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Hello rafiki 😊
Welcome to the Not an Afterthought newsletter, where we lead the conversation on using technology to drive effective change that makes Africa not an afterthought.
Kenya inaomboleza, enda vita umeimaliza.
Simanzi zimetawala, umelala kama utaamka, hivi ni kweli umeondoka, umetuacha?
Kama machozi yangeweza kukuamasha, leo ungeamka Shujaa.
Words from a song by Tanzania Blessing Voice—Tuonane
(Kenya is mourning, go your fight is over. We are full of grief, because you slept as if you’d wake up. Is it true you’ve left? You have left us. If tears could wake you up, you would have woken up today champion)
Your excellency, Hon. Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki, the third president of Kenya and the fourth vice-president of Kenya, fare thee well.
You are the gold standard upon which we will judge all future presidents.
You took the reins and transformed the economy in under three years. Under your leadership, Kenya’s economy grew leaps and bounds. The Kenyan shilling gained so much value that at some point in April 2008, 1USD = Ksh. 61.6.
Under your leadership, you championed a policy that ensured the government wouldn’t compete with its citizens. It dictated that if government contractors offering an agricultural service (for example, tractors) realized a zone had private contractors, the government contractors would withdraw.
It was aimed at giving the private sector the chance to grow. A true bottom-up approach if I ever saw one.
You were determined to give maximum opportunities to the average mwananchi (citizen). When you realized the government had some extra money, you directed the then Ministry of Public Works to buy equipment that Kenyans could lease.
As a result, even people who had not built the required capacity in terms of machinery could still apply for government tenders from the Ministry of Public Works (for example, building a road). If they got the tender, they would lease the machinery from the government to complete the tender.
You were looking out for the common mwananchi, especially the young citizens who had the skills but little capacity to bid and complete a tender successfully.
You, sir, are the architect of free education in Kenya. In 2003, just a year into your presidency, you introduced Free Primary Education. Five years later, in 2008, you introduced the free (day) secondary school plan.
As a result, the gross enrollment rate (GER) for primary schools rose from 92% in 2002 to 104% in 2003. The enrollment of girls increased by 17%, and that of boys increased by 18%. Some adults who had missed out on school because of financial difficulties also enrolled. (Source: the Republic of Kenya, 2007)
Since then, the enrollment has continued to rise, year after year.
In 2011, you donated 82 million Kenyan Shillings to Japan to aid quake victims. Criticisms poured in. How could you give money to a first-world country, yet Kenya was a third-world country?
To those of us who believed then and still believe now that Kenya and Africa can go beyond borrowing to become a lender, the donation was not a reason to criticize. It was a sign of hope.
The hope of a different kind of future for this great continent. A future where Kenya, Uganda, Ghana, and all the countries in Africa are not an afterthought. Instead, they participate fully in the global economy.
Thank you for that!
Admittedly, you were not perfect, but no human is. That is okay. It is the immense good that you did that will forever define your legacy.
The darling of the private sector, they called you. I call you the best we ever had.
Safiri salama, shujaa wa Kenya.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed the article and think others might as well, kindly share.
If this is your first time here, here are a couple of issues that you might have missed.
Building and succeeding in Africa: How Safaricom Did It
Winning Lessons For Startup Founders From The Man Who Built Nike
For feedback, constructive criticism or a private chat, please shoot me an email at nafterthought@gmail.com. Alternatively, leave a comment.
Tribute to His Excellency Hon. Emilio Stanley Mwai Kibaki