The one indisputable reason why any sane person should vote for NASA
Written by Ephraim Njega
THE 2017 ELECTION IS A CHOICE BETWEEN A PROVEN FAILURE AND A POTENTIAL SUCCESS.
I do not understand why some people want to distort debate and claim that I have presented NASA leaders as Messiahs who will perform miracles for the country. NASA leaders have their weaknesses just like anyone else.
I have said many times that it is senseless to claim with any measure of certainty that NASA cannot do better than Jubilee. None of NASA’s leaders has ever been the president of this country. Comparing NASA and Jubilee is like comparing oranges with eggs. Even Kibaki could not implement his ideas fully despite serving in the highest capacity under Moi’s government.
No one can claim to have voted for Jubilee in 2013 based on the leaders track record. The leaders had no performance record. Those who voted them in took a risk. It has now been proven that Jubilee has no capacity to run the country’s economy. What would be the basis of taking the same risk again in 2017?
As for NASA they are neither a proven success or a proven failure. They are a potential success may be even a potential failure. The grand coalition government in which NASA leaders were key players performed way better than Jubilee. Electing NASA is therefore a reasonable risk to take.
It is strange for someone to demand that we guarantee that NASA will succeed where Jubilee has failed. We have never laid claim to prophecy. Someone supporting a proven failure cannot question our decision to support a potential success. Voting is a risk. Success cannot be guaranteed. We will be here to criticize NASA if they fail to meet our expectations.
What the country needs today is courage. The courage to try something else. You cannot retain a failed strategy when alternatives exist. You cannot stay in an abusive marriage just because another man might as well turn out violent. We cannot allow the fear of the unknown to rule our hearts and ruin our minds.
Lastly, arguing that the so called disunity in NASA is a sign that they cannot rule is absurd. What is happening in NASA is healthy competition not disunity. You do not expect NASA to be like Jubilee which need not conduct nominations for a presidential candidate. If they disintegrate and go separate ways we will cross that river if we ever get to it.
In any case even Jubilee is not a perfect marriage. Away from TV cameras are daily fights for control of tendering opportunities. Furthermore, the unity among Jubilee leaders if at all it exists has not delivered anything for the country. The noisy grand coalition government did better.
This article Originally appeared on Ephraim Njega’s Facebook update on April 13, 2017. Here is the link to the original article.
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Written by Ephraim Njega
A NEW GOVERNMENT IS NECESSARY TO RESTORE SANITY AND STABILITY IN ECONOMIC POLICY
The argument that NASA leaders are worse thieves than Jubilee leaders is manifest nonsense. It is an absurdity beyond belief. Never in the history of our republic has stealing been so institutionalised and normalised.
While theft in Jubilee is a major electoral issue my major concern over the last four years has been on how clueless the government has been in managing the economy. Almost every economic sector has been crippled by a chaotic policy environment.
Jubilee has been running a bloated budget. This has placed unbearable pressure on Treasury officials. The officials have resorted to policy by trial and error. Policy has also been deeply infiltrated by politics. Populist policies have destroyed once vibrant sectors of the economy.
The policy environment has become so unstable that investors are unable to make long term investment decisions. Policies are made and reversed with such high frequency that you are left wondering if those in-charge know what they are doing.
Policies are made with self interest of a few well connected fat cats in mind. Policy making has fallen captive to shadowy elements with subsequent disastrous outcomes.
Growing the economy simply requires smart economic policies. Even if the government makes heavy investments in infrastructure such will amount to nothing if private sector has no chance to thrive. A sickly private sector will not make use of the infrastructure and the government will be starved of the revenues it needs to repay the debts.
We urgently need a change of government to bring sanity and stability to the policy environment. This is all NASA government needs to do while maintaining fiscal discipline and the country will be back on track. NASA does not need to perform any miracles to revive the economy.
It is absurd to expect the current government to resolve the mess it has created while it cannot even admit that all is not well. Seeking economic solutions from Jubilee is like searching for a pregnant woman amongst virgins. #JubileeMustFall or Kenya will sink.
This article originally appeared on Ephraim Njega’s Facebook status update on April 12, 2017. Here is the link to the original article.
