Kenya is a difficult democracy!

Tricky situations!

By any standards, Kenya is considered an emerging democracy. Emerging because we have not perfected the art yet. That is why we are still discussing procedures for voting. Like; whether we should have manual or electronic registration or transmit ballot papers physically or send the results electronically using mobile phone technology. 

Every voter in Kenya knows that our election system is guided by the universal principle of one man, one vote. Our fear is not that people are not going to vote. Voting will take place regardless of whether the turnout is high or not. After all, voting in Kenya is not compulsory, so I don’t know why politicians are busy enticing people to register. The civic education on voter education should be left to the IEBC and maybe the civic organisations. Telling people to register and vote is not enough unless they are also educated on why they should vote. 

The average Kenyan has no clue what the strategic issues are. The only motivation that drives the majority of the voters is ethnicity; the principle of us-against-them that guides voters in Kenya.

 But globally also, the ideals and the fundamentals of democracy seem to be losing meaning. What happened in America in November last year during the elections that saw Donald J. Trump get elected illustrates that people no longer care about rational issues.
The White American voters were subjected to large doses of fear of losing their privilege that saw them elect a man who in previous elections would never have come close to the gates of the White House.

Democracy is a strange phenomenon. It allows politicians to manipulate the voters for their selfish gains.
We now need to revisit the purpose of democracy if Kenya is to stay afloat. As it is, under the current system of fear, politics of ethnicity and voter buying will lead us nowhere. If voters don’t have the motivation to vote except to bring one of their own to power, then the purpose of democracy is lost.

voting in an election is a skill, not a random intuition. And like any skill, it needs to be taught systematically to people. Letting the citizenry vote without an education is as irresponsible as putting a drunk driver behind the wheels of a car and expecting him to arrive home safely.

However hard we try and make noise about poor governance structures in Kenya, nothing much will change. If the voters don’t understand the issues, then democracy by itself will have no meaning and voting every five years becomes merely a ritual.

Avoid politics at the work place

Politics is addictive. Its very engaging and one can get carried away easily.
We talk horse and dry our throats in support of whomever we choose to support but the politics and the environment around us has been poisoned and you don’t want to be judged or associated to any negativity.

Politics is a polarising aspect and no manager would want to see a polarised staff.

The topic should be treaded carefully at the work place!

But beyond trading carefully, staff must have limits and should not portray the organisation as supporting a certain side, that’s if the company as an institution does not identify with any side of the political divide.

Staff must understand the strategic interests of management. In an environment like ours where politics has been so corrupted, it would be wrong to seem as if you (company) identify with a certain side.

In government agencies, ‘political talk’ is a sensitive subject and speaking for or against a certain political party is usually construed into belonging to ‘them or us’, which might have severe repercussions.

Therefore, you need to understand the interests of top management and of the company before promoting politics at work because it’s natural that politics can create dangerous edges that might work against certain interests and long term strategies.

Staff should also desist from obsessing themselves with politics because it can be a time waster, thereby impacting on deadlines and workflow.
Thus, just in case you cannot avoid it, take caution on some of the factors below:
Know the right time to hold discussions; either at lunch time, break time and or after work rather than discussing it at unscheduled hours.

Avoid being misunderstood and changing goal posts. It can reflect badly on you.

Know the people who you need to discuss with. Not everyone enjoys the politics therefore study the environment and understand everyone’s interests to know best what you discuss with them.

If you work in a government office you need to be extra careful because what you discuss might be taken differently which might have severe impact on your performance.

At all times, know when to say what, when and how to say it.

Avoid discussing politics with your bosses unless you have specific interests and a relationship that goes beyond work.

If your professions requires you to be neutral while executing your duties try just as hard as you can to stick by that, especially in public.

Otherwise you might be held by what you do or say.
People in professions such as journalism are judged on things like credibility. Therefore, however much you might want to, stick to providing credible information, free of your opinion and interests.

Therefore, all in all, whereas political discussions are not criminal at work places it should be guided by company strategies and aspirations as well as individual judgment.

Let's not Glorify the Fraud Culture!

I have been watching some interesting TV shows recently!The common theme of these shows evolved around fraudsters and con men who are portrayed as being smart and charismatic with exceptional talent to solve problems that can't be solved by hard working honest professionals!

They are presented to be the solution rather than the problem and the sad reality is that it is easy  for most of us to admire such characters and fall in love with them!

The Dangerous Message!

While the purpose of the shows is to provide entertainment, they are also sending an unintentional   dangerous message to the youth that being a fraudster is actually a "cool thing"!It is not a secret that at this era of rapid technological advancement the difference between realty and virtuality may not be so obvious to some!

It All Starts at Home!

Fraud will always be out there.We can not completely eliminate it, but we can fight it before it becomes a monster. We can only do this by starting  at the source, our kids!
Getting the necessary immunity against  and preventing fraud starts at home at an early age.Parents need to keep  a close eye on what their children read and watch and who their role model is.

A few days ago, my teenage brother expressed his desire  to become a broker after watching the Wolf of Wall Street movie! It took several rounds of discussions to explain to him the difference between a good  ethical broker and a bad one.

Let's not glorify the fraud culture and start to build an anti fraud one starting from our homes!

These are my thoughts, please share yours