From accidents to insecurity, here is why Uhuru must walk the talk in 2014

President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing the nation following the terror attack on innocent Kenyans at the Westgate Mall in Westlands. With the president are the Director of NSIS Director Gen. Gachangi and the cabinet secretary for interior Joseph Ole Lenku. Photo/FILE 

In Summary

• The President and his deputy rode to power on the back of promises. However, challenges lie ahead and their work in the new year has already been determined

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By PETER OBUYA
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The agenda for 2014 is already set for the Jubilee government, with challenges to confront.

President Kenyatta and his deputy, Mr William Ruto, took over the country’s Executive with a promise to tackle worsening insecurity, improve national cohesion and rid the civil service of corruption.

The duo also promised to improve the economy, ensure food security and put the country on a digital take-off path.

The Court of Appeal has already stopped the digital television migration for at least 45 days beginning last Friday until an appeal by three media houses is heard and determined.

The government had planned to switch off analogue television transmission in Nairobi from December 26 before the court halted the process.

Other leading towns like Mombasa, Nyeri and Kisumu are expected to go digital by March before the whole country is digitised by June 2014.

But it is insecurity that should worry the government more. Recent surveys have shown that most Kenyans are worried about their security more than anything else.

INSECURITY

The September 21 terror attack at the Westgate Mall in Nairobi was the epitome of this fear. Ethnic clashes in Turkana, Marsabit and Samburu counties will also top the executive’s agenda, with political leaders in the regions having already appealed for the government’s intervention.

Mr Ruto, in a commentary published recently, admitted that insecurity was a challenge.

“I want all Kenyans to consider the fact that our external threats increase every day, and to reflect on their role in securing the nation. Terrorists have not hidden their desire to inflict destruction and suffering on our land,” he wrote.

The government will also be pre-occupied with eliminating ethnic divisions, a wound that has been exposed by the recent appointment of parastatal heads.

The Jubilee government is already finding itself on the spot as both loyalists and the Opposition demand regional balance in public office appointments.

It remains a delicate balance for the government as national cohesion will largely depend on the faces of the appointments.

Ridding the public service of corruption and incompetence is another promise the government must fully deliver in 2014.

Vetting of Cabinet Secretaries and Principal Secretaries did little to convince the citizen that the Jubilee government was committed to deliver this pledge. The new storm over the recent appointments adds to that doubt.

The sacking of some 15 immigration officials in October pointed to intent to discard corrupt officials from the service, although critics have maintained that “small fish” were unfairly being targeted. A part from lip-service, the President has done nothing much on this front.

Away from politics and governance, the nine-month old Jubilee administration is confronted with economic challenges to deal with. The unpopular decision to increase the Value Added Tax on some basic commodities has pushed the cost of living higher.

That is contrary to the Jubilee manifesto that promised to lower the same. Improving food security in a country where starvation has remained a perennial problem must also be on the agenda.

Then there will be the issue of tackling road carnage. More than 3,000 Kenyans have lost their lives on the road this year. While the government has banned night travel for all public service vehicles, a more modest and surest way of reducing road accidents must be devised.

LAPTOP PROJECT

Another greatest worry for the government will be how to implement the much-hyped laptop project. The government also promised to raise education standards. The cry of most employers that universities are churning out half-baked graduates must be worrying.

In health, while it has become a function of county governments, Jubilee promised to build more hospitals and to motivate health workers for efficient services. The recent strike by the workers showed that they were far from motivated.

The government will also have to handle the delicate matter of reducing public wage bill without retrenching 100,000 civil servants as planned.

It intends to retrench some 100,000 workers.