2022 is here... what to do?

 Happy New Year.

 

Just a few questions occupying my mind as the New Year 2022 begins.

 

-Will Kenyan president Uhuru Kenyatta have a honest look at the CBC and make a bold decision –the only decision he has to make, which teachers and parents agree on—, or will that have to wait until the next President comes to office?

 

-The whole world has been talking about ‘The Great Resignation’ or ‘The Big Quit’, where employees were quitting toxic workplaces (after the pandemic revealed just how short life is to live a mediocre life). Will this get to Kenya in 2022, or are employees in Kenya (and much of Africa) perpetually in survival mode (thinking about bills) that it makes sense to suffer the toxicity?

 

-Kenyan elections are on the horizon. All the top presidential contenders are above 50 years. It is estimated that more than 50% of the voters will be under 35 years. Will the young people use their numbers to surprise the world with a new hitherto unknown candidate, or do the moneyed politicians who have been in politics the last 30 years ride on the young people’s backs to power? Is there anyone, who can organize, mobilise young people to have a fresh start?

 

-The rains failed in 2021. The country will definitely import millions of bags of maize to make sure the food balance sheet is, er, balanced. But before that happens, the price of maize and maize flour will shoot up. Inflation too. Maize farmers will cry and beg for better prices. The government will offer lower prices, and pay the cartels that will import maize higher than the farmers. It happened in 2017 because the strategic grain reserves were, well, empty. Are the reserves full? If not,what can I do to sustainably earn a livelihood while feeding the country?

 

-The EU gave us GDPR (General Data Protection Regulations), that were big on privacy, consent and control over data. Much of Africa is still fertile for data theft by the big tech platforms. The EU is once again working on laws on digital markets. Many African countries aren’t even there yet. What’s the opportunity here, in an election year in Kenya?

 

Anyway, these questions will not stop you from having a good night’s sleep throughout the year.

Unless:

 

a) You are a parent with a child in primary school

 

b) You work in a toxic environment

 

c) You have to explain to an archaic political bureaucracy the basics of the demographic dividend and why it makes sense to have the bulk of the population in meaningful employment

 

d) You have to buy food

 

e) You need to make money legitimately from the digital markets.

 

Help me think about the answers in 2022 as you strive for prosperity. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Cockroach Dance

Image
I went home over the weekend. I came back just in time to pick a pal who is in the country from Sierra Leone. But it is a busy week ahead and I know if I don’t get this posted, it may as well never make it. I have been reading the Cockroach Dance , a book by Meja Mwangi. I picked the book off the shelves at Nairobi’s BookPoint Bookshop on Moi Avenue. I occasionally go in there to browse books so that come payday, I know what I am going to buy. So, one fine morning, I went to the bookshop and in my browsing, I saw this book. It was funny and after reading the blurb, and looking at the price –Sh450—I decided to buy it. It’s my first Meja Mwangi book, and I found it quite fascinating. The guy has talent for telling stories in the most simple way. He has a funny way of expressing his ideas and an acutely interesting gift when it comes to describing scenes. In this book, he traces the life of one Dusman Gonzaga and his neighbours in Dacca House. Yes, this may not familiar, because t
Read more

This is Louis --that interview with artists was tight!

Louis Otieno is one of the few broadcasters I do enjoy watching. Of course (I like that word alot), there is Rama Nyang' and Jeff Koinange. So, I am not talking about broadcasters today, so I will not list all my favourites. That's a story for another day. So, when he moved to K24 from Citizen TV, Louis moved with his name which is already a brand in media circles. He hosts a weekly talkshow, really a discussion like that of CNN's Larry King, that is not only informative, but truly resonates with the people of Kenya. So here he was this Wednesday night with leading artists in Kenya, the cream of the entertainers of this country. There was Nameless and Juacali (all musicians), the talented Arthur K. (a TV music producer), Larry Asego and Kajairo (influential radio personalities in their own right) and one Ben Njiru, a man in a smart suit, I don't know who he is. The chitchat focused on the constitution. But then there was the usual bibble-babble about being left out of t
Read more

Remembering Dr Margaret Ogola (June 12,1958 - September 21, 2011)

One day, less than a decade ago, a close pal asked me who between Dr Margaret Ogola and Grace Ogot had written the award-winning book ‘The River and the Source’. Read a powerful review here “Dr Ogola,” I said, but then he had some doubts. I finally got a copy of the book and showed it to him. I had read ‘The River and the Source’ as a setbook back in Kakamega High School and I enjoyed it immensely. Apart from the gripping narrative about the life, influence, aspirations and the successes of a matriarch, Akoko, I really did enjoy learning a few Luo words like juok , nyadhi and wuod lando. That episode came to my mind as I sat at the back of Nairobi’s Holy Family Basillica this afternoon (Thursday, September 29, 2011) in a requiem mass for the famous Kenyan author. It is difficult to talk about her without mentioning her many works. That’s for the simple reason that Margaret was a super author, and I heard also that she was an astute doctor, a very nice mother, sister and spouse.
Read more