Since independence successive regimes have mooted excellent policy ideas but let down by poor implementers of the same.
Indeed, few countries in Africa can match our legislative energy and legal produce.
From sectoral legislations, regular amendments and reforms, ours is a country that has plenty of remedies to the challenges that we face.
Take the transport sector for instance, there is literally no aspect of transport safety that has not been addressed by appropriate legislations.
In fact the famous ‘Michuki’ rules have covered almost all bottlenecks to safe, secure and comfortable transportation.
The Michuki rules and subsequent regulations govern how buses, mini-buses, matatus, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians should operate in order to have an organised road transportation system.
Furthermore, the rules are designed to largely address human behaviour, which is a major factor in any transportation system in the world.
Apart from homegrown ideas, Kenya has heavily borrowed international standards on road, air, rail and sea transportation.
It is therefore unfortunate that all Kenya requires to do is to strictly enforce such standards and regulations in a sustainable manner.
It pains one to read headlines that President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered a crackdown on boda boda ostensibly because a lone lady has been indecently molested by boda boda riders following an accident.
What forces the Head of State to issue knee-jack orders every other day when an incident such as the one involving boda bodas is reported?
Why is it that rules and regulations in other sectors are never enforced as required by the law? Whose mandate is it to ensure the laws are implemented in this country?
In my view, the buck stops with the President but before it does so, the responsibility to ensure it hits the president’s table without causing damage rest on those the government has employed to work.
As I write, roadside nyama choma joints along dusty highways, food joints that are similar to pig stys, hotels that are abodes for rodents and creepers are operating right under the noses of public health officials.
In the agricultural sector, the standards body slept on the job long time ago and farmers are buying fake animal feeds, drugs, seeds and equipment.
The less said about the energy sector the better. Adulterated petroleum products have infiltrated the market, while the country has one of the most adequately funded energy regulator in the country.
Hardly a month passes without Kenyans waking up to news that a building under construction has collapsed.
Even after such incidences happen, no reports are availed to the public to mitigate or prevent such incidences from happening again.
The pharmaceutical sector is no better and beauty products are killer products.
The beverage industry is the same because harmful counterfeits are systematically killing our people. What has come over this country?
When I strain my brain, I only come up with one explanation- laws can only be good and effective as those who implement them.
The sectors I have given examples are rated as dungeons of bribes taking and corruption.
It is no wonder then that a systematic failure is very pronounced in those sectors of the economy.
The most unfortunate thing is that even institutions such as the National Police Service and judiciary, which should ensure strict adherence to the law have questions to answer.
By and large, there is so much to reveal about official shortcomings in this country but nonetheless to expect President Uhuru Kenyatta to micromanage every policy implementation is totally inconsiderate.
Underneath the President are well paid technocrats whose responsibility is to think outside the box when things become elephant and devise effective solutions to tackle prevailing challenges within the ambit of the law.
Why this is not happening, those technocrats know better but from where I sit I sense a deliberate plot designed to unlawfully benefit financially from a chaotic environment.
Believe it or not, unless this country gets a real benovelent dictator, soft approach will bear little results.
We are in such a fix especially now we are going for elections, some sectors will run amok knowing pretty well the government can’t afford to antagonise them.
This blackmail must however be called out and Kenyans be informed that law and order, particularly with regard to human safety, decency and respect cannot be sacrificed under the altar of political expediency.
As usual the government will crack down on boda boda with a sledgehammer but in the end fail to attain its goal of taming the sector due to laxity among enforcers and a culture of complacency.
Ultimately, the conclusive solution is a total transformation and recalibration of ethos, which involves changing our value system both for the citizens and public service worker force.
A new New Social Order is what I have in mind.
Kaunda wa Muchunku
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