Skip to main content

Transforming Kenya: It starts with you

Garbage dumped by people, which ends up blocking drainages
flooding roads and houses. What does it take not to dump the
rubbish in the first place? Donors ? a new constitution?
Marcus Olang put up several updates yesterday , on Twitter. The messages were that we needed to have a culture of trust as citizens before we expected our government to be trust worthy. Double standards: we cannot keep swindling each other and make lots of noise when someone in the government swindles the country. 

Among other "enemies" of Kenya Marcus talked about include negative ethnicity , poverty, disease and injustice. 

He also made a comment that made me feel good, that a single person can make a change, a single person can start change. He said that a pebble can start an avalanche. I compared the ideology to Tunisia, a single person setting himself on fire began a revolution. 

Historically, many people have known me a a pessimist - that guy who loves complaining over everything, seeing the negative rather than the positive. I have pointed out to a few that by complaining, we are piling on pressure on people to change, plus most of what we complain about does not need a lot of effort to fix - cultural issues.

I am also quite pessimistic at people who come up with feel good  messages. Why? Because that is where it usually ends. One clever quote and we go back to our status quo. But this time round, I was ok with a feel good message, one person can make a difference. Why? Because we all say how bad the culture is, and wait for someone else to change it. 

Chief Justice and Mutunga will not change our country, or any one else for that matter. In fact, it looks as if NGOs and foreign nations are more interested in a better nation than we. 

We blame the matatu conductor for attempting to defraud us, the police for been corrupt, the government for stealing donors funds. The police should be reformed, the corrupt ministers should resign, Michuki should be brought back to reform the matatu industry. 

Let's take a moment: what makes the policeman corrupt, or the conductor fraudulent. The policman is not trained in college to be fraudulent. He gets employed a clean officer, until he tries to make an arrest, and the culprit attempts to bribe him. To the small salary we pretend to pay him, the bribe makes a lot of difference. When growing up, he has heard of clever people who made corrupt deals and a lot of money for their families. 

The corrupt minister was once clean, but firms competing for contracts tried to lure him by offering sweet deals. It became hard to resist. His community, friends want a share of the money.He wants a good lifestyle - he grew up poor, and this is his one opportunity to transform his life. The businessmen urge him not to be foolish  by turning down this golden opportunities. He finally accepts one bribe, then a second, then he gets used to them, every deal has to come with a bribe. In the paper he is a bad guy, in the village he is a hero, with his lavish lifestyle and big cars.

The policeman also needs a great life, and he has the corrupt minister as a role model. The community talks of that foolish  civil servant who never took bribes. Now he is retired and has a modest home and lifestyle. 

The conductor: How many passengers does he ferry daily? How many of them are dishonest, if he forgot to ask for fare, they would not pay up. He comes to see the community as a harsh one which needs to be handled carefully. why do they carry excess passengers? Well, the questions is why passengers board a vehicle they see is full?

The community becomes what we make it to be. If you dropped money, would the person behind you tap you and give it back? If the shop keeper, or the conductor gave extra change, is it a fall of good luck or will you correct them? 

Why are our towns dirty? why do you throw rubbish everywhere, out of the car window? How much rubbish do you dump in non-designated areas in an year? How much rubbish do 10 people like you dump?

Most of the population is educated, but few are learned. They will not understand why they should vote for people outside their tribe. They do not understand that  a price control law is bad for the poor, they do not understand that the country is a big research lab for GMO and HIV. If you do, please help them understand it. 












Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Beers of Kenya. The Ultimate 2019 Guide

Four years ago, precisely in 2015, I wrote about beer in Kenya in what has gone on to be my most popular post this year with more than 5,000 people reading it. It seems that there is a lot of interest in exploring beer in Kenya, which is understandable. The brewing sector has grown since then and we now have lots of options, which means it is time for another review. Back in 2015, Kenya had one major brewer - EABL/KBL, challenged by Keroche and Sierra which is more of a small volume craft brewer, and arguably Kenya’s first craft brewery. It had also been joined by Brew Bistro which mostly sells its malted stuff at its outlets in Nairobi and later by Sirville, a bar located at Galleria Mall. Sirville was later sold to Brew Bistro and converted to the latter for a while, before shutting down in what is alleged to be a tax dispute.

Beers in Kenya: A sober opinion

Note: This is a dated post and has since been mostly passed by events. SAB Miller beers including Castle and Peroni are no longer widely available in Kenya after their exist. Sirville Brewery was bought out by Brew Bistro before being permanently shut in a tax dispute. Kenya is a land of milk, honey, beaches and taxes. I have penned, or is typed, a newer post here .  Peroni - One of the best beers in Kenya. Did a taste of canned and bottled Italian, and bottled Tanzanian I like the tangy flavour and body in Tanzanian Peroni. The can is close. Heineken drinkers will like the Italian one.  I have had a short beer swigging stint in my life. It has however been long enough for me to share my opinion of Kenyan beer. Interestingly, over the course of sharing such opinions with other drunkards connoisseurs,  I have found that we all have different views as to what beer is the best, which one makes you too drunk, or which one gives one free, extra hangover for every ha...

Why Humanity Hasn't Learned From the Covid Pandemic

In 2020, the Covid-19 pandemic began ravaging the world, succeeding the 1918 flu pandemic.  Many found it unbelievable that despite all the scientific progress that the world has made since 1918, from composite jets to modern healthcare to going to the moon, the world was still susceptible to a pandemic.  Ironically, some of these advancements largely played a role in the spread of the pandemic. Thousands of global flights every hour and air conditioning fanned its spread like a dry wind would in a forest fire.  There was even further disbelief in mid-2020 when it became apparent that many countries were even struggling to keep a pandemic in check. Developed countries, supposed to have the best healthcare, suffered the worst outbreaks amidst disagreements on measures such as quarantines and wearing of masks.  In yet another twist, technology advancement finally came to our rescue with the speedy development of vaccines, including the safe pioneering of never-tried-b...

Nairobi's Top 4 Texas Brisket Places Reviewed and Ranked

Brisket on a bed of roast vegetables with barbecue sauce at Texas Brisket, Kikuyu  This review has been updated after a number of you suggested I try the brisket at County2County.  What's the best place to have Brisket in Nairobi? What's even brisket?  Brisket is one of the toughest cuts in a cow, from around the belly. It is so tough that it has to be smoked for about 16 hours to tenderise. But that there, is the catch.  12 to 16 hours later, it is the most flavourful and softest cut you will ever have. So full of flavour and so soft you can pick it apart with your fingers.  However, due to the long cooking time involved, only a few places offer brisket in Nairobi.  The best so far is Texas Brisket which is located within Kikuyu Railway station.  They do the meat for a proper 16 hours, and will usually have a fatty or non-fatty portion. The fatty portions are more tasty. A 500 gram serving goes for KSh. 900 and a 1 KG order comes with a serving of fre...

How to Make Your Own Sparkling Water

Buying your own kit means you need to carbonate it in a fridge or freezer since Carbon Dioxide best dissolves at temperatures around zero.  I have been making my own sparkling water for about a month now.  It started with a love for carbonated water, but being appalled by the price - about KSh. 80 per 700 ml recyclable glass bottle. Sparkling water is sold as a premium drink.  This got me researching into what it really takes to make your own sparkling water.