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Disability
is not Inability |
:: Are resources being Equally distributed?
This was the question being debated on the first day of the inclusive
Civic education programme on KTN which started just before Easter.
The programme saw
for the first time a truly interactive and inclusive debate being
interpreted into Kenya sign language.
The popular NEWSLINE Programme started on Thursday 5th April and
this time around it is running for the next 13 weeks in which
all the sessions will be interpreted. The level of civic awareness
that this programme will produce is immense and maybe everybody
responsible be ready for the heightened expectations that it may
generate both in the medium to long term among persons with hearing
impairments.
To the disability community, this is a welcomed programme and
many more would find themselves part and parcel of the the on-going
constitutional review, the coming elections and indeed the government
setup in january 2008. To the government this may also be
an opportunity to empower and inform the disability community
the many benefits that the Kibaki administration has provided
the disability community. The fact that Minister Kimunya missed
the first session is not very instructive.
But that aside an analysis of the programme highlights major issues
that are pertinent to the success of the Civic education process
intended by the organisers. The debate need to find a common ground
between a review of what the government has done within the current
constitutional setup, the needs of a new constitution and the
perceived solutions that new contitution is expected to bring.
Mixing up issues will not produce intelligent civic decisions.
While eloquence can move many minds, i find it a riduculous to
say the the government has failed basing on the lack of some perceived
solutions or that some hoped structures of government called devolution
would bring to Kenyans. President Kibaki was elected on the current
constitution He has done well compared with what we had in the
last regime. The Anchor
Peter Opondo did not do his best in managing the debate content.
Though i support some form of devloution as a means to improve
opportunity distribution, i believe that to determine weather
devolution is better than the current setup will be defined by
the constitutional review process. To me a test of the weakenss
of devolution are seen in the challenges of the CDF management.
The CDF commitees are full of the cronies of the sitting MP, and
not all areas in a constituency receive CDF projects. No Projects
for PWD has been funded in any constituency in Kenya by the CDF!
More equal resource distribution
The first debate was blurred by confusion between the ideal that
a new constitutional dispensation is hoped to bring and what the
Kibaki administration has done in the last few years. This to
me is not a comparison. It is like marking a KCSE exam using answers
of a KCPE exam. Let us separate the constitutional debate from
the report card the due to the government after five years of
service.
Five years ago we did not have a situation where there was more
direct participation of more people in managing tax money to direct
development. The CDF has given more Kenyans the opportunity
to initiate and manage the development they want with their tax
money. The success and failures of the CDF are those
of respective Members of Parliament and their constituents. But
what that means is that given devolution also there would be success
and faliures. During Moi era there was no such participation in
national wealth management. So there is more equal distribution
even of resources than before.
Free primary education has its success and faliures. But the fact
that more than 3 more million Kenyans are in school than there
was during President Moi means something. Although fine tuning
needs to be done to include persons with disabilities to get an
opportunity to be educated.
Equal distribution of opportunity
Now if in some Public TV forum you stand and say President Kibaki
has not done anything for me. What did you expect him to do? Should
a leader be spoon feeding you or washing your inner clothes to
prove service? Not even a Raila or Kalonzo President would do
that! The work of the government is to provide the opportunity.
Our work as citizens is to take the opportunity. True
civic education should teach citizens that!
Kenyan MPs insatiable desire for a higher pay is because they
need to bear the burden of dishing shillings to their contituents.
This is the genesis of our woes. Because people then believe that
the higher their MP goes the better the goodies. Many Kenyans
therefore believe MPs are responible for every thing from building
roads to paying school fees, rent and feeding our children.
More Kenyans believe if your son is up there it is our right to
eat. So there is jealousy in management of Constituency funds
as MPs can only give so much. Leadership in Kenya has become which
son can go out there to acquire by all means to try and feed your
people to prove you are delivering. To me this is the genesis
of widespread official tribalism and corruption in Kenya and the
many tribal chief seeking presidential elections. Devolution based
on this is receipe for deep trouble to our motherland.
President Kibaki has provided opportunity for more Kenyans to
improve their lives than President Moi did, under the same conditions.
Milk farmers, Meat farmers, Sugar Farmers, Youth, etc. The
question should therefore be has President Kibaki's government
provided an opportunity for me?
This however does not mean that everybody is doing well. That
is why we may need to find out are we on the right track in terms
of governance? are there better ways in which if we set our constituion
we would have better distribution? So you should vote according
to opportunity you got or hope to get.
Empower Clear public thought.
The issue should actually not be distribution at this moment of
economic history. There is nothing to distribute anyway. The issue
should be baking the national cake. It is an unfortunate indicator
that 40 years after independence, that even with such vast tratcs
of land still liying idle, such a large percentage of kenyans
believe and fight and kill each other for land as a direct source
of livelihood. We should be changing gears to are target a knowledge
economy.
E ach Kenyan should be given the opportunity to bake some section
of the national cake, share fairly with community and be left
with enough to live in an acceptable livelihood. Many want what
others have baked in the name of sharing some national cake. That
is why the fight against corruption is such a thorn to all. Unfortunately
many Kenyans only hate the corruption that benefits someone else.
To me what we should be talking about is if the government has
provided an opportunity for more Kenyans to bake given the mandate
we gave them in 2002. Civic education should enable me make a
choice that improves my opportunity as a civic person. It should
be neutral in the sense that it should encourage responsibility
to seek solutions to our problems within the various available
structures of government and community. Civic education should
not incite people to blind angers and emotions, it should incite
thought and responsibility as an equal citizen.
The media has a responsibility
to pursue the view that ensures clarity of public thought.
otherwise we fall into the mindset that made Rev. Timothy Njoya
equate constituional instituions with jungle gangs. Many media
shows even on are more of propaganda than Civic education.
Distribution of public office
The issue of The central bank governor and the tale that a large
percentage of civil service comes from one region is an unfortunate
result of Historical injustices that we hope to correct through
improving the constitutional dispensation. The blame therefore
cannot be on Kibaki alone just because he happens to be president
in 2007. However the view by Minister Kimunya as quoted on the
KTN programme, that other regions need to compete for jobs like
happens in the private sector was an unfortunate misshap from
a public servant with such potential.
You cannot tax everybody with the zeal of KRA and then without
considering historical background of wealth generation, claim
others have to compete on eqaul footing to get an opportunity
to serve in a national public office. If that was his reasons
while recommending Prof. Nd'ungu to the President it is unfortunate.
If this is Kimunya's view then person with disabilities are in
for some long years in the wilderness. The concept of government
in especially a market economy is to redistribute resources to
give more poeple opportunity to earn a decent livelihood. If a
deaf person does not get quality education because there are no
teacher who know sign language its the government's responsibility
to provide some form of affirmative action to compensate to enable
opportunity for some acceptable livelihoods.
Redistribution of Opportunity
What in my view this country needs is a constitution that gurantees
opportunity of all citizens to acceptable livelihood irrespective
of political inclination of the government. I agree with PLO on
this that we need instituions that have a live predictable to
all irrespective of where we come from or who is in power.
Civic education should be targeted at building the populations
civic intelligence. Otherwise they would be viewed to be busybodies
with narrow interests of foregners who do not know a single bit
about us.
Civic education should empower choice not enforce a solution.
Civic education should explain structres of government and how
they have worked for or against us and not give judgements or
take sides. I am yet to see equally opposing so called consultants
in a one on one within such interactive debate with an unbiased
abitrator. This is the challenge of media houses and the so called
civic educators.
Joel omondi
disabilitykenya
Category: Inclusion,
education
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