 |
| Image: Courtesy |
Two member states of
the East African Community (EAC), Rwanda and Kenya will be holding their
elections four days apart this month. Rwanda is expected to kick-start the
exercise on Friday August 4th while Kenya will be conducting the
general election on Tuesday August 8th.
These two polities have
similarities and differences socially, economically and politically. Rwanda’s
political environment is perceived to be authoritative with President Paul Kagame
viewed as a political leader bearing dictatorial tendencies. On the other hand,
Kenya’s political landscape is considered to be democratic.
One of the contemporary
challenges that African states face is neo-colonialism. Political
neo-colonialism manifests itself in the nagging manner in which Western states
and non-state actors, intellectuals and the academic establishment direct
African nations to adopt the system of democracy and its principles.
This has resulted in
the mushrooming of Western democratic franchises in Africa which do not embrace
the existing socio-political and economic conditions of the continent. To me,
the Rwandese people are not led by a despot as claimed by most of the Western
world entities. They have only adopted a system that suits their local
conditions.
Considered to be one of
the democratic models in Africa with democratic institutions, Kenya is also
well-known in the world when it comes to corruption. The Corruption Perception
Index released by Transparency International in January 2017 ranks Kenya at
position 145 out of 176 countries in the world. The high rate of corruption in
Kenya means that the so called democratic institutions in the country are
neither effective nor efficient.
Rwanda, on the other
hand, has managed to effectively deal with corruption even as President Kagame
continues to be accused of being a “strongman”. The same report ranks Rwanda at
position 50 out of 176 countries in the world and the 3rd least
corrupt country in Africa. This is an indication that governance institutions
in Rwanda are very effective.
When it comes to
healthcare, Kenya is no match to Rwanda despite the former having a high number
of medical practitioners, medical training institutions and medical facilities.
Rwanda stands out in Africa having formulated and implemented the universal
healthcare system. This system enables all the Rwandese citizens to access
healthcare services.
The situation is
different in Kenya with most Kenyans finding it difficult to access affordable
and high quality healthcare services. The day that the country’s most corrupt
yet highly paid politicians will seek for medical attention in public
hospitals, is the moment when the healthcare system will no longer be broken.
Despite having a
constitution that is considered as one of the best in the world with democratic
institutions, Kenya is really struggling with the political inclusion and
representation of women. In the 11th Parliament, women accounted for
only 19.7% of the total number of MPs in the National Assembly and 26% in the Senate.
Unfortunately, most of these women parliamentarians are nominated. In fact, the
11th Parliament failed to pass the Gender Bill yet this is an
institution admired by many in Africa.
For Rwanda, women
representation in Parliament is close to 60% which is the highest in the world.
Indeed, the dictatorial regime seems to be performing extremely well in the inclusion
of women in political representation.
Even on basics such as
environmental cleanliness, Rwanda outsmarts Kenya. Compare the capital cities
of the two countries, Kigali and Rwanda. Kigali is a very clean city in
comparison to Nairobi which is full of filth left, right and centre. The county
government of Nairobi has failed terribly on waste management. But also the
residents of Nairobi lack the discipline and common sense of keeping the
environment clean.
Kenya’s economy is more
developed than that of Rwanda despite the latter registering high rates of
economic growth in the last ten years. However, the level of inequality and
economic destitution in Kenya is high. Political and economic institutions have
failed to address the country’s economic disparities.
President Paul Kagame,
loathed and loved by many, has been successful in leading the country. Under
his leadership, Rwanda has established effective institutions that are
results-driven. Kenya is reeling from the confusion created by the constitution
in terms of the governance institutions. These institutions have so far not
been effective with the main problem being the poor quality of the country’s political
leadership.
As Kagame is assured of
winning another term in office, many still question his decision not to let go
the presidency. But if majority of Rwandese have given him a go ahead, who are
we to question and pester him? There are certainly various ways of attaining
socio-economic progress and not necessarily the one dictated by Western
governments and entities.
Deng Xiaoping, the man
credited with spearheading China’s market reforms and economic resurgence,
famously stated that “it doesn’t matter if a cat is black or white, so long as
it catches mice”, indicating that economic growth and development can be achieved
through various politico-economic systems. So, why don’t we appreciate that
Kagame has invented a system that suits Rwanda?
The democratic Kenya
faces a high stakes election that can either be won by the incumbent, Uhuru
Kenyatta, or Raila Odinga. Kenya’s economic progress has been hampered by
corruption with poor accountability of public financial resources. Kenya’s
governance institutions are largely ineffective with incompetent individuals.
Rwanda’s authoritarian
regime has effective institutions while Kenya’s democratic regime is struggling
with institutional efficacy. As the two states head to the polls, the future of
their citizens will highly depend on the outcome of the elections with regards
to the organization of the governance institutions. For the two, it is a date
with destiny.
No comments:
Post a Comment