Kenya Private Sector Alliance trustee Manu Chandaria (left) with Vimal
Shah, the Mkenya Daima Steering Committee chairman, during the launch of
the Mkenya Daima campaign at Serena Hotel, Nairobi, on November 10,
2015. PHOTO | JAMES EKWAM |
NATION MEDIA GROUP
By Mike Eldon
In Summary
- Very ambitiously, the campaign envisages a corruption-free Kenya, and it is not by coincidence that last week’s Presidential Round Table with the private sector focused heavily on this subject, along with the development of entrepreneurship. Watch this space.
Amid the normal noise of our zero-sum politics, the
Kenya Private Sector Alliance recently launched the fourth phase of its
Mkenya Daima project, which is all about building a more peaceful and
cohesive society.
The new programme will work on our much-neglected national values, and on helping us to become more responsible citizens.
The initial campaign resulted from the decision by
the private sector to get involved in peace-building, following the
devastating consequences of the post-election violence of 2008.
The first phase of the campaign, in the build up to
the 2013 elections, was dubbed Mwenye-nchi sio Mwananchi, and it was
about building commitment to peaceful elections.
It was followed by one that celebrated the good
that exists in Kenya and handled the negatives that divide us. The third
phase emphasised that rights go along with responsibilities, and that
each Kenyan is responsible for Kenya.
Through all the campaigns, stakeholders beyond the
private sector were brought together, including civil society, religious
groups, the media, musicians, and university students — all to build
peace. Support also came from politicians who, even as they hunted for
votes in the 2013 polls, appealed to their supporters to maintain peace.
The media too conveyed the peace messages, and their airing of the presidential debates was a notable first for the country.
The next phase will encourage the adoption of
national values, again encouraging a sense of responsibility, and
fostering character change at the individual, institutional and national
level.
It will do this in the ongoing context of building
national cohesion and peace, encouraged by the sense that the messages
of past phases have indeed inspired Kenyans to co-exist peacefully,
enjoy freedom with responsibility, and focus on the goals of Vision
2030.
During the launch UNDP Resident Representative
Nardos Bekele-Thomas showed how strongly she feels about peace-building
and the key role of the private sector in supporting it.
She challenged Kenyans to take a more active role
in running the country’s affairs, acknowledging that since independence
the country has been a bastion of peace in a troubled region, offering
leadership and refuge to its neighbours.
“Kenya can be greater than it is once Kenyans
realise they employ the politicians, and indeed all arms of government,”
she stated, adding that “the Constitution is only as strong as the
people who made it. You can have the best constitution in the world, but
it is no good if the people do not drive action to build prosperity.”
Ken Njiru from the Uungwana Institute, a member of
the Mkenya Daima steering team, gave a presentation on the next phase,
to be called MKenya Muungwana Daima 2030, explaining that its objective
is to develop a values-based culture among Kenyans, so we take
responsibility for the running of the country in an ethical way.
Reinforcing Bekele-Thomas’ message, he pointed out
that we created our institutions, and when they don’t work we must fix
them. We need a “Muungwana culture” that can only be developed by
embracing healthy values. This is easily said.
Indeed it’s all spelt out in our Constitution, in
the values pillar of Vision 2030, in the work of the National Cohesion
and Integration Commission, and in the National Values System
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