By Stephen Adwonga
This is a testament of my
cherished faith to reclaim and transform our homeland ,its rather absurd, that the development agenda so entrenched in
devolution is taking a sluggish pace, as our leaders engage in unwarranted push
and pull which take centre stage in every platform addressed by them.
My heart mourn for the luo nation, as the very ideals, the basis of which
the luo nation has stood for, has been treated with reckless abandon in our
engagements in social platforms. Unprecedented bickering, unprintable insults
and unmatched vitriol now seem to be the very “raison”’ “detre’ of our once
admirable community. Such ideals being relegated to the periphery; our
intellect and power of constructive engagement and/or valuable critique have
been consigned to the fathomless deeps of everlasting forgetfulness. Shouting
our lungs out at the roof-tops with nonsensical and not-so helpful issues have
been so centered in our discourses as though the same were to be the founding
objective and pillar of our founding fathers. I have always wondered, as I do
now; what became of our once celebrated, nuanced, bold, deep and well-on point
engagements? Have we let crooks take over from thinkers? Remember, "The
society is ruined not by the violating actions of the minority bad, but by the
vitiating inaction of the majority good."~Martin Luther King Jnr.
Our leaders need to resonates with
development agendas than parochial talks, embrace change and engage in
constructive than destructive politics and shift from politics of personalities
to ideologies, and provide leadership that is based on youthful ideas, youthful
minds, youthful ideologies, and help our region retain its lost glory, and occupy
its rightful economic space and establish a solid socio-economic front for its
residents.
Nyanza have had to endure the grinding combination of poverty and inequality,
regional imbalances in income, infrastructure and social provisions. Nyanza,
just like any other country, what your parents did, the school you went to,
your clan, your physical ability and gender determine your chances in life,
your educational attainments, your work prospects and even how long you will live.
My proposals for accountability, a
leadership that is going to create employment, issue based politics and policy
based ideas to be used in shaping direction of Nyanza.
As
JFK once said, "It is time for a new generation of leadership, to cope
with new problems and new opportunities. For there is a new world to be
won." As we drive towards a better
Kenya, low status is still given to the youth. Existing structures and
prevailing attitudes do not provide an enabling environment for youth
participation in decision-making, planning and implementation processes.
Despite our numerical superiority, we are least represented in political and
economic spheres due to societal attitudes, socio- cultural and economic barriers,
and lack of proper organization.
With
the dispensation of the new constitution and vision 2030 there is therefore
need for the Kenyan youth to push for the youth Agenda nationally and most
importantly from the county level, youths who are dedicated to increasing
political and civic participation; building an inclusive, accountable,
effective and responsive county government; and increasing public awareness
about the value of participation in democracy.
‘Jothurwa’(fellow Nyanza county men) it is time to bring some new approach of governance to the
political arena in this our homeland. Something fresh, something positive and
something filled with young energy. And it is time for
the young people to mobilize and to build grassroots support to bring a real revolution
in this region.
I do recognize the unique
social, economic, cultural and health challenges facing young people in Nyanza.
These challenges go beyond education, employment or training. They require
systemic overhaul. For the wealth of the region lies in the skills of its
people and their ability to work together, in the stock of public and private
investment it has accumulated, the natural resources within its territory and
the quality of its natural and built environment. Sound economic management
harnesses those resources, reinvesting as they are depleted, renewing skills
for each new generation, caring for and maintaining those resources which are
non-renewable.
In an open, increasingly global
economy there are limits to what any county government can do on its own to
manage its domestic economy. But there are a number of ways in which active
government can improve its competitive position.
Our homeland economic landscape
is of stark contrasts between rich and poor, rural and urban, poor rural and
desperately poor arid rural and for that solid economic growth is crucial for
eradicating poverty, but getting economic growth to percolate or trickle down
to assist the poor is a perennial challenge. How many children and adults have
to die before the fruit of economic growth reaches them?
My intention is thus to stimulate
the luo youth to realize that we must take an active interest in county governmental
affairs, awaken our involvement in the political process and to promote the
reality of acquisition of political power.
It is our responsibility to define the present and future of this Region,
we need to hold our leaders accountable through every means, this unwarranted
bickering in funerals and public places should stop, development related
debates should take centre stage in Our evening Barraza’s, let’s stop mourning
over our lost chances or having wishful thinking on the collapse of jubilee
governments. Let’s Centre our discourses
in development in Nyanza, especially in agriculture and promoting Tourism.
Our governors need to take the lead
in ensuring unity in our counties, through cordial relation with the MCA’s, County
Executives and county Departmental heads towards achieving a common goal. Only
through that, we will then achieve Economic breakthrough with which then I see
light at the end of the tunnel, for the house on the hill will be yonder.
