ARE GOVERNOR MUTUA'S GRAND PROJECTS SUSTAINABLE?

Agreed. Devolution is Kenya's bellwether. It is the 'good shepherd' of Kenya's governance that is pro-people and close to the masses. There is no doubt that with clear-minded leadership millions of poor Kenyans will be lifted up the economic ladder.

But, I'm afraid this isn't the time to rejoice. Neither is it the time to remain gloomy. It is time to think, talk and walk with the people.

This boils to one point - curing the ailments of the people in a procedural and effective manner. At least, once and for all!

 Step Number Two

Which takes us to Step Number Two: How can these "peoples' ailments" be cured? What do you need to cure them?

This is it. Poverty is our greatest enemy. Poverty begets suffering. Suffering begets discomfort. And discomfort begets lack of peace (both within and without oneself). Again, we need resources, material or otherwise, to combat this.

With this in mind, it is incumbent upon our policy makers and implementers to engage the right gear. To move in swiftly and administer the right drug - silently and wisely!

It follows, therefore, for any right thinking people to ask hard questions. To demand changes. To revolt against elitist and discriminative projects. And to stand up for the voiceless, the weak, the uninformed and the poorest of the poor.

 Governor Alfred Mutua's Gardens and Cities vis-à-vis Peoples' Ailments

I'm for progress. I love this and would want (it) be achieved in record time. But lets reason together and strike a balance. Dreams are good. Dreams shape what we do and how we achieve them.

Reality, on the other hand, calls for vision. It demands that we look out for biting problems and respond to them in a manner that is not dramatic but progressive and less costly. 

Which beggars the questions; in a sea of poverty, does it add any value to expend millions of taxpayer shillings on landscaping and gardening? Is it lack of focus or a move to dramatize development to the gullible citizen?

 Media Enthusiast or a Peoples' Darling?

I'm no governance expert. But it is no secret that leaders need not to showcase hundred incomplete projects to demonstrate their love for development. To accept this is to legitimize confusion and mediocrity. I would rather congratulate one that takes one step at a time.

  
Responding to the basics, the forgotten, the "unattractive"

It all goes like this; come up with your beautiful parks and we shall bring our thirsty and hungry livestock to "landscape them". After all, it takes a blow from the forgotten, the weak and the poor for the decision makers to "remember" their (the poor) pleas.

Hence, it must be remembered that pro-people, pro-development leadership is consultative, visionary and non-dramatic. It lays structures that transcend office holders. It initiates a system that is independent. It abhors futuristic designs.

Twitter: @mlemukol