What the Party Primaries in Kenya have shown us

The last few days have seen the Political Parties nominate their candidates for the various positions in the coming 4th March Elections. The party primaries were interesting in many ways. The most positive observation is just to see parties have nominations, this for me is a good start of things to come. However, from the said nominations a number of lessons are worth noting. 

First, Regardless of how good your ideas are, you need touch with the people. Politics is 10% ideas but 90 % personal touch. People want to know you feel with them and understand their issues. Ofcourse there are places where some money did the magic (ofcourse very temporal) but in the overall those with strong grassroot touch won the day.

A second lesson is that it takes time to reform a system. Fixing the car is the easy part, fixing the driver is rather hard. It requires a hard decisions and courage to act. So no surprises that some politicians are still on the hung ups of the old system - vote buying, rigging, intimidating returning officers and causing violence. When we enacted a new constitution in August 2010, many of us relaxed hoping that it would lead to change. That has been largely challenged as MPs (a majority of them) have worked to water down any provision that would be to harsh on their old way of doing things. The celebration and rest must now end. We need vigilant people to ensure that our country is progressive. 

Thirdly, is that people can only be pushed too far. This is especially when their expectations are not met and yet their support is taken as a granted. This is particularly important for those desirous of leading this great country in various positions, they must work to serve the people. 

Fourthly, that maybe not all positions should be elective as it ends up attracting the most popular and not necessarily capable person. Governor is such a position that I think should have been appointed with the approval of County Assemblies. Ofcourse democracy interprated as the rule of the majority means that whoever they elect gets the position.

Lastly, is that a country is not changed online. Many of us the good professionals, elites and middle class, were very active on the social media describing the candidates we thought would bring the change we desire but never went to nominate them. Come 4th March we have no choice but to elect from among those who have been short-listed for us. Hope we will make better choices then and give our country the leaders it deserves.

In Service to God and Our Country

Abraham Rugo Muriu

A Fresh Start

New Year Word at KTN Tukuza Show on Sunday, 6 January 2013

Jeremiah 29:1-11

As we start 2013, it is a great moment to be reminded that God has the best interest for us. He is good to the core even when things are worst to the roots. He has and always will be for us. This may not look so when we have no idea where school fees will come from, when we remain jobless and when our business may not be doing as well as we expect. For others, it is that everything is so good that God has equally lost meaning. We think He is the God of the poor and we do not need Him. Yet there are those of us who want more of Him. We want to rise higher in our devotion to God and service to humanity. Whichever group you fall in, God’s word in this year of jubilee is clear. In Jeremiah 29, the Israelites are in exile in Babylon and Jeremiah writes them a letter whose content is very relevant to us in Kenya.

1.     To settle down (Vs. 5) – not to take our situation as though it be a passing wind. They are to build houses, plant gardens and eat what they produce. We live in a world where we are always on the run from one pursuit to another. God wants us to settle down even in our hearts that we can build a strong relationship with Him and his people. Let us make up our minds to settle down. That is to be ambitious with contentment and not greed. Only settled people can build this our nation together. To settle down to the fact that our diversity is our strength. That every person has a right to enjoy the best this country has to offer.

2.    They are to increase in numbers (Vs.6) – Marry, have children and give their children in marriage. While this may not be literally taken as it meant to them then, there is a desire in God that we increase. That we improve his world. That we leave the places where we are in now, better than we found it. That we draw more people to his loving grace. Be it in the spiritual realm, in the economy, in politics and in all others spheres let us increase in 2013. Let us increase in honesty, in integrity, in love, in faith, in hope and in service to humanity.

3.     To seek the peace and prosperity of the place they are in. To pray to the Lord for it, for if it prospers they too will prosper (Vs. 7). It is interesting that their well being was tied to the well being of Babylon. This is an equally true principle that our prosperity is tied to the prosperity of our country Kenya. We see this all the time in economic, social and political crisis - that everyone suffers when things go wrong and that people are ‘happy’ when systems are well. We thus cannot ignore what is happening around us for in the end it affects us. This is an election year and we need to be involved, some to vie for positions, others to campaign but all who have registered need to vote. This we are to engage in remembering that the true source of prosperity is the blessing of the Lord.

4.  To watch against the deception of the false prophets (Vs. 8-9). God’s word as recorded in scripture stands in all times. He blesses obedience and punishes disobedience – regardless of who is involved in it. He blesses hard work and curses laziness, regardless of who is involved.  We live in a world that has redefined what is right and what is wrong. However, this does not change what God’s word says. We are to watch against such and also watch against being the false prophets who give others false hopes.

5.    In God’s time he will come and save us (Vs. 10). For the exiles it would be about 3 generations (70 years) before God would take them from Babylon back to their home in Jerusalem. For us we await in faith that God will meet our desires here on earth. Also for the glorious day when Christ shall return to take us home. This is the gift that God gives to those who have choose to put their trust in Him (Rev. 21:12).

For the Lord knows the plans He has for us, plans to prosper us and not to harm us, plans to give us hope and a future (Vs. 11). God has allowed us to see this year so that we will be part of the solution to his world; to make his will be done and to serve our fellow human beings. To give hope to the hopeless and to hold the hand of the weak. To reverse the trend of getting things and using people, to honoring people as God’s vessels of noble use. I am convinced that God is doing a new thing and I pray that none of us will be left out. That we will stand to be counted. To be counted among those that did the right when others were doing the popular. Who helped the weak when others were taking advantage. Who were honest when others were being corrupt. Who followed their hearts conviction and stood for the truth even when it was fashionable to lie. God has a plan for good and let us wait for indeed He is doing a new thing. Shall we partake of it?

Youth and Kenya Vision 2030

The Youth Agenda

Launch of Dira Yetu: Youth Priorities for the Kenya Vision 2030 2013-2017 Medium Term Plan

Hilton Hotel, Nairobi, 14 December 2012

 

 

Remarks on Youth Involvement on KV2030

 

 

My fellow youth, ladies and gentlemen. It is my pleasure to share with us this morning. This is a great milestone for the work of the Youth Agenda in ensuring that the youth factor counts in policy decisions of this country. KV2030 work began in 2005 and was seen as a great way of advancing the gains that were expected from the implementation of the Economic Recovery Strategy for Wealth and Employment Creation (ERSWEC 2003-2007). In June 2008, KV2030 and its first Medium Term Plan 2008-2012 were launched. This was after the formation of the grand coalition government which was occassioned by the disputed presidential election that triggered violence. It is important to note that the idea of a national vision was actually started by young people. In 2003 under the leadership of the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA-Kenya), 42 young people came together and developed the Promise of Our Generation which spelt a vision for Kenya. This was picked by the government and we think it led to the conceptualization of KV2030. It is thus sad to note that the young people were not as much involved in its crafting and have been in the dark as to its provisions. This is despite the fact that it is a vision for them.

 

 

It is therefore praise worthy that the Youth Agenda too the cue and in 2009 began a process of having the youth engage in the implementation of KV2030. This was with the publishing of a critical review of KV2030 by Kenya's youth. Since then they have held many public forums across the country and partnered with the key agencies involved with the implementation of KV2030. In this line I am convinced that the youth of this country have participated in laying a strong foundation for growth. engagement with KV2030 has brought a number of issues to fore. First is that while zeal for change is good; skill to design and deliver that chánge is much ´better. This has been by the call to make clear proposals on what needs to be done and how best it is to be done. Secondly is that while there should mechanisms for wealth redistribution, there is a greater and more urgent need to think about production at source. This is the concept where focus is more on identifying regional and local potentials and supporting their growth. Redistribution assumes that there is sufficient production controled by a central power (in this case the national government). Given the productive potential of young people, our focus should be more on what we can produce for ourselves in our localities and not just what can be given to us. A third lesson is that our engagement needs to be more informed, strategic and timely. This means that we need to invest sufficient time in preparing ourselves for public engagement. The opportunities we seek will be of no value to us unless we have adequate preparation. Only then can we  and the people we serve enjoy our contribution.

 

 

The challenge of our generation is hence to be solution providers and not just recipients. We must role up our sleeves and engage on what we have. We need to identify our niche of engagement and give it our best. KV2030 will come to be when most of us will be at the peak of our careers and for the older ones approaching retirement. What  kind of country do we want to spend our sunset years in? That is the country we should help build and am convinced that KV2030 is the way to get there. This is a responsibility we can not delegate nor abdicate without facing harsh consequences. Let us make this year of Jubilee to be our time of increased impact for generations to come.

 

Thank you very much.

 

 

In Service to God and Our Country
Abraham Rugo Muriu

The Coming Devolved Government: How well do we understand it?

When we go to elections on March 4, 2013 we will be saying goodbye to our current system of centralized government. We will usher in a decentralized government through creation of county governments. These 47 units will have powers and functions to deliver certain public services. They will effectively take up roles that were initially carried out by the provincial administration and local authorities, though not all as some will be taken up by the national government. The coming changes are immense and need wisdom in instituting them.

Kenya's devolved system bestows power in the executive and legislative bodies in the county governments. At the top of county government system there will be three important organs.

1. County Executive Committee (CEC): Each county executive will be headed by a popularly elected governor and deputy governor. The governor shall form a 'cabinet' known as the county executive committee of at most 10 persons who are not elected in any office of the public. Thus the CEC shall be comprised of 13 persons including the County Secretary
2. County Public Service: Below the CEC will be the County Public Service headed by the County Secretary working working with the County Public Service Board. All public officers appointed in the county will be recruited by this board competitively.
3. The County Assembly (CA): This will be comprised of persons elected from each ward in the county as well as those nominated from party lists based on proportion of votes won. The county assembly is the legislative body of the county. It will be headed by the Speaker working with the County Assembly Service Board. The CA is responsible of making county laws, policies, approving budgets and providing oversight in service delivery within the county. County Assembly representatives are not allowed to be involved directly or indirectly in service delivery. This is in accordance to the principle of separation of powers.

 Within each county there shall be various service and governance units all of which shall be under appointed officers or boards. This are:-

1. Cities and Urban Areas which shall be categorized as either City, Municipality or town. Each of this unit shall be under a board. Such board shall have members appointed from various professions and interest groups and they shall work on part time basis. The secretary of the board shall be the city, municipality or town manager. This shall be a professional officer charged with the day to day service delivery within the specific city or urban area.
2. Other areas that shall fall under sub-county which shall be equivalent to Constituencies. Each sub-county will be divided into wards and each ward into villages. Each of this units shall be headed by an appointed administrator.

All appointments within the county shall be vetted and approved by the County Assembly.

From the foregoing one observes that we have to be extra vigilant in deciding who to elect as the county governor as well as county assembly representative. A governor with an unsurpportive county assembly will not function. The elected governor should be a people and resource manager. One with a vision and clear strategy to get the county headed to prosperity. A negotiator who can convince the county assembly, national government and other investors to support the county. A mobilizer who can rally people to support his policies and pay taxes to ensure efficient service delivery. An innovator who can lead the county to great investment paths that will see less money leave the county and more come in. A common sense thinker who will deal with problems as they are and lead the county towards prosperity. In this we the citizens have to take up our responsibilities and demand our rights.

This we need to do knowing that future generations will celebrate or mourn our decisions. This we do in Service to God and Our Country.

Abraham Rugo Muriu

Homecoming

It is great to be back home. Now I appreciate home than even before. I have seen the said first world and indeed its advanced. Germany is a rule based society where efficiency and time keeping are the values of honour. Where your word is to be trusted and where what you see is what you get. They are technologically advanced and have very reliable public funded safety nets. Their public transport is great and the general organization of their economy well run. They have food for their people and shelter for all. They are a very hard working people and for them if you cannot do it perfectly then don’t do it at all. Now we know why Made-in-Germany is always a trademark of great worth.

They have a good decentralized government and many small functional cities. The land side where they produce their food and the forest covers are well guarded. Thus most people live in the cities and towns hence freeing land for large scale production. We found that farmers especially for dairy, wheat and barley are among the very rich people. Those who live in towns and cities have the possibility to hire small plots for kitchen gardens. They thus can produce their own food...but not for sale.  Their system of education is rather relaxed and hence children get an opportunity to explore their interests at an early age. They also get to specialize rather early. Most schools are public and in almost all states education is publicly funded for all persons below age 30. Based on the right to information principle, teachers are obliged to give pupils at all ages all the necessary information including on reproductive health. It is then expected that the students would make the choices that best serve them.

All this said, what have I brought back? As as some of you may be aware, I did graduate with a Master of Public Management specializing in Public Policy and Administration. By the grace of God I topped my class. I was in an international class of 26 - 2 Ghanaians, 1 Ugandan, 1 Cameroonian, 3 Egyptians, 1 Rwandese-Canadian, 1 Kosovorian-Swissish, 1 Mongolese, 1 Guinean, 1 Japanese, 3 Vietnamesen, 2 Indonesian, 1 Brazilian, 1 Argentinian, 4 Chinesen and one Kenyan. And in some classes a few Germans. This has enabled me to get a glimpse of how the rest of the world views various issues.  My biggest concern is how I translate both the attitudes, skills and knowledge that I got into productive ideas in building our country. How do we translate the efficieny and time management of the germans, the hardwork of the Japenese, the tenacity of the chinese, the compassion of the vietnamese, the beauty of the rwandese and the elegance of the ghanians just to mention but a few into practical ways of a national lifestyle. For having looked at our country from outside, I am more than ever convinced that attitude change is a critical starting point. The heart of our problems is the problem of the heart. We need, starting with me, to search and turn our hearts. From easy income to earned income. From Godfathers to God the father. From do I know you? to are you qualified? From just speaking our mind to minding our speech. From living for the now to living with a vision. From just saying what should be done, to doing it. This turn will be unconformtable at first but is definately worth pursuing. Afterall, shall we pass out as flowers that never shined or as a clouds that never rained?

We have work to rebuild our country that we can neither delegate nor abdicate. Only we can do it. As we register and prepare to vote a new government at National and County level. Let us not plan to leave it to them to lead as they wish, we need to be involved. The Constitution provides a prime place for citizen participation in decision making. Let us apply ourselves to every opportunity that is there. Let us live and teach our children to live by the labour of their hands. To aim high and work hard. To seek to excel in all our ways. Let us raise the standards in our body politic and service to humanity. And when all is said and done, let the be much done than said.

Abraham Rugo Muriu

Farewell

Our dear friends. It has been a great pleasure meeting and knowing you during the 19 months that we have spent in Germany. Our only wish is that we had spent more time with each other. When we arrived here, we little could have imagined how fast time would fly. You have showed us great kindness and we remain forever grateful. Our son had many of you to play with. You opened your homes but more importantly your hearts to us. You have given us the opportunity to learn from you but also to share with you what we knew.

Be it in the university where we lived and studied or in the church where we shared in our faith, you did not fail to support us. We encouraged each other to do our best and sought God's guidance in our lives. For others we interacted in social forums where we discussed that which concerned us most. We remain grateful to you for helping me to see the world from other angles. We have enjoyed your beautiful country despite the cold weather. We have enjoyed your trains and buses, your cities and land, your bahns and bicycles. Yes ours has been an enjoyable time in Deutschland.

Now comes the time when we must go back home. While it would be desirable that we stay, it is of necessity that we should go. That we should go to join our fellow country women and men in delivering the promise of our generation. That we should go and share with them the ideas we have accumulated during our stay here. That we should take our son to see the great country where he was born. Some of you have expressed your concern as to the state of our country Kenya and of Africa at large. Indeed challenges do abound and I must not pretend that the road ahead will be easy. But as we have suggested before the opportunities far much out way the challenges. Our brothers and sisters have what it takes and are making a difference for good. It will take time but it shall surely come to be. The fact that the past has been bad does not mean that the future is hopeless. Just like you my friends, we are not so proud of some of the pains that we have inflicted on each other through self-centred leadership. And now that we know that which inflicts us then we are better placed to deal with it. This is the generation that shall see our country turn towards prosperity for all.  

What we ask of you is to support our country where you can. Not much with money and techniques but more with space and freedom to invent our solutions, make our mistakes and build our legacy. With the encouragement and moral solidarity that seeks to bring out the best of what we have. With  fair trade conditions that see both sides benefit. With time and patience that has been known to bring out all solutions to bear. This we ask of you and this we shall hold ourselves to. To build our country for the common good. To advance justice for all within and beyond our boarders. To support the weak and encourage the faint. To be all we can as God gives us the strength to be. We wish you well and hope to remain in touch.

Abraham, Faith and Amani Rugo.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

As we Graduate....

UNIVERSITY OF POTSDAM
MASTER OF PUBLIC MANAGEMENT 2012 GRADUATION CEREMONY

Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Speech on behalf of the Graduating Class

By

Abraham Rugo Muriu

Distinguished guests and my fellow graduands, it is my pleasure to share this moment with you. First of all I congratulate you for making to this day, we have all worked hard and today marks a great day in our lives. It is 1 year since we set foot in this university seeking to better our knowledge, skills and attitudes in public management. Then we were like the blindfolded persons who had came into contact with the proverbial elephant. Some of us thought public management was as rough as the skin of the elephant, others as smooth as its tasks, others as a heavy and rough a blanket as its wide ears and still others as a firm trunk as the elephants legs. But today, we have, thanks to our very able professors and supporting faculty, have a feel of these different aspects of the elephant. My fellow speaker has ably elaborated the experiences we have heard both in and out of the seminar rooms.

We will remain forever grateful to the MPM office for all you have done. Long before we arrived in Potsdam, you kept us informed and helped us prepare. Georg received us and showed us the city, Tjorven and later Felix ensured all logistics and paper work we needed was done, and Martina never rested until we had filled the last course form correctly. Dr. Gebhardt and Ms. Carboni not only ensured the programme run well but also kept encouraging us and gave us an ear whenever we needed one. Ms. Carboni brightened us with her constant smile even when she had all reasons to be angry at us. What you have done and been to us will remain etched in our hearts and professional foundation.

Our professors and their supporting faculty have taught us with all dedication possible. Each course was well organized and delivered. You patiently listened to us share our experiences of our feel of the “Public Management Elephant” and helped us see and feel the other side of the elephant. You managed our cultural and other differences and worked to bring the best out of us. You taught us that with hard work and discipline one can achieve great results. We thank you for every effort.

Our supporters, Family, DAAD, GIZ, governments, just to mention but a few, it’s your support that has seen us successfully complete this programme. For this we thank you. Our family and friends for all the encouragement and support, we thank you. You cheered us when we were flying high and supported us when we were crawling. All in an effort to make sure we kept moving forward.

Unto my fellow graduands. For 12 months, we have spent time together studying and sharing experiences. Sometimes we agreed, other times we disagreed but at all times we remained together in the MPM boat. We have remained stronger and better together. Our representatives, Jing jing and Ganimeti, we thank you for never tiring in listening and taking our concerns to the appropriate table of decisions. To each of us, I thank you for making effort to make the class enjoyable. Today we can proudly say that we are better, enlightened and wiser than when we first came. We came with little and now we are loaded with much. We came expecting to receive and now we leave to face a world that expects to receive from us. We came to get and now we go out to give.  Our graduation marks the end of our studies here and the beginning of a new life. A new life of seeking to apply what we have learnt.  A new life of greater and wiser engagement in the public sector.

Our guests today represent all those who impacted our lives during this one year. The support, lessons, insights, knowledge and guidance that they gave us was their lifetime gift to us. Our gift back to them, I suggest, is to serve humanity without fear or favour. To serve out of a clear conscience, and not just serving to clear our conscience. To make it our personal and collective responsibility to build our part of the world towards prosperity. To serve with our eyes on a better future and our hands on today’s labour. To advance the course of justice to the extent possible and relieve humanity of the pains that abound. This calls us to be firm at work and clear in our mind. It calls us to do the right even when it may be unpopular to do so. And knowing us all, I have no doubt in my mind that this is something we can do. While none of us will manage to change everything, everywhere; let’s make it our aim to change something, somewhere. Let us make it our aim to leave a legacy wherever our career road will take us. And when all is said and done, let there be much done than said.

Danke, Danke, Danke Sehr and God Bless You All.

In Service to God and Our Country

Abraham Rugo Muriu