Politics

Is Kenya Failing? 9 Steps to Turn Our Country Around

Dear Mr. Kibaki and Mr. Odinga,

Today, just like any other day, I got to work at 8am and as usual, I settled down to have a quick glance at the papers. Not a lot of good there. Does that happen to you too? Do you ever read the papers and have this feeling that our lovely country is in deep trouble and that some things need to change? Why aren’t you doing anything about it? Please tell me, please tell us.

Have a look at The Nairobi Chronicle today, they are saying that Kenya is a ship without a captain. I’m sorry to say that I think this is probably true. In case you’re too busy to click the link, I’ll quote somethings for you:

“The Kenyan state is governed so inefficiently that its a wonder it has lasted so long. There are no priorities other than the short-term gratification of the political class. Billions of shillings are spent in propping up a bloated government filled with ethnic warlords whose academic qualifications are in doubt. Cabinet ministers appoint their poorly educated relatives and tribesfolk into positions that demand technical expertise. Not surprisingly, such appointees spend more time thinking of ways to earn money than in improving service delivery.

The railway system, built by the British Empire a century ago, has all but collapsed after years of neglect. The education system suffers from under-investment in new facilities and teacher training. Kenya’s cities are receiving less water today than was the case a decade ago. Electricity supply, which is normally erratic, has become extremely expensive….”

Sir, reading that makes me sick! Sadly, though, it is all true. What are you going to do about it? As a concerned and proud Kenyan, I am offering 9 steps you can take to save us. These are adapted from Marc Andreesen’s Guide to Turning Around Big Companies.

Step 1: Go dark and execute
Things are bad. We don’t need you, your ministers of Alfred Mutua to tell us that things are, in fact, good. When you keep on lying to us, we tend to think you’re incompetent, corrupt and inconsiderate. Stop with the bullshit PR and focus on getting the job done.
Marc Andreesen, “Money talks, hype walks — when you’re hitting your numbers, everyone thinks you’re a genius and believes everything you say, no matter how silly. When you’re not hitting your numbers, everyone thinks you’re a moron and won’t believe anything you say, no matter how true.”

Step 2: But first, acknowledge past wrongs
Tell us the truth. Identify failed policies and spectacular government goofs (like Anglo Leasing, Mr. Kibaki) and tell the nation that these are partly to blame. We’ll appreciate the honesty. This will go a long way in regaining the trust of Kenyans. Perhaps, you shall also initiate discussion on how we can learn from the past.

Step 3: Identify the 3-5 things that are working surprisingly well in our country, and double down on those
Drawing on Peter Drucker’s classic admonition to “focus on opportunities, not problems”, make it easy for Kenyan successes to continue to flourish and grow.
An example: Despite 40+ years of mismanagement, Kenya’s Private sector is doing pretty well. Make it easier for people in Kenya to do business, and support them. This will work, trust me.

Step 4: Identify the 3-5 things that are consuming a lot of money and time and yet going nowhere, and kill those
People like to talk about how many government projects are total failures and do little less than suck up taxpayer shillings. Not only that, look at failed policies and laws that make doing Step 3 (above) difficult. Kill these projects, policies, and laws. Quickly.

Step 5: Lay off a third of the workforce
We don’t need a government as bloated as yours. We have way too many ministers, assistant ministers and God-knows-what else. Government should be lean and efficient. Grit your teeth, offer the most generous severance and assistance packages you possibly can, and get it done.
For example: I know a guy who works in the civil service but goes to work only once or twice a week.
Again, this will not only cut costs drastically, it will also go a very long way into making Kenyans think about starting to trust you again.

Step 6: Reduce layers
There’s too much bureaucracy, too many licences, too many hoops to jump through when one wants a government service (how long does it take to get an ID?). In all honest, there’s just too much government and, possibly, a lot of redundancy.
When doing Step 5 (above) make the government organizational structure as lean as possible. Get rid of anything that’s not needed.

Step 7: Figure out the single most important thing for Kenya, and put your personal concerted effort into getting it done
What do you think Kenya needs right now? What, in your view, is the most key of our key success factors? Is it a new constitution? Is it a massive increase in employment rates? Figure this out and do everything possible to get it done. Now.

Step 8: Look at other developing countries, figure out 3-5 new areas in which Kenya is not currently playing or winning, but are clearly going to grow a lot — and copy aggressively
Here you’re looking for growth — for products, trends, perhaps phenomena outside but adjacent to our current products and markets, which are going to grow a lot in the next few years. We don’t have time to spend a few years developing our own approaches. We need to get into these developing markets fast so the best we can do, for now, is to copy aggressively from other countries who seem to be doing well. Of course we’ll need to modify to fit our own peculiar circumstances.

Step 9: In six months, relaunch your vision or plan for Kenya in a crisp, coherent message and strategy
Then go dark again and go right back to work.

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• A Political Insurgency in Kenya
• The White Ribbon Campaign - We Must Now DEMAND Our Rights!!
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• The Butterfly Effect

© 2008 Kikulacho.