NATIONAL WELFARE

Welfare Economics
We will tell that Africa has come of age when leaders will understand this term and not economic growth. Economic growth which is only measured well in numbers is essential but what is more important is seeming a people afford the basics of life: and here happiness index should be developed. When citizens can comfortably have food even when there is the deadliest of droughts in a country: that is a sign of coming to age. When infant mortality rates are on the bare minimum or even negligible, when land is not the only form of wealth for the majority of people, when health is among the greatest priority of a nation’s leadership that is a sign of sure leadership.
For any developing county, if you ask me, food security should be the ultimate goal: not ICT development not infrastructure, unless this infrastructure is toward supporting agriculture. Africa does not have food sustainability and without these all the rest of the struggles will almost seem like a chase after the wind: meaningless progress will be made in other areas that matter. So African leaders if you have ears then hear; a seat on the UN Security Council is pointless, there is nothing to protect in Africa if the people you intent to protect will die of “natural” causes anyway(I mean disease, famine, floods, earthquakes etc -things that could be mitigated against under proper leadership. The threat of war is not that severe to Africa.
And let it not ever be felt that we need donor funding or support to put our right foot forward, Africa is capable of handling all its needs if only there was meaningful cooperation between nations. I doubt if this is how Gadaffi is thinking with his push for a United States of Africa. He probably is thinking of a way to have greater influence in the Security Council to be able to make nuclear weapons without much opposition. But we could give him the benefit of doubt, and hope against hope that he understands what Africa needs to get out of the many bottle necks it finds itself.
On matters energy as America and other developed nations are investing in green energy ii hear no talk of the same in Kenya or elsewhere in Africa. Well, apart from the formation of the geothermal development company not much is being done to harness the sun or wind. If I had it within my means then every home in Kenya would be powered by either solar or wind. This would happen because my government will have invested immensely in production of efficient, durable and cheap solar panels and wind mills. What’s more I would give incentives to those either using or manufacturing solar related products. What are we waiting for?

Welfare Politics
Now no proper progress will be made on the economic front when politics is doing poorly. The two are like members of the same body. But unlike the biblical saying you can’t cut one when it’s not doing well. You have to always ensure that they are together for I suppose like man and woman they were meant to be partners.
So with this understanding, bills in the house should never be voted for on tribal basis. No one should even ever contemplate to think that way. Merit should be the defining factor. This way therefore even when a brother who pronounces “mama” the same way as you is going to lose out on something because that deal but the nation will benefit then sew up the brother.
Parliament should always put national issues before regions and tribes. Nothing short of this!