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Kenyans are ushering 2023 with a mixture of cautious optimism and dismay reflecting on the tough political, economic and social circumstances they survived in 2022.

After going through a tumultuous electoral process that left the country acutely divided, Kenyans are thankful that at least peace prevailed over the fractious poll outcome.

While the winners pompously celebrated the result, it was not a resounding victory since it left the losing voting half grudgingly accepting what they still perceive as a political shock and a disappointing fate of electoral injustice. It does not serve the cause of national cohesion and reconciliation after an acrimonious election contest for the elected leadership to persist in referring to it as a platform to denigrate their political opponents and their supporters.

With all the instruments of power and the backing of the Legislature and the Judiciary, the Executive’s main concern in 2023 should be cultivation of national unity, upholding the Constitution in letter and spirit, and alleviating the common shocks wananchi endured in a 2022.

Policymakers are obligated to the citizens in monitoring how families have adapted to the all-pervading economic shocks that affected all Kenyans – high prices, inflation and uncertain rains. Entering 2023, the country is experiencing its most alarming food crisis in decades, amid a disastrous drought of four consecutive failed rainy seasons. Dried out water sources, sharply reduced harvests and 2.4 million livestock deaths gravely depict a collective national economic shock.

2022 was a very difficult year. In the first half of 2022, Kenyans experienced sharp increases in food, fuel and inputs prices and below average rainfall. After pandemic-related economic disruptions, these shocks took a toll on millions.

A World Bank rapid response survey in June 2022 on how Kenyan families were affected, revealed that nearly everyone experienced either price or rainfall shocks. Almost all were affected by higher prices for food and energy.

Rural families experienced shocks that hurt their incomes – higher input prices (74 percent), variable rains or drought (60 percent), crop disease and pests (43 percent), and livestock deaths (16 percent).  The higher prices of inputs and variable rain affected urban families too – 45 percent experienced higher input prices, 32 percent reported loss of earnings and 17 percent faced business closure.

Overall, families involved in business or farms were more commonly impacted by supply side shocks. These shocks will certainly continue in 2023 and should be the main occupation of national leadership and people’s representatives.

Let us shun politicking and cast aside divisive post-election talk. The 2022 election is now history, a thing of the past, and the 2027 election is too far off for anyone to even start imagining about it.

Also, the perception that one side of the political divide is Godly or holier than others is a negative blasphemous fallacy that should be banished. Kenya’s economy faces greater challenges needing closer integration within the expanded East African Community (EAC) of seven countries.

Leadership should note IMF’s forecast stating that a handful of sub-Saharan countries are expected to perform well in 2023, despite facing major energy and food security risks – the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Niger, Rwanda and Senegal.

Kenya is missing from this projection stating that these countries (two in EAC) will be among the 10 fastest-growing globally in 2023, their growth on average outpacing pre-Covid levels, thus attracting investors. Critical lessons to optimistically reflect on in 2023.

—The writer comments on political and economic affairs – [email protected]