"Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it." -- George Santayana
I was just looking at the wikipedia list and kenya was the biggest winner in terms of decline for the past three years, 12 ranks to number 14.Well they think it's a failed state, but deep in every kenyan we know that is failing state and it is not too late too change.The sages say that charity begins at home.Change yourself before thinking of changing your friend, boarding and staying in a matatu that drives on the wrong side of the road just because you want to beat traffic and go to jobo early and not saying anything will not change that matatu driver's way of driving.Anyway, this forum as i have seen has some bright geeks/techies, haven't seen a kenyan website that deals with our problems(correct if i am wrong) directly, all i see is social networking websites,entertainment websites(I am not saying these are wrong).All i am saying let us have a way to revolution 2.0 style, a website strictly non-profit that puts the spotlight over kenyan people.I am suggesting of website like debate graph, whereby people come together and debate on things that are happening over the world.
But this web site shudn't be just debates with no fruit bearing but to find solutions to our problems.Well i just had a look at number of facebook users in kenya, they are at 150,000 and growing. Imagine if we had people close to this amount that are specifically just looking at our issues trying to find solutions to our problems, instead of just making friends and chatting(of which i am not against again) but to put them into hard work and finding solutions before 2012(God help us).Think about it and you look back and say "atleast we have tried"
Think about it....On Tue, Jul 7, 2009 at 8:54 PM, aki <aki275@googlemail.com> wrote:
Hi, my novice and short opinion. Please feel free to correct as necessary :-)Is kenya a failed state ? : look around you, see how kenyans live. Mud shacks and polythene homes, water shortages for many years, power cuts, insecurity, food shortages, industry collapse, power games etc and short cut solutions to issues. I cannot say we have completely failed but have somehow managed to survive.What are kenya's problems ? : the main are corruption, poverty, greed and impunity as other have mentioned. It has nothing to do with govt. It is a culture that has been acceptable for too long, passing on generation to generation.A simple example : Observe how matatu operators ( ordinary kenyans, not top govt officials ) drive around, complete abuse of any law that would govern sanity. The road belongs to them. I can remember this as far as the early 1970's, nothing much has changed. Corruption claims were rife also then as now.Where does kenya's problem lie ? In its colonial past and the world stage. We inherited a strange thinking system from the colonial era. At this time and the next 35 years or so , the world itself was going through some strange periods i.e cold war which produced certain corruption, dictator mentalities and thuggish approaches. ( Look at some eastern European countries, they are worse off then kenya ). read about Mobutu seseseko, the first ever to try and build a nuclear station in congo, somewhere near his rural home palace.What is kenya's solution ? : The first and foremost has to be a change in culture of how things are done. Kenya needs a complete overhaul of its thinking and where it wants to go. without this, no matter how many govts we change, it will make little or no difference. Part of this problem lies in centralised control of resources, governance. If you just drive 60kms from nairobi, you are in rural kenya.Who will help kenya attain Uhuru from itself, break away from all that has slowed it down, change its thinking ? The generations that are in school now but going by Daily Nation's headline today, it maybe a long wait. The answers are there. The leaders are there. Unfortunately there are no short term answers or quick fixes._______________________________________________
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