Leadership in Kenya is increasingly becoming conspicuous, and political rhetoric is everywhere. When leaders climb podiums or shout from car rooftops about their achievements, it signals they have accomplished nothing.

You see, impactful development does not have to be elaborately shouted for the impact to be felt or seen. 

One political commentator aptly captured it recently when he said Kibaki never left the State House for useless political campaigns, but everyone felt the impact of what he did. He didn’t send his vice president with money bags or require tribal delegations to visit for development.

He simply allowed resources to flow to economic growth enablers, benefiting everyone. 

Kibaki positioned Kenya well, and the Jubilee government continued investing at the microeconomic level with great effect, despite corruption allegations surrounding their projects at the budgeting level.

By the time the current regime gained power, substantial macro-level progress had been achieved, making citizens eager for microeconomic development. This explains why “bottom up” and “hustler nation” ideologies resonated.

People believed that the money that built the SGR, Thika Superhighway, and Nairobi Expressway had been distributed to hustlers at the bottom of the pyramid; it would have transformed their circumstances. 

Nothing much of that has happened, but it does appear leaders in this regime have taken a fairly interesting route. Led by the Deputy President, they go around the country dishing out money to groups.

While no one refuses this assistance or questions its source, critics question the sources, though they acknowledge that at least it is pumped into local economies. 

Governments worldwide should focus on creating enabling environments. And when executives fail to do this, legislatures must hold them accountable and represent people’s interests through appropriate legislation. 

Local economies across Kenya need accessible enabling infrastructure. A young and refreshing economist entering politics in Migori County offers an interesting local empowerment model worth emulating.

Sheila Olang visits small villages that politicians typically ignore, lighting up village centres and local markets where peasants sell produce after farming. 

Called “Wasemoke” (Luo for “we have lit it”), this initiative boosts economic activities and empowers locals while addressing broader village ecosystem needs. Security has improved significantly. The local police station commander in Nyatike expressed satisfaction with Wasemoke’s security enhancements.

This well-conceived idea of illuminating centres has transformed them into economic hubs, changing entire economic and cultural ecosystems.

Young people now think creatively and commercialise their time. Security is guaranteed, and women no longer need to travel to larger markets because their local centres are well-lit with police protection. 

Sheila is modelling effective leadership. Whether her entry will resonate with voters long enough to withstand traditional handout-giving leaders is a story for another day. 

The writer is a media studies researcher