“The good news is 2019 is ending. The bad news is 2020 may prove as challenging. But we believe we are ready and will prove up to the task, ultimately improving the lives of those around us especially the most needy…” Those were the words of the Central Bank of Kenya Governor Patrick Njoroge, tweeted on 31st December last year in the midst of massive anticipation for the new year and the culmination of 2019, which has battered Kenyans to a pulp in terms of financial capability and stability. They are clearly not words to instill encouragement, at least not entirely, and words that remind us that time may be taken as the endless circle that has no beginning or an end just bits and pieces joined together infinitely, that repeat themselves. With that theory, Kenyans should not expect a shift in financial success automatically, skipping to 2020 doesn’t equate to skipping across a river to the other aside or shifting houses from a dilapidated one to a furnished one, the tough financial times roll on, more like, they are stuck to our ankles and we are dragging them along.
Speaking of skipping the river to the other side, let’s talk about Canaan, the famed and much discussed promised land and Eden that politicians led by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga hyped up years ago. In public addresses, Raia spoke of the River Jordan and crocodiles and building a bridge over the river in order to cross over, then boom, the Building Bridges Initiative was shoved on to our faces, but we can’t complain, because it ushered a period of relative peace. Notice, the game play though, the words’ mastery, Canaan during the 2017 general elections campaign, R. Jordan and a bridge after the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and former PM Raila Odinga, and here we are, we have the BBI report. So, let’s be honest, nothing is going to change with the political class in 2020, expect greater sophistication in wordplay, game play, and tactical nous, which is basically a sugar coated ball of lies and more lies.
2020 is a number, twenty twenty just a couple of words that can’t bring spontaneous, automatic change, if we factor the faltering economy and the politics. The burdens and challenges we experienced last year are just going a notch higher this year, in fact, the ground is set for a tumultuous political season. Leaders are about to rampage through the country stealthily, of course, lies in mouth and cash in hand, some opposing a referendum-it’s common knowledge the tenets of the BBI and its implementation process are the issues, not the report itself-and some calling for a parliamentary implementation. Some are set to seek for political alliances before the close of the year and some to cause as much havoc as they can wherever they are(Clue; All eyes on a Jubilee). Maybe we could’ve fixed the economy problem last year, or 2018, or 2017,2016…last decade the decade before…or, no need to, we were already being clowned and slaughtered by the leadership system throughout the years anyway! So, brace for impact.