The 2010s is the current decade in the Gregorian calendar that began on January 2010 and will end on 31st December 2019. The next decade, the 2020s, starts 1st January 2020 to 31st December 2029.
The decade of the “twenty tens” was ushered with pomp and glory and high expectations and the peak of that ushering in of the decade that started on 01/01/2010 was the promulgation by the noble ordinary Kenyans on 27th October 2010 of a brand new Constitution of Kenya 2010 and where in the preamble it was loudly proclaimed “We the people of Kenya … adopt, enact and give this Constitution to ourselves and to our future generations.”
So much hope, expectations, dreams, promises was packed in that new Constitution. The decade is now closing with so much despair, desperation, hopelessness, uncertainty for the ordinary Kenyan citizen.
The same Constitution we solemnly stated was adopted, enacted and given to ourselves and to our future generations is in doubt, “for the country’s state of under achievement, state of under achievement, failure to deliver the promises, dreams that were so full and expectant in 2010”.
West Media thinks it ain’t the Constitution that is the problem but those we entrusted with implementing, delivering the promises and dreams in the Constitution being our elected leaders at the national and County level and the public servants in the three arms of Government of the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary that have failed the Constitution and made it impotent and now they (the same culprits) wish to change it. So what guarantee is there that what has failed in the 2010s decade will succeed in the next decade?
For the Counties of the former Western Province of Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia, Vihiga and neighbouring Trans Nzoia, it is time to take a hard and brutal assessment of what decade of this decade has brought forth that has enriched (or impoverished) its citizenry, made their lives better in social, political and economic spheres of their journey of life.
Yes, we must be candid and frank. Has the decade been one of the unprecedented improvements in the quality of life of the majority of our people or has it been a wasted decade for the majority but of unlimited riches for the corrupt few and their families, cronies?
We must learn from this ending decade if we have to maximize our returns in the oncoming decade of 2020s. We must not be fooled by tokenism, appearances, and feel good talk of those who have stolen a significant proportion of tax payers resources devolved to our Counties since 2013. The question to ask to put the facts in perspective is how many billions of shillings have been disbursed to your County since 2013 and what is there to show for it?
The tragedy of Kenya, every County in Kenya, is that the elected leaders and public servants are literally eating 70% of the budget and leaving 30% or less for their electorate. How many elected leaders and public servants are there at the national and County levels than 5% of the respective populations at national and County level?
So what glorious fools are you and me who are not elected leaders and public servants to expect transformation of our Nation and Counties with less than 5% of the population eating 70% of our budgetary resources and we the 95% of the population to prosper on 30% of the budget and which is still administered corruptly by the less than 5% elected leaders and public servants.
Yes, interrogate the ending decade thoroughly and let all of us learn lessons from what we did well and what we did badly and hope to be better in the decade of the 2020s? The future looks stark but we must overcome. We must as our fore fathers fought colonialists who enslaved the indigenous people of Kenya take up the challenge to fight the new colonialism where those we elect and employ as public servants are the greatest instruments of our impoverishment and instead of being our trustees and loyal servants. The 2020s decade, we must pray, culminates in the noble people of Kenya decimating subjugating the parasites in the name of elected leaders and public servants and ushering an era where those we entrust to govern us and be our public servants do exactly that “to lead and serve” us to prosperity and fulfillment not poverty and hopelessness.
West Media wishes the honorable people of the Counties of the former Western province and neighbouring Trans Nzoia County a decade of true promise, fulfillment and prosperity for themselves and their children. God bless all those who continue to honestly stand for defend and advance the dreams and promises in our Constitution of Kenya 2010.