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Robert Mũnũku
East Africa
Should we cut (dependancy) links with foreigners & develop Kenya with our own resources?
This question is based on the current economic reality in which Kenya is knee-deep in debt. It’s also tied to an influx of illegal expatriate who continue to flood our job market whereas very capable Kenyans remain unemployed.
Finally, this question hinges on whether or not we are indeed independent after 50+ years of political independence, i.e. do external forces determine our policies? How much of our economy do we own or are we auctioning out our country?
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Alvin Gikonyo
I’m not sure we’re there just yet. If the funds we get from the international community still gets embezzled what will happen to locally available funds and resources? Maybe in the future but not the near future!
Chris Mukasa
What will be our indication or ‘green light’ to know that it is time to be self-reliant?
Francis Kamau
This will only be achieved when our leaders cease to be centred. Leading by example from leaders on top to bottom will be the best way to curb the so called selfishness and corruption.
Chris Mukasa
We always point to the leaders, what’s mwananchi’s role in all this. I feel like we could be looking for solutions out there when they are right in front of you.
Alulu JO
In an ideal world, YES.
The reality though is that no, we can’t even if we want to at the moment because Kenya is not self reliant, just as no other nation in the world is.
With great visionary leadership that puts tbe interest of the people rather than the 1% elite at it’s heart, Kenya can gradually reduce and eventually root out dependancy on foreign aid totally and even switch from being a dependant to being a donor!
But this will take time, political will and well defined and executed strategy
Daisy Mwikali
We should also talk about personal self reliance, Kenyans still have a very dependent mindset on assistance even when they can manage. We fundraising and taking loans for weddings is one of the most backward things that are tolerated. What start a family when you can’t even support the wedding yourself. Also, what happened to using what you have and living working ones means? Anyway, these are the people supporting the leadership structure by voting. Peoples minds need a renewal before we even talk about Kenya!
Eugene Tolbert
We should, but it is not yet time.
Raphael
Our independence will come with our ability to selflessly work towards the quality of whatever we dedicate our lives to doing. For example how many doctors are committed to manufacture our own medicine? How many Engineers are dedicated to come up with new inventions or copy elsewhere and modify according to our local resources? Etc.
Elizabeth Gikebe
Mountains…
Onyango Otieno
We just need to get sensible leaders in government first before we can even imagine self reliance. Kenya is actually one of the richest countries in the world in terms of resources. Thomas Sankara rebuilt Burkina Faso in 4 years from mind to late 1980s. But he lacked a sustainable support system. People in our politics just want to eat by themselves. So even if we said we’ll cut links with foreigners, it is not certain that what the country produces will go to the hands of the people.
Stephen Teng'o
We should not. The world is becoming a global village. We can control how dependent we are.
It’s good to be self dependent. If we had good leaders in place, they would be able to manage foreighn aid well and thus we would reach self reliance and cut the aid to continue building ourselves from there…until then, we still need the aid.
Daisy Mwikali
Election is one of the few accessible cards that’s understood by majority of the population. We are a democracy so voting for sensible people in numbers is a tool we can use.
Robert Mũnũku
But the elections are also marred with corruption and culture of prejudice …
What I mean is, few people (like you) vote using sheer merit as a measure of leadership. Most do so on tribal lines and (mostly) ‘money-factor’.
A few families in this country hold the economy at ransom and likewise the same families control political patronage – in short, the people who can be, say, president, are predetermined long before an election.
In my view, the beginning of the ‘revolution’ would mean a dismantling of this system of patronage. How? I don’t have a silver-bullet, but I do believe grassroots mobilisation (which should have began yesterday) could be a start, i.e. where we change attitudes gradually …
Chris Mukasa
We definitely need real independence but it all has to start with the root causes. Dependency is not a problem birthed the top offices. It is a concept (almost a way of life) that is engrained in children’s minds from birth. Social institutions are used to brainwash people into thinking like robots: For example, the education system is irrelevant to current needs, the religious institutions shy away from politics and use unnecessary guilt and submission to control congregations, political institutions are filled with corruption and favors that date way back before independence… The list goes on.
Daisy Mwikali
I voted NO on the above poll and here’s why: Even though I think we should eventually be fully independent, we are Norbert even close to go that path. The little control we have over our resources is messed up and giving full control to the current cartel systems in power will make things worse. First clean up the house before movining in!
Robert Mũnũku
I hear you… So corruption is an ill which we should first deal with before considering this independence? But what if the same dependence is a consequence of corruption?
What steps would you propose as a way of ‘cleaning up house’?
Tee Nine
Merge the two