THE DEADLY "DISEASE"

Today the society has been inflicted with a 'disease' that is unstoppable and now in my opinion worse than the most common diseases known to lead to death.This disease has been slowly moved from window period to full blown stage,this disease is corruption. Since the 90's it has always been there but with time,it has not been cured but disseminated widely in different regions.

According to statistics; our country is one of the most corrupt this is due to power which affects everyone.This basically includes from rich to poor,corruption has eaten up approximately 65% of the Kenya's economy.What has really irritated youths like me, is the poor usage of funds provided by the government.Other than that lets look at the latest incidents that has happened in Kenya that is;Huruma tragedy after the downpour of rain that occurred last week on Thursday.

This tragedy literally brought the economic development to a halt. This is because;money will be used up to compensate the victims affected by this event.At the same time lets look the main cause of this tragedy?CORRUPTION simply because,a few people feel they are willing to consume huge sums of money unfairly at the cost of millions of lives at a risk.
This broke my heart to see the little babies and their family members helplessly being carried out of the rubble with dust on their faces and nothing could be done.Some were fighting for their lives in hospitals for the future awaits them.

Another occurrence that has led to so many lost opportunities, is the mishandling of funds within the government.Look at the Youth Enterprise Funds they literally have misused funds,this includes irregular tenders and the board self interest.This scandal has been going on for sometime and now,it trickles down to the youth being affected by just the top officials misusing funds for their own use. This is one of the reasons most organisations in Kenya are not acquiring donor-funding.It is very unfortunate for such events to occur,look at the youth who were hoping for little capital to start up their business enterprises and also those who needed that amount of money for farming per say.What happens to them?

This question keeps lingering in my mind,why do the top officials have to misuse funds yet the youth in the society need it more?For development to occur we need to FIGHT CORRUPTION and this starts with us,as the youth.I believe that INTEGRITY is being able to say no even when no one is looking,but unfortunately when i talked to a few of the youth they felt its a challenge.Their reasoning is ;if they are eating why not us?That caught my attention and made me realise how, power and leadership can really influence how the youth behave in their day to day activities.

For this disease to be cured we need to work together to stop it.A famous writer Ted stated that; the most deadly disease is corruption and the cure is transparency.

Growing talent for development in Kenya

The national youth policy (2006) of Kenya defines youth as between 15 to 30 years. The majority of Kenya’s population falls in this gap. Youth in Kenya are talented in sports, the arts and entertainment. The youth unemployment problem is on the increase as Kenya’s universities churn out thousands of graduates each year. Realistically, the number of graduates produced every year cannot be absorbed into the labour force of Kenya. This seems to be the development dilemma every government faces.

With the coming in of the Jubilee government in 2013, the jubilee manifesto focused mainly in investing on the youth through improvement of education, infrastructure, and access to opportunities such as SMEs for the youth. However, most of the policies proposed are yet to be implemented 5 years on. The unemployment levels are on the rise as more youth engage in crime and drug abuse as a result.

Many youth engage in talents that is earning them respect from their peers and self-employment. The jua kali sector is a great example of young people using skills and talents to create employment opportunities. Young people are coming together to form bands for example Hart the band, Sauti Sol, Elani among others who use their musical talent to create their own employment and help others coming into the music industry.

Talent is inborn and can also be developed as a result of passion and interest. Other developed nations for instance the United States of America encourage the development of talent potential that eventually drives the economy. Many young people for example in the United States are in the acting industry and earn millions through film production and acting. Education is important and is the foundation of key skill development. However, Talent cannot be overlooked in skill enhancement and development in developing countries such as Kenya.

Africa needs to focus on developing of talents for sustainable development. A talent does not cut off creativity rather enhances it and the youth have a lot of energy that can be put to good use. For instance many graffiti artists are making a living off painting public service vehicles.

If we put this into figures, it results in huge percentages of profit for government.  Many families can afford healthcare, better housing, access to education, food and eventually overcome poverty. Talent development will ensure that the crime rate is reduced as more young people will receive an incentive from using their talents in a positive way to enhance their lives and those of their families.

Talent no doubt drives innovation which leads to sustained livelihoods and economies. There have been innovations in ICT, healthcare, mobile money,among others and still others are coming up. Talent can so easily be used to train others for example ladies who engage in basket weaving, or making of bags and other accessories as a talent can train others hence we have a self-sufficient society and community.

The government needs to create talent development centres for young people to share knowledge and train others to have a self sustaining nation that will drive economic growth through talent development. There needs to be encouragement of talent development over employment. After all not everyone can be absorbed into the market. The alternative plan of action will therefore be to have talent developed and managed properly.

A system of integrity needs to be built to ensure good governance of talent management. There should be a policy on the youth to guide on the institution that will manage the youth affairs in Kenya.

What are your views on talent driving development in Kenya? Leave your views below

Youth in Leadership and Governance

With the first of its kind forum initiated last week on Friday 22^nd January 2016, student leaders from various varsities and colleges in Kenya gathered at Moi University Nairobi campus for training and discussions on how well they can influence the youth they represent in terms of leadership and governance of this country. This has come at a right time as more youth need to engage and participate in leadership and governance of this country because the future of the youth is in their hands and as such need to participate in shaping it.  

As we want to see more youth in leadership and governance and the next general election is approaching fast, these student leaders from various varsities and colleges in Kenya should move with haste in influencing the youth foster achievement of the country’s vision through good governance and leadership by engaging them to take up leadership and governance positions.

This kind of forum avails the student leadership with a platform to engage industry players and at the same time giving the young leaders an opportunity to enhance their leadership skills through the training that these leaders will be going through.

The student leadership fraternity of Kenyan Universities will benefit and go a long way in enlightening these young leaders in our country in terms of the Country’s values and ethics and instil a sense of duty.

The role of a leader is not to rule but to guide and empower the people that they lead, leadership is about giving and empowering others other to be to the level where they are strong enough to lead a valuable life. This forum is a step in the right direction and at the right time where we need to see the role of the youth in leadership and governance as of paramount importance, in achieving good leadership and governance in a fair and transparent manner.

WOMEN IN LEADERSHIP

Back in the days when women had no voice and all they could do is be subjected to men, be constrained to household chores and so forth. Due to women empowerment they have been able to stand up for their rights and also run for seats in Parliament and their constituencies. The Law states that; women should be given equal opportunities, as men furthermore they are faced with challenges. I will state a few such; as lack of financial stability; in that they  do not have enough funding to run for a seat.

Secondly lack of support from fellow women ;truly the writer of this quote was not wrong when he stated "women are their own worst enemies". Reason being, women tend to create a certain rivalry amongst each other and forget that they need each other in all aspects of life. If only women could support each other in what they do, then as a Nation we would be so ahead in terms of development. If we look at recent success stories of  Women in Arabic Countries, they are now running for seats and winning because of the massive support given by their fellow women.Statitstics has shown that, approximately 52% of Kenya mainly consists of women population 47.1%being registered voters. Unfortunately they do not vote for their own fellow women.

Thirdly the Culture effect; this basically talks about the patriarchal society. We have been raised to view women as second to men. This perception that men are the only ones who rule, at the same time this has affected our young women who would want to lead our counties they cannot simply because of cultural influences per say.

Fourthly perception that women are fragile; sometime last year there was a joke going round, that if women rule the world there will be world War III. It might seem as a joke but if we keenly look at the negative side of the joke, it is abit sad and absurd to see that women are perceived that way in this time and age more women are trying to prove the society at large wrong. A good example would be Professor Olive Mugenda the Kenyatta University Vice Chancellor, she has proven to be very strong and self driven hence establishing a better foundation for the University. The late Professor Waangari Maathai was another influential and inspiring woman in the society,  she stood her ground and because of that she was able to conserve trees for the future generations. When I look at this two examples they leave me to wonder what about a thousand women what can they do?

Lastly  lack of equal opportunities this is very evident in the African Context whereby women are not recognized. The Kenyan law has highlighted clearly that, women should have 2/3 of representation in all leadership positions which is being acted upon.At the same time it is not equal everywhere when it comes to other jobs, men are given jobs which are perceived to be masculine at the expense of women. This is because they are believed to do the job better, which is not true nowadays women equally perform tasks better than men themselves.

In conclusion we need to support women in their  leadership positions.