Despite her many problems, India has made some significant improvements under the current Prime Minister, Narendra Modi. As he seeks to be reelected during the general election in April 2024, he has promised to make India one of the top three economies in the world (in Annual Nominal GDP terms) in his third term.
Since coming to office in 2014, he has helped transform the country into the world’s fifth-largest economy, surpassing the United Kingdom, her former colonial master. There is a lot of information on the great transformation of India, including CNN recently rating her stock market as one of the superpower ones in the world.
The emergence and growth of India lately shows the power of transformative leadership. It mirrors and exceeds the much-acclaimed Kenya’s achievements under the leadership of President Mwai Kibaki.
It is looking to get into the direction of Singapore under the leadership of transformative Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew who ruled the country from 1959 to 1990 and effectively transformed a basket case to an adorable one in the globe. Could President William Ruto turn out to be like these two?
It is too early to predict but the current complaints from the public and the trajectory look to discourage many people from thinking in that positive direction. The high cost of living and so many problems that encumber Kenya, including corruption, financial wastage and tribalism, are some of the negative or adverse indicators that could discourage even the most optimistic.
India has some semblance of the problems that encumber Kenya, including ethnic and class division, potential problems with some of her neighbours and the scourge of corruption. Yet that has not discouraged Modi from rolling up his sleeves.
From the time he was the longest-serving Chief Minister of Gujarat state under BJP party for 12 and half years (2001 to 2014), he showed a lot of promise as a tough decision-maker, a pragmatist, quite focused, radical and transformational in approach.
He resigned to lead his party, BJP, in the contest to lead the country which they won and he became the 14th Prime Minister of India in May 2014. The fruits of his efforts and party are there to show and India promises to be a key global economic and political player for decades to come.
Her huge population despite low average GDP per capita at present is and will be part of the economic dividend to reap from. Yet still with a significant annual economic growth though not that high is something that has not escaped global attention.
India has become a magnet for capital inflows and investments into the country. There are yet more reforms needed to make it a more attractive and desirable destination, especially for Western and other developed nations' companies' investments.
Politically it will remain a big attraction of the US and her Western allies, especially as a counterweight to China in Asia and the globe. Moreover, India is also desired by the blocs of China and Russia, especially under the arrangement called BRICS.
That attraction by global powerful countries means something special has been happening in and to India. Modi's local and global initiatives and efforts show how a country can be revolutionised and economically transformed for the good of her citizens. Reelected or not in 2024, he has already set the country on a good path.
That is where the challenge for President Ruto lies. We have economic problems amidst growing poverty and a challenging path ahead. India and Singapore faced the same. India has some of the problems Kenya has but as seen the leadership has not given up and has dared what seemingly looked impossible.
Lee Kuan Yew of Singapore, after becoming the country's first prime minister in 1959, promised his fellow citizens a complete transformation of their then economic backwater country to be a desired one to live in. He dedicated the first decade of his rule to just that.
He transformed the high-population density small island country of approximately 734.3 square kilometres (population density currently estimated at 8,592 per square kilometre and among the global highest-ranked; Monaco, Macao, Singapore, Hong Kong and Gibraltar are the top five globally) into a developed country with high-income economy.
He forged a highly effective anti-corrupt government and civil service, some of the key and important ingredients to create a foundation for the transformation of a country. This is part of the Kenyan challenge. Without laying such foundations we will continue struggling with the risk of continued failures and worse.
All the aforementioned and much more is the challenge for President Ruto in the year 2024 especially, as it is the year that will either lay the strong foundations for takeoff or veer us to failure.
Any Kenyan of goodwill and with substantial knowledge already knows or has an idea or two of what is needed to be done to get us out of the economic rut. I believe all this and much more is within the purview of knowledge resources available to Ruto. The ball is in his court.
Political, economic and social analyst and commentator
