Wanjigi takes State House race gauntlet: Promises to put to an end Kenyans’ pain
Safina Presidential candidate Jimi Wanjigi took a major step today in his quest to be the fifth Kenyan Head of State by officially launching his presidential bid after being endorsed by the party’s national delegates Conference to run for the position and promised to end the pain Kenyans have gone through since independence.
In his acceptance speech, Wanjigi vowed to revolutionise the economy, create a new order of civility and discipline and dismantle the labyrinths that have curtailed good governance in the country since independence and vowed to punish the persons who have participated in creating impunity in the country.
“Let me announce here today that those who have played a part in the destruction of the rule of law, economy and livelihoods will one day be brought to book and held accountable. We can no longer stand by and watch passively – the current social contract has failed and collapsed. As stewards of the people, our leaders have abused the responsibility vested in them at the expense of the citizens. A new social contract and covenant must be established for Kenya to move forward to greatness.
If elected, Wanjigi said, his administration would lay great emphasis on economic revival, restore morality and dignity of every Kenyan, creating a new social order where morality discipline and respect for the rule of law prevail at all times.
“What I am committing to today is to lead an economic revolution that will secure irreversible gains for our people. A Revolution that will be guided by 3 Rs– Rescue, Reform and Repositioning – allowing our people to take off and conquer. We have heard our competitors referring to impending earthquakes, which in turn cause tsunamis, and in turn cause flooding. Safina is the Ark that will carry God’s chosen people to the promised land.,” said Wanjigi at the Bomas of Kenya where Deputy President William Ruto also graced the occasion.
The presidential candidate said that he and his party fully understand the challenges facing Kenya as well as the opportunities that lie ahead and which he is prepared to tackle should Kenyans give him the opportunity to serve them as Chief Executive Officer, and a chance he would utilise to usher in a new chapter.
Said Wanjigi: “I accept this task with a deep obligation, unshakable resolve and complete dedication, all the while being very aware of its burdens and decisive importance – together we will build firm foundations for a better, proud and stronger Kenya. Our goal is very clear: we are an instrument of transformational change – seismic change – we are ushering the Itwika in this country: a break from the old order of personalities, positions and unmitigated greed for power. It is our resolve to give to our country a different leadership, and cementing progressive, irreversible gains in our governance and institutional arrangements – the system must be reset to ensure no one is left behind – every Kenyan, every community and every corner of this country must enjoy the fruits of our individual and collective sweat.”
“I pledge to create an alliance of all Kenyans. It will be an alliance for a different Kenya. A Kenya we need for all. This rigged and broken system of the privileged and entitled few is scared and threatened – manifesting in attacking, criminalising and harassing innocent Kenyans. I could have decided to comfortably sit back and enjoy a relatively good life – my declared opponents, and the reluctantly exiting president are all old friends, and I could have forged self-serving alliances with fairly low risk and high personal benefit. However, lessons from my Party Leader here, SC (Paul) Muite, (the late) Kenneth Matiba among other freedom fighters have shown that you will never have peace if the country is not just, fair and peaceful for every Kenyan – they courageously gave up their affluent lives to take to the streets and lead the struggle for a healthy democracy and progressive Constitution – not for themselves but for all Kenyans to be free, dignified and respected. My single-minded resolve is to serve our people, secure their human and economic freedoms, restore pride of country and set our uniquely gifted nation on a globally competitive economic track.
He observed that whereas Kenya has registered some remarkable achievements in different fields, including defeating British colonialists, dismantling the repressive one-party political system and winning a Nobel Peace Prize, the country is also in great peril characterised by repeated governance failures.
Said he: “At independence we inherited a dangerous virus – it has been mutating in every election cycle since 1964 and taking different names, colours and shapes – the second generation of original virus is positioning itself to mutate into the third variant – it is another 60 years of slavery and deprivation in the making – our future is bleak if this virus succeeds in mutating again. Our concern must be with future generations – the world is changing, what platform are we handing over to them? The old order must die. It must be wiped out. We must end transactional politics.
Observed Wanjigi: “Our country has been mortgaged to crippling debt – killing economic productivity, incomes and opportunities, our young people have lost purpose, they cannot see the future, their dreams and aspirations have been shattered – we must never pay a debt that has been borrowed and stolen – every cent should be accounted for forensically and independently. While much is sometimes made of Kenya being the 6th wealthiest country on the continent, out of 17 million employed Kenyans, only 79,000 of them earn KES 100,000 or more – a paltry 0.5%. 53 out of 100 Kenyans cannot put food on the table, up from 38 in 2013 showing a further descent into poverty for the ordinary Kenyan. In February 2020, our Central Bank Governor faulted the country’s economic structure which has been delivering growth without job creation or rising income. The 2020 National Census data puts the unemployment rate at a staggering 39% (over 5.4 million Kenyans are jobless – a continuing national socioeconomic disaster).”
He stated that State Capture, which has conveniently been painted as corruption has destroyed Kenya’s nationhood and social fabric, terming those in power as economic terrorists who have not only suffocated the citizenry but have also made it impossible for small businesses to grow and thrive.
The Presidential Candidate noted: “State Capture has stolen our health, education, livelihoods and our social security. We have had a parasitic, predatory and cruel leadership, with no human face and no human value. We have suffered a chain of governments and leaders who are oppressive, don’t care and have exercised very poor judgment. This is a leadership that has been cannibalising and destroying our transformational 2010 Constitution so as to maintain the bloodsucking rigged system. Kenya is at a pivotal moment to imaginatively, and with a unity of purpose, redefine its economic and political landscape for the 21st century. This is a defining moment for a permanent and decisive break with the past. The country is in dire need of bold, visionary leadership that invests in the Kenyan people.”
The said that his policy direction would be pegged on the African Itwika principles (a revolutionary call to change leadership from the one generation to another) given that the problems the country faces are the product of 60 years of political and governance failures, arguing that Kenyans should not look to the same leadership that brought them to their knees to get them out of the mess.
“This is our Itwika moment. We must change from old leadership to new leadership, from old ways to new ways. We must think globally and act locally. Tools of yesterday cannot meet needs of today and tomorrow. We have had a national decline rather than national greatness. Ours has been competition between private interests and public good. We have been glorifying creeping mediocrity, incompetence and theft. We must have a breath of fresh air of progress and determined dedication to our motherland. We must have fundamental paradigm shift. Our domestic policy interests must inform our foreign policy pursuits,” he stated.
Wanjigi argued that time had come for bold and forward-looking leadership to take over the reins of administration so as to take the country to a new level where it can compete with other nations at the global sphere in all sectors.
He said Kenya needs to smartly invest in resilience, innovation and competitiveness to meet the needs of its people and country.
“Our cornerstone responsibility is to the Kenyan people. We must meet the demands of all our people including respect for their rights and freedoms, identity, autonomy, decent work, and always uphold their dignity. Economic security is national security. We have an obligation to decisively address the systemic social and economic inequalities. To get there, fiscal sanity must be restored. We will fundamentally alter government macro-economic policy and spending to reduce deficit and debt. We will adopt a zero-budgeting system where tax expenditure is justified and accounted for. Fiscal and budget transparency to Kenyan people will be mandatory,” he said.
He pledged to partner with the private sector in development investments, manufacturing and industrial growth, and create investment friendly environment for opportunities for Kenyan firms locally and abroad to mark a record-breaking period for attracting new productive investment into the economy.
While observing that Kenya’s agriculture contributes 34% of country’s GDP, its productivity performance remains dismal at 2% to Revenue; in contrast with Manufacturing which contributes 8% of GDP and 17.5% of Revenue, his administration would revitalise the country’s agricultural output and rural economy by adopting farmer-centered empowerment and integration of agriculture with processing and value addition enterprises.
“Not too long ago we were told that 2020 would be the year Kenya would be fully industrialized. We will significantly ramp up spending on research and development as well as field extension services. Our agricultural institutions both university and colleges will have direct link and partnerships with farmers for knowledge and production transformation. We will recover all our research land that has been grabbed,” he pledged.
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