ODM party leader
Oburu Oginga has challenged Kenyans to examine why Singapore has
overtaken Kenya economically despite the two countries having been at
a similar level of development at independence.
Oburu said Kenya
could still achieve Singapore’s level of development if it
addressed corruption, reduced government wastage, invested heavily in
education and research and created an environment capable of
attracting private-sector investment.
Speaking during the
launch of the national conversation on Kenya Vision 2060 on Wednesday,
Oburu said the country must learn from Singapore’s development
journey as it seeks to chart its own long-term future.
He recalled how his
late brother, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, often
questioned the divergence between Kenya and Singapore while preparing
political manifestos.
“My late brother
used to worry the President and used to worry us in the party when we
were drafting our own manifestos, that how can we, if at independence
in 1963-64, Singapore was exactly at the same level of development as
Kenya?” Oburu said.
He said the two
countries had comparable levels of income per capita, health
indicators and economic development at independence, but Singapore
had since pulled far ahead.
“What did
Singapore do to rise to a level where their incomes per capita are
now 40 times that of Kenya? We must think as Kenyans. What did we do?
Where did we go wrong, and where did Singapore go right?” he asked.
Oburu said Kenya
could bridge the gap if it adopted policies that promoted
accountability, productivity and investment.
“First, we must
deal with this animal called corruption,” he said, arguing that
while corruption was difficult to eliminate completely, Kenya could
build a society that was intolerant of the vice.
The Siaya senator also called for
reduced government expenditure and greater discipline in the
management of public resources.
“We need to
tighten our belts. Those who are in government, let us tighten our
belts for the people, for the sake of the people of Kenya,” he
said.
Oburu identified
education as another critical pillar of economic transformation,
saying Kenya must equip its young population with technical and
professional skills required by industry.
“Education is the
only equaliser, and there is no shortcut to education,” he said.
He argued that Kenya
could not depend on importing skilled labour while millions of young
people remained unemployed.
“You are not going
to import labour from elsewhere. The labour must come from us here.
We have to get employment,” he said.
Oburu further called
for increased investment in research and innovation, particularly
partnerships between universities and industry.
He said universities
should be supported to undertake research that addresses the needs of
industries and helps Kenyan companies compete internationally.
“Kenya must be
competitive. The world is moving so fast,” he said.
On the role of
government, Oburu said the State should focus on providing
infrastructure and creating an enabling environment while allowing
the private sector to drive economic development.
“Government can
only do infrastructure. Government cannot do development. Development
is for the private sector,” he said.
He also urged
Kenyans to take advantage of the opportunities created by the new
national conversation, recalling the difficult political struggles
that preceded the current constitutional order.
He said previous
generations had faced violence while pushing for constitutional
reforms and urged Kenyans to value the democratic space they now have
to debate the country’s future.
“We tried it when
we were struggling for the Constitution,” he said, recalling
national dialogue efforts in the 1990s when protesters were beaten
and dispersed by police.
Oburu said Vision
2060 should therefore be used to address Kenya’s structural
challenges and build a competitive economy capable of delivering
better opportunities for future generations.
