Kenyans optimistic of a better 2022 amid COVID restrictions and August elections » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 1 – Kenyans ushered in the New Year 2022 with hope and anxiety, with many remaining optimistic for a better year ahead despite the new normal brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

With a General Election due in August, and campaigns taking shape, many said they still remain optimistic good tidings with economic growth to rescue dying sectors in what has rendered many jobless.

 “I expect that the economy will improve because in this boda-boda delivery job the income will remain the same but once the price of commodities and services reduce, it will be a reprieve for us,” said Collins Opicho, a boda boda rider in the capital Nairobi.

President Uhuru Kenyatta in his New Year message said he hopes to leave a strong legacy by stabilising the economy.

“As we bid goodbye to 2021, we rejoice in the fact that 2022 gives us an opportunity to do things better. By offering us a reset, the New Year is one for course correction and building back better…As a nation, it is up to us to write our 2022 story page by page; ensuring that each day
we make Kenya better than it was the day before,” the president said.

Fireworks display at UAP Towers in Nairobi to usher in the New Year 2022. /Photo-BM.

Leonard Mwirigi, a businessman in Nairobi said “I leave everything to God.”

“We believe in God and have placed all our plans to him, and we know it is going to be a good year. We can’t depend on the government to change our lives because already they have debts which are currently not manageable,” he said.

Magdalene Wanjiru, an IT expert in Nakuru said she wants to “forget 202o and 2021 completely.”

“Thay was hell,” she said, describing the past two years, “they left us with the worst pandemic that took away lives and business.”

A jobless youth who only identified himself as Alex Mogaka said he hopes to get a job this New Year.

“I expect 2022 will have a favorable environment for job opportunities to thrive in the country. As a youth I have tarmacked for long looking for employment and the government should also focus on youth employment this year,” Mogaka told this writer.

There are also those like Collins Opondo, a taxi driver, who appealed to political leaders to maintain peace in their campaigns.

“Currently there is a hike in the basic products like fuel, we should have in place leaders who will focus on issues that cut across all Kenyans,” he said.

Shoe shiner Amos Kibet urged Kenyans to vote wisely so as to employ leaders who care for the welfare of the people.

“This time I hope Kenyans will vote wisely because when there is an election there is change. In Nairobi county, we elected leaders who ended up disappointing us despite promises.  We hope the leaders we choose will create a favorable environment for business,” he said even as President Kenyatta stressed on the need for more leadership, not politics.

President Uhuru Kenyatta delivers his New Year 2022 address from State House, Nairobi.

“We must choose leadership over politics. Leadership is about vision while politics is about positions. Leadership is about the next generation, whereas politics is concerned merely with the next election. Indeed, our obsession with politics has only slowed down the realization of our potential as a people,” he said.