The Obama we are craving won’t happen

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By AWINO GILBERT
Posted  Tuesday, September 25  2012 at  20:11

IN SUMMARY

• During the Democratic nominations in America, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to succeed President George W. Bush.
• However, despite offering stiff competition, Obama won the Democratic Party nominations. Until then, he was little known.
• Mahatma Gandhi led Indians in protesting the national salt tax. He led a march to the Indian Ocean to prove to Indians that they had enough salt in their own country.
• Thus he proved his leadership qualities. Indians never demanded a Gandhi as their leader.

Kenyans are waiting with bated breath the political realignments that are bound to occur before the General Election on March 4 next year.

Only a formidable alignment will deliver a President to State House next year. At the moment, political analysts cannot decide who the next President is likely to be, based on numbers.

All we hear is the mantra: “We need an Obama for President, not the common political players we are familiar with.”

But, is it our business (as voters) to look for a ‘Kenyan Obama’? Dr Martin Luther King Jr was little known until he led a massive protest in Birmingham, Alabama, when he caught the attention of the entire world.

During the Democratic nominations in America, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton was expected to succeed President George W. Bush.

However, despite offering stiff competition, Obama won the Democratic Party nominations. Until then, he was little known.

Mahatma Gandhi led Indians in protesting the national salt tax. He led a march to the Indian Ocean to prove to Indians that they had enough salt in their own country.

Thus he proved his leadership qualities. Indians never demanded a Gandhi as their leader.

High interest rates, inflation, unemployment and the ways of our commercial banks, which are charging high interest rates on loans, are the major problems facing us.

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Though the Central Bank recently reduced its Base Lending Rate to 14 per cent from 16 per cent, substantial adjustments to reflect this by banks are yet to be seen.

The Governor of the Central Bank, Prof Njuguna Ndung’u, promised that commercial banks will reduce interest rates soon, but it never happened.

Which presidential aspirant has the guts to promise to tame these greedy financial institutions?

Analysts argue that these banks will only start reducing interest rates when companies start circumventing them by going to stock markets for their working capital, but at the moment, banks are being manipulated by people whose sole interest is to make profits.

We are living in a country of a servile labour force, high taxes, and enormous profit margins for monopolistic companies.

It is not enough to take pride in beautiful roads that have been built by the Chinese. The old tarmacked roads that have not been maintained have turned out to be worse than murram tracks.

Any politician, who dreams of being an Obama in Kenya, must first and foremost address the immediate needs of the low- and medium-classes, as well as the youth.

Merely promising to address these needs once elected is nothing but an unspoken desire to maintain the status quo.

The bold investor, who owns a bank that gives loans at low interest rates — no matter where it will be located — will be our Obama.

He may be arrested but if this happens, even in the cells, the police officers will most likely be asking him: Where is this bank of yours? Can it help us acquire cheap loans?

Until that happens, the Obama we are craving for will remain wishful thinking.

Mr Awino is a sub-editor with Taifa Leo.