Reviewing Kenyan Resilience on Independence Day

Kenya stands out amongst most developing African countries for its resilient, innovative, diverse, savvy, patient, forgiving and intelligible populace. The Kenyan mass has underlying distinguishing features that cut the marks many classes above other nations in the same endowment categories, the immediate neighbours to the East being a classic example.

Whether studied economically, socially, politically or spiritually, the East African pillar that is Kenya embodies characteristics of a potential giant waiting to be realised with time.

A perfect illustration of Kenyan resilience in its raw form can be deduced clearly from the events that were experienced in the country in the 2007 general elections. This election period was different from all others and most bloody of all. The nation underwent the worst ethnic clashes of current times which left hundreds dead and thousands displaced. Despite the state of violence that the nation went through, it took Kenyans a few months to come round and realise how grave the taste of violence is and they let peace reign. Whereas racial tensions are still fife and a reality in Kenya even as this publication goes online, blame can not be placed on the Kenyan people entirely for events that happened at the 2007-8 violence and it is a conceded truth that leadership failure is the big culprit in all of this. The Hague is taking up the case up to this day and it is my sincere belief that justice will be served right. The Kenyan people can be said to be cohesive once more but we must be wary and alert of any political persuasions that might instigate selfish divisive motives in the lead up to the up coming 2012 elections or in the future for that matter.

The question of leadership is one that has to be asked and answers sought tirelessly. Who does it is immaterial to the argument but some answers must be sought if progress is to be realised. Kenyan politics, like most other elsewhere in the world is not free of corruption. It is sometimes labelled as graft, which to me often symbolises something more critical than just corruption, massive anaemic corruption. I believe this culture can be changed primarily by elected officials but have Kenyans not tried this?  Innocent Kenyans have the drive to effect change whenever chance shows up at their doorsteps but change has continually eluded them far too often. What should serve as an attempt to act on this issue comes in the form of elections and these in recent times have only come by to replace corrupt regimes with less corrupt ones. Ultimately the elected officials troll their way to full-blown corruption as if it were routine. Wikileaks have recently released cables detailing corruption scandals in Kenya not to mention the much earlier Kroll Report which most would be familiar with.

Whilst the Kenyan population is very forgiving, it is also the hope of Kenyans that leaders will take a step to do something to stamp out corruption. Change for it to be effective will have to come from up the ranks but since this is not at all times forthcoming, Kenyans have to try to do it their way. I am not saying that what Kenyans should do is take up arms in protest, but they should take it upon themselves to make sure that they lead their lives in less and less corrupt ways in hope that the more people do the same that change will actually be visible. Kenyans must not wait for leaders to boss them into leading less corrupt lives but simple acts can mean great things. A simple admission of a speeding fine in place of a direct bribe to the traffic officer could be a possible starting point for instance.

Whilst Kenyans keep hearing of reports of multimillion shilling corruption or 'graft' cases, they must endeavour to working towards the change they so rightfully desire. The characteristic Kenyan boldness must not stop at winning athletic medals but it must also guide Kenyans to become the less corrupt nation it ought to be in order for it to prosper as a whole. Doing this might maybe, just maybe signal Kenyan leaders to take some form of action as Kenya celebrates its independence on December 12th.

Happy Jamhuri day Kenya.

Jon Stewart's Final Comments at the Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear

I was so touched by the comments by Jon at the end The Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear in October 30, 2010, I had to put this one up. Thanks to the redditor who put the transcription of the speech.

"And now I thought we might have a moment, however brief, for some sincerity, if that’s ok; I know there are boundaries for a comedian, pundit, talker guy, and I’m sure I’ll find out tomorrow how I have violated them.
I’m really happy you guys are here, even if none of us are really quite sure why we are here. Some of you may have seen today as a clarion call for action, or some of the hipper, more ironic cats as a clarion call for ‘action.’ Clearly, some of you just wanted to see the Air and Space Museum and got royally screwed. And I’m sure a lot of you are here to have a nice time, and I hope you did. I know that many of you made a great effort to be here today, and I want you to know that everyone involved with this project worked incredibly hard to make sure that we honor the effort that you put in and gave you the best show we could possibly do. We know your time is valuable, and we didn’t want to waste it. And we are all extremely honored to have had a chance to perform for you on this beautiful space, on The Mall in Washington, D.C.
So, uh, what exactly was this? I can’t control what people think this was, I can only tell you my intentions. This was not a rally to ridicule people of faith, or people of activism, or to look down our noses at the heartland, or passionate argument, or to suggest that times are not difficult and that we have nothing to fear. They are and we do. But we live now in hard times, not end times. And we can have animus and not be enemies. But, unfortunately, one of our main tools in delineating the two broke. The country’s 24-hour, politico, pundit, perpetual, panic conflictanator did not cause our problems, but its existence makes solving them that much harder. The press can hold its magnifying glass up to our problems, bringing them into focus, illuminating issues heretofore unseen. Or they can use that magnifying glass to light ants on fire, and then perhaps host a week of shows on the sudden, unexpected, dangerous flaming ant epidemic. If we amplify everything, we hear nothing.
There are terrorists and racists and Stalinists and theocrats, but those titles that must earned; you must have the resume. Not being able to be able to distinguish between real racists and Tea Party-ers, or real bigots and Juan Williams or Rick Sanchez is an insult, not only to those people, but to the racists themselves, who have put in the exhausting effort it takes to hate. Just as the inability to distinguish terrorists from Muslims makes us less safe, not more. The press is our immune system. If it overreacts to everything, we actually get sicker, and perhaps eczema. And yet, with that being said, I feel good: strangely, calmly good. Because the image of Americans that is reflected back to us by our political and media process is false. It is us through a fun-house mirror, and not the good kind that makes you look slim in the waist and maybe taller, but the kind where you have a giant forehead and an ass shaped like a month-old pumpkin and one eyeball.
So why would we work together? Why would you reach across the aisle to a pumpkin-assed, forehead, eyeball monster? If the picture of us were true, of course our inabilities to solve problems would actually be quite sane and reasonable. Why would you work with Marxists actively subverting our Constitution, or racists and homophobes who see no one’s humanity but their own? We hear every damn day about how fragile our country is, on the brink of catastrophe torn by polarizing hate. And how it’s a shame that we can’t work together to get things done. But the truth is, we do. We work together to get things done every damn day. The only place we don’t is here or on cable TV. But Americans don’t live here or on cable TV. Where we live, our values and principles form the foundation that sustains us while we get things done, not the barriers that prevent us from getting things done.
Most Americans don’t live their lives solely as Democrats, Republicans, Liberals, or Conservatives. Americans live their lives more as people that are just a little bit late for something they have to do. Often, something they do not want to do, but they do it. Impossible things every day, that are only made possible through the little reasonable compromises we all make.
Look. Look on the screen. This is where we are; this is who we are: these cars. That’s a schoolteacher who probably thinks his taxes are too high. He’s going to work. There’s another car. A woman with two small kids, can’t really think about anything else right now. There’s another car, swaying, I don’t even know if you can see it. The lady’s in the NRA and loves Oprah. There’s another car. An investment banker: gay, also likes Oprah. Another car’s a Latino carpenter. Another car a fundamentalist vacuum salesman. Atheist obstetrician. Mormon Jay-Z fan. But this is us. Every one of the cars you see is filled with individuals of strong beliefs and principles they hold dear. Often, principles and beliefs in direct opposition to their fellow travelers. And yet these millions of cars must somehow find a way to squeeze one by one into a mile-long, thirty-foot wide tunnel carved underneath a mighty river. Carved by people who by the way I’m sure had their differences. And they do it. Concession by concession. You go, then I’ll go. You go, then I’ll go. You go, then I’ll go. Oh my God, is that an NRA sticker on your car? Is that an Obama sticker on your car? Ah, well that’s okay, you go, then I’ll go. And sure, at some point there will be a selfish jerk who zips up the shoulder and cuts in at the last minute. But that individual is rare, and he is scorned not hired as an analyst.
Because we know instinctively as a people that if we are to get through the darkness and back into the light, we have to work together. And the truth is, there will always be darkness. And sometimes, the light at the end of the tunnel isn’t the promised land. Sometimes, it’s just New Jersey. But we do it anyway, together. If you want to know why I’m here and what I want from you, I can only assure you this: you have already given it to me. Your presence was what I wanted. Sanity will always be and has always been in the eye of the beholder. And to see you here today and the kind of people that you are has restored mine. Thank you.”

                                                                          For the sake of Referencing Thanks to soccernamlak. at reddit.

Direct Effects of Money on Aggregate Demand: Another Look at the Evidence

Here is an interesting discussion paper by Stephen Elias and Mariano Kulish of the Reserve Bank of Australia.
The conclusion reads:

The question of whether money has direct effects has become more important as policy rates have approached the zero lower bound in the euro area, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. Monetary authorities in these economies have turned to unconventional monetary policies which involve balance sheet expansions of one form or another.

Our contribution in this paper is to reinterpret some of the econometric evidence which on the surface often suggests that, after controlling for the short-term real interest rate, real base money growth can be a significant determinant of total
output for a number of countries and sample periods. Our interpretation of these types of results is that they are likely to be biased.

We reach this conclusion by using a model that has no direct effects of money. Yet the model is capable of producing data which leads to positive and statistically significant coefficients on real money growth in a real output regression similar
to those that are often found when using actual data. From the perspective of the structural model, it then becomes clear that the reduced-form regressions suffer from an omitted variable bias. In particular, the bias on real money growth is large enough to undermine the validity of any inference about the existence of direct
effects of money.

We have also repeated the analysis with a model in which money has sizeable direct effects and have also found a bias, but this time operating in the opposite
direction – that is, the estimate of the reduced-form coefficient on real money is not significantly different from zero. The empirical regressions also exclude key
variables from this model, in which case the estimated coefficients on real money growth go to zero.

In short, the reduced-form regressions – even when they fit the data well – are misleading. They simply fail to uncover the true structural relationship between money and the rest of the economy. They lead to incorrect inferences on the existence of direct effects and they are an unreliable guide to calibrate monetary
policies, in general, including at the zero lower bound.

The Broken Window

A short film by Mises University students.



From Mises.org.

Challenges Facing African Businesses

Africa has the potential to compete in business just as any other nation does in the world. Were a few things taken a bit more seriously, change might easily be foreseeable. I believe that with proper planning and attitude to socio-economic engagements, progress can be attained. It is up to each and every policy maker across the continent to be bold enough to step out of traditions of corruption and lead with a sense of direction.

For any business to start or operate smoothly, there has to be proper infrastructure in place. It is within established frameworks that activities are easily coordinated. Africa lags behinds in infrastructural development on many fronts. Just to mention a few, roads are often not conducive for effective transportation, a primal necessity for any working economy. Noticeably, South African roads being the much more developed in Africa translate to a better business environment as compared to the rest of Africa. Now that we mention South Africa another point of discussion comes forth. Insecurity. Crime and political instability discourage even local entrepreneurs let alone foreign investment. Electricity supply is simply unreliable in most countries and power generators just don't answer this big question. Railway systems are just sometimes inadequate or underutilized. Countries that might have the rails in place then have few or under serviced cars to run on these tracks. Given that the South African railway network has seen a major revamp due to its hosting of the World Cup hosting of 2010, I am keen to see if the region sees the evident development queue and takes the advantage of developing infrastructure even further. Investment in IT has certainly seen its brighter side in most African countries but more needs to be done. In order for Africa to establish its place in the world map of markets, efficiency has to be guaranteed in the IT sector since this is becoming the backbone of any developing market. Services industries, which Africa has a very huge potential of developing, depends heavily on how good IT infrastructure is so investment here should be a given.

I believe skilled labour exists in most countries in Africa but it is also worth noting that the most skilled would rather seek opportunities abroad rather than sticking it out where they got it all. Ways should be devised to keep talent interested.

Corruption I can not emphasise enough. Corrupt politics often means that before a business holds ground, there has to be some form of collusion that has to be made with the responsible bureaucrats. Maybe the tradition will die down with time and as leadership is passed on over the years but for the two decades I have observed history, corruption never diluted in Kenya. It may have changed form and disguise to become more evolved as a malaria parasite does.   

 

Unlike most developed countries where banks play a huge role in advancing credit facilities to the business community, banks tend to be very wary of lending out in Africa even despite minimum lending requirements that often exist. Banks would rather pay fines for withholding credit than risk lending to what they consider highly risky ventures. Without access to funds, business growth and development is therefore very much constrained and this, is said to be the number one of the hindrances to new business start ups. A study conducted amongst entrepreneurs in Nigeria found that 72% of entrepreneurs studied considered lack of funds as the number one constraint in developing their business (Mambula 2002). According to Honohan and Beck 2007, about 68 percent African firms finance a significant percentage of their investment with internal funds.

There is very limited government support for businesses in Africa than is the case in developed countries. Most developed countries support local industries actively. Amongst these include research development, export protection and promotion, subsidies, training and education, well coordinated patent protection policies and direct funding. African leadership should borrow a leaf or even two from developed countries because there clearly lacks policy coherence in most African governments. There should be a sense of nationalism and if it would serve to improve Africa's place in the world markets, why not be aggressive about promoting your own? Bretton Woods institutions might not support individual efforts to find a place in world markets but how has the idea of 'free trade' helped Africa? Regions struggle to integrate even when only a border separates them.  

African companies are very gradual in effecting change in the way they operate and are therefore very easily phased out by the more adaptable and well-established multi-nationals when they join these markets. Local companies tend to be outdone in their technical know how, quality of production and international marketing but I believe this can be changed if the necessary investment is set aside to develop local industry.

A brief look at Muslim courts in Kenya

How did Islam come to Kenya? As far as my history lesson went and have come to learn over time, Islam was brought mainly by Muslim traders from Asia who came by sea in the 1700s. These Arab-Muslims on interacting with the local dominant language group along the coastal Kenya, The Bantus resulted to a new Language, Swahili. Most of the communities around the coast slowly adopted Islam and the traders that moved inland also to some extent spread the religion as well. They however remained a segregated minority to some extent since they were seen by the locals as exploitative business men simply because they had means of keeping their business running, having good supply of stock through the port of Mombasa and other coastal towns from their mother countries.

What about Christianity? Christianity was brought into the country by English missionaries as you would probably have guessed in around the 1800s the same time as the colonialism set in. I would guess that people had their ways of worship, they call that indigenous. This is just my view but I think Christianity was imposed on people since they were thought to have unorganized ways of worshiping their God. The idea of God was there, it just wasn't formal.

How separate is the Church and the state in Kenya? Church and state in Kenya are separate formally but unfortunately the Church has a lot of control of what the government does. For instance the proposed constitution sought to legalise abortion, of course under some conditions but the Church strongly stands against such an idea. Reasons? They are not that clear.

Kadhi courts have been operating in Kenya and have not affected any non-Muslims as far as I know. I am pretty sure nothing has changed with the the demographic figure of 6% of Muslim population in Kenya to make it such a contentious issue in a country where the majority of the people are Christians. There are obviously bigger fish to fry in the proposed constitution but this particular one seems to warrant political airtime that should be worth so much to the taxpayers so to speak. Where do we get the time?

Are these just two words?

So what effect do two words have on a nation that is Kenya? I might be fetching this too far but the simplest congruity I can find is in martial law. Martial law provides for the use of the military force in cases of emergencies. This might not be directly mentioned but I would be led to think that an emergency generally has the effect of destabilising national security. What happens in this case? The rights of innocent public are consequently infringed without questions. You simply do not question a curfew for instance. It might not be as explicit but given these words managed to be in a draft of a constitution implicit meaning applies just as effectively.

Or is this a fear tactic dealt upon the people? Also notice the link this has with the National Security Intelligence Service.

Here is an excerpt of the article from the Daily Nation.

The Daily Nation revealed exclusively on Monday how the copies distributed last week at the official launch of the proposed constitution presided over by President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga contained changes sneaked in that had not been approved by Parliament.

The correct version of Article 24 (1) (d) reads: “The need to ensure that the enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms by any individual does not prejudice the rights and fundamental freedoms of others.”

The altered one reads: “The need to ensure that the enjoyment of rights and fundamental freedoms by any individuals does not prejudice national security, the rights and fundamental freedoms of others.”

Who did the 'planning'?

As I read an online article that reports the resistance of a Maasai community against a geothermal project development in their neighborhood, the following words stifle me.

"We have done a census and a resettlement action plan and it's a matter of time before we reach an agreement and find them alternative land," he said.

These happen to be the words of the project manager heading the project. Assuming that he meant a survey when he says census, it would have also been prudent to tell the public what the results of such a survey found out.

The power generating company clearly claims that they have a resettlement plan but it seems that they encounter resistance from a local Maasai community which only means they still have to implement the plan. The paper reports that a local man claims "environmental degradation and claimed women had miscarried due to poisonous fumes".

What was the aim of having a resettlement plan if you were going to bring in 100 of your engineers to work the project before you even talk to the local residents? Or was your plan to start a hazardous project ahead of your relocating people to safety, of course assuming the people agree to such a deal? If an assessment has been done by the government and the World bank financing team, were these Maasai locals ignored.

History of Economic Thought

As my History of Economic Thought subject progresses, I am rightfully beginning to acknowledge and appreciate better the contributions of renown dead economists from mercantilists to physiocrats, and now pre-classical to classical. Vast as their fields of studies may seem, basic foundations of this social science are beginning to curve themselves out as time progresses. Questions of production, factors of production, money, politics and government amongst others are slowly taking form as the years get ever recent. Economics has in deed evolved a huge considerable bit no doubt, but it is also striking how much of Smith, say, can be picked out in our modern economic systems.

Interesting to note is Thomas Carlyle quote in "Occasional Discourse on the Negro Question" we reviewed today. Thomas, a Victorian historian, was arguing for the reintroduction of slavery as a means to regulate the labor market in the West Indies, views that John Stuart Mill clearly objected,

Truly, my philanthropic friends, Exeter Hall philanthropy is wonderful; and the social science -- not a "gay science," but a rueful --which finds the secret of this universe in "supply and demand," and reduces the duty of human governors to that of letting men alone, is also wonderful. Not a "gay science," I should say, like some we have heard of; no, a dreary, desolate and, indeed, quite abject and distressing one; what we might call, by way of eminence, the dismal science.

John Stuart Mill was quick to answer him on this saying, in "The Negro Question"

There is, however, another place where that tyranny still flourishes, but now for the first time finds itself seriously in danger. At this crisis of American slavery, when the decisive conflict between right and iniquity seems about to commence, your contributor steps in, and flings this missile, loaded with the weight of his reputation, into the abolitionist camp. The words of English writers of celebrity are words of power on the other side of the ocean; and the owners of human flesh, who probably thought they had not an honest man on their side between the Atlantic and the Vistula, will welcome such an auxiliary. Circulated as his dissertation will probably be, by those whose interests profit by it, from one end of the American Union to the other, I hardly know of an act by which one person could have done so much mischief as this may possibly do; and I hold that by thus acting, he has made himself an instrument of what an able writer in the Inquirer justly calls a true work of the devil.

I am really looking forward to hear what Marx, Marshall and Keynes bring to this science, which I would not go as far as Carlyle went to call it dismal.

An Undervalued Yuan?

I read Greg Mankiw's article on the question of an undervalued Yuan a year ago and it sure still is very applicable today. I paraphrased that article this way:

I believe there is more to the Chinese Yuan problem than we are currently being made to see as a grave thing. I don't deny though that if it were the case, that an undervalued Yuan would be undesirable in light of fair competition in the global markets. Might things be a little exaggerated though?

Firstly, I believe in free trade like most other modern economists would, but what is seeming to be suggested as possible solution to this undervaluation problem can only be called protectionism. The US, in particular, might, for genuine reasons, fear that having to compete with highly efficient Chinese producers, might put some of their industries out of the radar. Good examples would probably be the clothes industry and car industry. The US therefore might like to disguise its protectionism motive behind this active campaigning against an undervalued Yuan. Do we really want to go this far to limit free trade?

Financial supervision in the US has recently undergone huge tests and some even believe that it failed to prevent an economic downturn that proved very far-reaching. Is a correctly valued Yuan more necessary than careful financial supervision? I tend to believe efforts should be more deliberate towards streamlining financial institutions in the US.

Given the argument for free trade, I think it is fair to ask this question as well, does undervaluation really hurt the American consumer. After all, clothes and cars produced in China are cheaper than those produced in America so assuming there was free flow of the clothes and cars, wouldn't American consumers be better off? I am sure we all prefer to pay less for what we buy.

China also holds vast amounts of US securities so what message would this campaigning send? The US no longer requires Chinese debt? I tend to think this is far from what the US desires especially at this time.

Does America really want to isolate themselves by "confronting" China as some suggest? I clearly don't think this is the way to go. A year ago President Obama said this would be a problem he was going to make sure he handles but I am yet to see major steps by his administration in this regard besides a Chinese tires tariff. The tariff imposed in September 2009 only serves to stress the "protectionism" stand that undermines free trade principles.

Credits are due to Ushahidi

Without intention of coming off biased, the developers of Ushahidi need the applause they deserve for the kind of service they implement. Ushahidi has definitely revolutionised geo-mapping in conflict stricken spots with the latest of them being the Haiti disaster. Originally, and according to the Ushahidi website, the website was developed in Kenya to map out incidents of violence in Kenya when the country found itself stuck in one of the bloodiest post-election fall-outs at the beginning of 2008.

The strength of the website comes from its apparent ease of use given this age of improved internet connectivity. Incidents can be reported through text messaging a local or international number, directly through email, on twitter and through a web form available on their website(for instance in the Haiti page).

As simple as it may seem, the site has found a place far out in the wider world which only serves as a clear demonstration that every country has its mettle in this increasingly globalising world of today. In this case, Kenya, wins the lime light for a product that is as good as any in quality and to make the cake even bigger and sweeter, all code is open-source.

Ushahidi, is a Swahili word for 'testimony'.  Credit to all the developers involved in the project primarily in Kenya and elsewhere worldwide.

Read more about Ushahidi on their website.

The New York Times has recently written on this as well:

"And an important force behind this upheaval is a small Kenyan-born organization called Ushahidi, which has become a hero of the Haitian and Chilean earthquakes and which may have something larger to tell us about the future of humanitarianism, innovation and the nature of what we label as truth.
After Kenya’s disputed election in 2007, violence erupted. A prominent Kenyan lawyer and blogger, Ory Okolloh, who was based in South Africa but had gone back to Kenya to vote and observe the election, received threats about her work and returned to South Africa. She posted online the idea of an Internet mapping tool to allow people anonymously to report violence and other misdeeds. Technology whizzes saw her post and built the Ushahidi Web platform over a long weekend.
The site collected user-generated cellphone reports of riots, stranded refugees, rapes and deaths and plotted them on a map, using the locations given by informants. It collected more testimony — which is what ushahidi means in Swahili — with greater rapidity than any reporter or election monitor."

Hayek vs Keynes Rap

What Does Kenya Really Need

The problem facing the Kenyan democratic process is typical of most developing countries from an outsider's point of view. Democracy is a big topic to try and come around in one post but I think the basics of it still should prevail: direct or representative democracy is all about giving the people better representation and freedom. This are of course not enough to make a nation just run but are starting points.

I also believe that in order for democracy to be effective, there also needs to be a workable and efficient institutionalised government support structures. I am simply referring to a stable, independent local authority and a judiciary that can be said to be reasonably facilitative. What I am continuing to observe from more democratically established nations is that government support systems are in most cases free from political influence because they do not form part of any government side per se.

What we should aim to do in Kenya is create the notion that politics should just be played at the top of the pyramid such that a political transition only means change of the top, say 0.5% of the pyramid, while the other 99.5% of government support system and services remains fully functional. For instance I do not see the need for a new minister to suck or appoint anyone from their office just as a show of ascent to office because I do not serious understand how a ministry stuffer would need to be on the same page with the minister in ideology. Such are the simple issue that I think if addressed would propel some sense of stability in our government structure.

By separating other functional units of government from the policy-making unit of things, I tend to believe progress would be inevitable. If policy-makers do not accomplish anything for instance, we as citizens are able to see this because their decisions would be conspicuous enough not to pass our eyes and this would mean a change of the top team. I do mean for this to sound overly simplistic but an election in this case would be easily likened to the top politicians switching colours and not overturning the whole system and telling us that they are now going to build out country Kenya from down up. This is never possible. Bottom up abstraction systems only works in engineering projects or in countries that are coming from rubble like a Kenya in 1963 or Haiti in recent times.

Politicians must stop wanting to change how government works, they must strive to improve our institutions and move from there.

Another observation I have made is that we Kenyans tend to want to copy working systems and use working democracies as examples of what we should aim for. I do not see what would be wrong if we worked on what we have and build our own Kenya. A Kenya that applies to Kenyans and for goodness sake a Kenya that has accountable leaders implementing policy. We do not have to look as far as the United States of America to find a system to want to emulate, we could be the creative Kenyans we are and build our own. I am saying this because I believe we have what it takes. The Kenyan population is one that can work miracles and uphold a position of leadership in our side of Africa. The Kenyan population if given a chance can achieve greatness. And to quote Abraham Lincoln, with malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds.