Forget politicians; let professionals take over the running of counties
By RASNA WARAH
Posted Sunday, September 19 2010 at 18:12
Posted Sunday, September 19 2010 at 18:12
Recently, the Coast People’s Forum proposed that professionals, rather than politicians, be nominated as county governors and senators under a devolved system of government.
A couple of weeks ago, the Forum came up with a list of people they would like to see running the show in the region. Media reports suggest that the list comprised mainly scholars and technocrats — no one on the list was a politician.
I have not seen the list, nor do I know the criteria used for the nominations, but I agree that if this country has any chance of achieving meaningful development, it will come about, not through the efforts of politicians, but of professionals in various fields.
Let us take the example of Malindi, a town that I have a particular fondness for and which I have made my home in recent months.
People who come for short visits to this laid-back resort town will notice that it is particularly popular with European retirees, and that its highly visible Italian population has turned Malindi into one of the best places south of Sicily to sample Italian cuisine.
They will also discover that this coastal town is particularly renowned for a delicacy known as halwa, which has its roots in the Arabian peninsula.
Many visitors will be surprised to learn that Malindi was the site of a 19th century slave market and that Vasco da Gama took a pilot from this town to guide him through his historic sea voyage to India in the latter part of the 15 century.
Agro-economists will be astonished to learn that Malindi has very high agricultural potential and that as far back as the 16th century, it produced oranges, lemons, rice and millet in abundance.
Writers will also be interested to know that in 1934, the American author Ernest Hemingway stayed in Malindi at what is now known as the Blue Marlin hotel for eight days.
However, these gems of information have not been sufficiently utilised by the government or politicians to bring about significant development to the town. The main road into the centre of Malindi Town from Lamu, for instance, is dilapidated and full of potholes.
And despite its huge potential as a tourist destination, the majority of hotels remain largely unoccupied for much of the year. There is only one fully-equipped hospital in the town. If the residents need specialised treatment, they have to drive 100 miles south to Mombasa.
Locals often complain about the growing sex tourism menace in the town and the increasing drug addiction among youth, both of which are linked to two other scourges affecting the local residents — poverty and unemployment.
Now, under a devolved structure, these problems could be handled technically, not politically. If county governments comprised professionals such as engineers, educationists, economists, doctors, sociologists, historians, artists, marketing professionals and businesspeople, they might want to spend the county funds solving real problems, rather than use the money for “political projects”.
The engineer, for instance, may propose that the major highway linking Malindi to Lamu be expanded and rebuilt. A sociologist might propose that a youth centre or football stadium be built to alleviate the drug addiction problem among the youth.
An economist might suggest that the economy of the area be diversified to include industries that process local produce. A medical practitioner may want to address the increasing cases of child sex abuse at the Malindi District Hospital, where nurses struggle daily to heal victims of paedophiles.
The historian might propose to undertake a study to document the rich history of the area (interestingly, the only known authoritative historical account of the town is to be found in a wonderful booklet titled Malindi: Past and Present by Esmond Bradley Martin, which was first published in 1969, and recently re-printed by the Malindi Museum Society.)
The businessperson may want to market Hemingway’s visit to organisers of literary festivals and at exhibitions marketing Kenya as a tourism destination.
With so many diverse minds dedicated to improving Malindi, the town, would be a thriving node of prosperity in no time.
Yes, it is about time that the development of this country was undertaken by smart, ethical and forward-looking professionals, rather than useless politicians.
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