Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka’s plan to liberate the economy is clear and sound.
Kalonzo plans to bring in reforms that will enhance enterprise and the commercial sector. He plans to rebalance spending power in our economy where the government currently spends over 65 per cent of money leading to the culture of tenderpreneurs and Kenyans scrambling for government jobs at the expense of the private sector growth. Politics cannot continue to be equated to business in this country because politics is only a preserve of a few.
Kalonzo has pledged to reduce taxes. This is huge and is how Mwai Kibaki turned around Kenya’s economy from 2002, and after 2007 when Kalonzo became his vice president . High taxes have made businesses stagnate in Kenya. Kenyans lack the money to make money and are left at the mercy of charity and dependency. No wonder our national debt has ballooned because government cannot get enough from taxes despite heavy taxation.
Taxing people so much that they cannot create anything is catastrophic as it is like milking a cow without feeding it. Lower revenues are the guaranteed result of heavy taxation. Kalonzo will liberate the economy with these ideas he has been sharing on the campaign trail. Raila and Ruto have not said anything about intervening on taxation.
If Kalonzo were not development-conscious as Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana and company have recently claimed, he would not have supported devolution and the 2010 constitution. In many areas in Kenya, development has intensified since 2013. Kenyans should not lose the opportunity to put governors to task to show what they have done with the billions given to them every year.
As DP William Ruto purports to be a saviour of poor Kenyans and attempts state capture, and the establishment imposes Raila, Kalonzo is on the campaign trail presenting his agenda to Kenyans. He is not as rich or flamboyant as Ruto and Raila, but he is the candidate who identifies with the plight of Kenyans because, instead of disenfranchising them, he has respected their money and resources.
Kenyans have suffered for decades, and August election cannot be the ordinary tyranny of numbers and tribalism-themed general elections year. We must be bold to do the right thing. Let us put into the highest office the right person. Kalonzo’s track record of 36 years in public service without a proven scandal to his name is an overwhelming proof of integrity.
At last weekend’s meeting of Ukambani leaders called by Kalonzo at his Yatta farm the audience was reminded of the unscrupulous attempt by Raila to thwart Kalonzo’s presidential ambition. Back in 2006, polls had shown Kalonzo as the most popular and best placed presidential candidate to unseat Kibaki. What followed was the incident at Mombasa’s Khadijah grounds where hired hoodlums heckled him and stifled his speech.
This incident, among others, exemplified Raila’s duplicitous character which he has exercised over the years. Kalonzo, being a sincere politician, has never set out to unscrupulously torpedo his allies, and in unprecedented show of a forgiving heart agreed to be Raila’s running mate in the 2013 and 2017 elections.
While everybody knows that this will most likely be Raila’s last participation in national politics, he has declined to support his former partner Kalonzo despite the debt he owes and pledges he has previously made. Instead, Raila has been using Kibwana, Mutua and Ngilu to try and dent Kalonzo’s strongroom in lower eastern and weaken the Kalonzo’s chances of ascending to the presidency.
While Kivutha and others may publicly want to play down the political influence that Kalonzo wields in the lower Eastern bloc, and indeed across Kenya, the truth is not lost to them. As Kalonzo and Raila ran jointly in 2013 and 2017, they received over five million and almost seven million votes respectively - at least according to the disputed IEBC results. Kalonzo is popular nationally.
Mutua. Ngilu and Kibwana stand in a group of dozens of governors, while Kalonzo stands head and shoulders above them in a group of four - Uhuru, Raila and Ruto. Besides, Kalonzo has an incontrovertible record in peace-making and diplomacy -as Jesus said, a prophet is not respected at home.
Kenyans know very well that tribalism and the so-called tyranny of numbers has never benefitted them. The Kazi kwa Vijana scandal that rocked the Prime Minister’s office, the scandals and false promises of Jubilee are things Kenyans cannot forget. It should not matter one’s tribe, but their ideals and abilities should determine their suitability for presidency of the republic of Kenya.
Pollsters are now in top gear of shaping public opinion, but Kenyans should be left to consider and decide for themselves. We cannot be hoodwinked to elect a person whose heart is quite distant from caring for the people of Kenya.
