Why A Responsible Government Must Act Rich

On Father's day, last year, I penned an article here titled "Is Ours An Economy Or A Theatre Of The Mighty?". We were headed to the elections and an expectant electorate wanted an economic baby delivered free of cartels. Clearly, every politically connected businesman then, profited from the economics of an artificially inseminated or induced Win-Lose ecosystem that ensured that as the connected boys profited, our large and small scale farmers alongside the hoi polloi, consistently lost big time.

The only times I have heard of violent hits being beneficial are in sports. In golf, when Teeing off, one is encouraged to hit the ball like it is not their relative. Showing no mercy delivers desired results. But this is not the case when doing business in a country.

 Alongside its major responsibilities, the government has the duty of extending mercy to a population largely in want. This mercy can be interpreted as compassion, empathy or clemency and must be dispensed responsibly. And for the meek to gain, the government must act rich for meek and meek equals dispair squared.

These, the Kenya Airways-KQ, the Kenya Tea Development Agency-KTDA, the six sugar companies in Western Kenya—Mumias, Sony, Muhoroni, Chemelil, Nzoia and Miwani including Ramisi at the coast, and the maize and coffee sectors, have a common thread that has run through them for years. Cartelism has reigned supreme over them thus consigning millions of both current and potential tax payers into abject poverty.

The typical businessman would have cut his losses and wound up KQ but it takes a government to see the gains beyond the bottomline. KQ, brings in much needed hard currencies from its ticket sales globally in meaningful amounts. This in turn has a stabilising role on the shilling's value. As we trade, KQ's impact on our daily transactions cannot be ignored. It may have lost 21 billion last year but the economy felt or profited from its 75 billion topline in one way or another.

KTDA's income overtook tourism earnings many years back and has continued to be Kenya's dependable forex source, in fact, so much so that, whenever weekly inflows dip, two calls are made to their headquarters, as confirmed in a conversation I had with someone in the know, two years ago. One from the Central bank and another from Statehouse for reasons that are as much economic as they are matters of national security. Tea is grown in 20 of Kenya's 47 counties and directly benefits a million households populated in fours or fives, and wide value and supply chains. If it gets messed with, no one in high office will urge the growers to make some noise, we shall all know of it or most likely feel it.

The sugar sector benefits several counties in Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley regions. Coffee and Maize equally keep millions out of poverty but not in the past years.

But the government must act rich in solving the problems hindering the free growth of the sectors mentioned. The 117 billon shillings in debt forgiveness extended to the sugar sector now awiting parliamentary approval, is unprecedented in the amounts involved. This we've only seen when rich nations forgive poor ones debts. But this was necessary for it was no fault of the growers but largely the workings of the powerful cartels.

If anything, the government must act richer by seperating responsibility for planted crops from their resultant products in tea, coffee, maize and sugar. Every one of them has either overtaken tourism earnings or shows the potential to lap them. Tourism has an entire ministry and these cash crops have earned the right to first have their own Principle Secretaries and secondly, to be moved to the ministry of trade because everything about them has significant trade elements, besides being called CASH crops.

Fertilizer sourcing is a huge trading activity and so is marketing. Commodity supply contracts and related logistics sit well with trade. Crop husbandry and the management of nematodes and pests in general can remain with the ministry of agriculture. We are now talking agribusiness as opposed to generalities. Cartels have thrived largely because of the existential ambiguities in an overly gigantic ministry and as always, the devil is in the details that are better handled in the trade ministry. Suffice it to say that the ministry of trade is home to Commerce graduates who did business law as a prerequsite course in their respective varsities schools of business. Certainly, that is not part of the agriculture cariculum since the commencement of education. I could be wrong though.

The added living-rich cost here is in hiring four principle secretaries—or as many as needed if dairy and horticulture are added—to maximise value for millions of Kenyans.

The government must also act like a rich father who is considerate enough to create an irrevocable mechanism where farmers through their corporate structures have a say and are accommodated when deciding on import quotas for sugar and cereals—necessitated by deficits. This will go a long way in keeping cartels at bay as you cannot bribe a million farmers any way whichever way.

Let me also add that the just concluded environmental summit would be best honoured if the ministry of Agriculture, with renewed gusto, teamed up with their Environment counterparts in facilitating farmers to increase forest cover on farmlands. With income from carbon credits expected, the ministry is best placed to rally farmers behind the endeavor that would enhance environmental efforts whilst attracting an added source of income. That is an example of perfect alignment to a mission, and not focusing on fertilizer imports or allocating cereal and sugar importation quotas to a few non farming based dealers.

As for KQ, being largely publicly owned, and that it impacts on the economy big time, there should be no mysteries and cryptic dealings. It has to encourage a nook and cranny type approach at all times. It must work in a way that affords us frequent glimpses of its underwear just so that we are sure that they are regularly changed and maintained for our greater good and economic hygiene as a nation. Or, alternatively, concede that the Kenyan flag is too heavy to carry. As we know it, clean and rich go together and that is what the government must strive to do. Remain clean and rich, literally and figuratively at all times.