Kenya is on the cusp of economic and political revolution

Kenya is an inspiring mix of nature and urban, of modernity and tradition, professional and personal. These opposites come together to make us who we are. But another opposite is threatening our national fabric - the haves and the have nots. I am referring to one of our most pernicious problems - inequality.

There are a fair amount of wealthy people here who have made money in recent years through technology and business, but a worrying amount of the population still lives under the poverty level.

Kenya is in good shape compared to the rest of East Africa, but that is no excuse for remaining one of the world’s poorest countries. Historical circumstances have not made it easy, but that need not hold us back as globalisation makes us more interconnected to the rest of the world than ever before.

Even the wealthy must recognise that shared prosperity will benefit them too. A country that is in conflict with itself cannot present a united front to the rest of the world. We all must strive to maintain an economy that benefits the lives of people we do not know, bound together by our common identity as Kenyans if nothing more.

The BBI has brought many issues of national importance to the forefront of public discourse. One of the biggest topics that should be on all of our minds is shared prosperity. The first order of action is embarking upon an economic revolution.

Revolution is a powerful word, but it need not always be paired with violence. Revolution is commonly defined as an overthrow of social order in favour of a new system. This is a significant term, and the BBI taskforce certainly did not take their choice of wording lightly.

But the time for change has arrived. The status quo cannot be maintained if we are to fulfill our potential and become the leading nation of our destiny.

Many things that have been occurring under the Uhuru administration are revolutionary, and the BBI is the culmination of it all, synthesising all of the issues that ordinary Kenyans have and making recommendations for how to overcome them.

At the root of many societal problems - anywhere in the world - is money. How do we regulate it, how do we equitably share it, how do we allocate it so that it helps as many people as possible?

First of all, the BBI suggests that our economic vision needs to be long term. Thinking in the short term might be easier when you can see rewards quickly and spend your money immediately. But that is not the way a state working on strengthening its economy should function.

The Big Four and Vision 2030, especially, lay out the foundation for long term planning. They are less about President Kenyatta trying to make good publicity during his service, and more about him setting up a functioning system that will continue long after new men and women are elected our leaders. A real legacy.

This boils down to being fair on our children. It is our responsibility to leave the younger generation an ambitious economic blueprint mapping out a future full of jobs and opportunities.

Strengthening manufacturing is therefore one of the Big Four’s main principles. To accompany that, the government also seems to be working on promoting markets in neighbouring countries to trade our goods.

As for budget, the BBI suggests striving for a 70:30 ratio on development versus recurrent expenditure. We should be investing as much as we can in development, for the returns will be plentiful.

But all economists will tell you that national spending must be equitable based on need and population size. Therefore, it is a positive sign that the administration recently carried out the census - the first ever conducted fully by an African government - to detect population changes here. This way, the government can ensure that underserved counties are getting the financial attention that they deserve, thereby giving the same opportunities to those in rural areas as those in Nairobi.

Revolution is not an easy path but it is sometimes the only option for real improvement. We have reached a critical time in our nation’s history and we need to come together to make the decision to improve our lives. It cannot be done alone.

Kenya is on the cusp of a positive revolution in its economic and political order. But for the first time in history, the administration is working for us, not against us.