counted as one amongst the Shepherds of Africa, we must assess your global accomplishments.

First, you have held the nation together – Thank you. You took over following a period of more than a decade of great division among the people of Kenya. Social scientists, in future, may consider that time to be an extended period of civil strife where the nation seemed to be at war with itself. But you reached out and shook hands quickly with other leaders. You have been keen to work with all patriots in the interest of the people.

Second, you successfully managed a difficult transition- Thank you. Many may have forgotten that the implementation of the 2010 constitution (a journey that began in 2000) with all of its complexities took place under your watch. Your delicate arithmetic of allocating national resources, sharing power and distributing authority have been unprecedented in Africa. You have overseen the shift from centralized authoritarian leadership to a formulation of a servant leader model that demanded you listened to the will of the people. You have shared power and responsibility accordingly with governors and other accounting officers. Thankyou

Third, you have built on the shoulders of giants and thus you too have become a giant. Vision 2030 was not your dream, but as a good steward you have accelerated the dreams of the people, in spite of their political, tribal or geographic affiliation, with huge foundation programs similar to the laying of the railway by the British across the country more than 150 years ago. You have thus opened up the country to the massive opportunity of unlocked potential hidden in remote corners of the country while multiplying entrepreneurial zeal in urban areas. Thank you

Fourth Mr. President, you have fought COVID-19 in a practical and pragmatic manner. Thank you. The global scourge spared no nation and perhaps has robbed you three years of what you had planned for your presidency. You were on the frontline shoring up human losses, economic fallout and institutional collateral damage. I don’t know the full cost of the vaccines or of the lockdowns to the economy, but it surely is a lot of money. If the reports by the CBK on economic performance during this time are true, then you, your government, army of doctors and economic generals have spared us much greater suffering. As you have said repeatedly – one life lost is one life too many.

Fifth Mr. President you have advanced the country to global middle income economic status. Thank you. The face of taxation has advanced from a mean spirited antagonistic approach collecting money from the citizens to a more humane face. While we are not out of the woods in this area, you cannot make our country rich by taxing poor people. However, if the government facilitates enterprise and wealth creation, not only will the country become richer, but the country will receive more tax to support the services that generate wealth.  

In my estimation Sir, this is your BIG FIVE legacy. You are handing over a nation in a more advanced position than you found it. Finally, Mr. President, not all of us can be president, you are far from perfect, but I challenge you to show me a perfect human and perhaps we should replace you with him or her. However, the amazing thing is that with the level of human imperfection that we all have, God has granted that history record these things about your rule. It is an honor to say Thank you!