Kenyans will probably vote at the end of this year to bring another round of leadership for the next five years! (We cannot be sure they will bring fresh leadership). Opinion polls will take acres of print space illustrating one point or the other about certain political inclinations. I came across interesting opinion polling on the internet on the dangers of products. For instance, it was estimated that 35,394 deaths take place due to traffic accidents in Africa, and this figure is said to be even lower. What ought the poll question to read like? Ban motor vehicles from Africa of course! Another poll declared, ‘Every year, Syngenta’s herbicides poisons tens of thousands of people’ guilty or not?

Double ‘O’ seven is for sure a ‘James Bond’ season for Kenyan politicians.  It will be a thriller with each political group seeking to outmaneuver the other. Sample this: on banking insecurity, the Kenyan security apparatus literally gave-in to criminals by asking for escort cars! To increase wealth, the government increased its administrative burden by creating 37 new districts! On the corruption front; the Kenya Anti Corruption Unit suddenly alluded to the point that the suspects are as good as innocent.

Amazing year isn’t it? Instead of the Kenyan chief of security stepping up the role of policing, equipping, and possibly arming private guards so that he can give police ample time to fight crime; he opted to ask private companies to provide escort cars for cash in transit. The Kenyan investor will carry the burden of this not-so-secure approach to guarding cash in transit. Kenyan citizens should be ready to pay for new districts, especially if the ever willing donors decide not to bail out the government on this one.  

As for corruption, ask the poor suspected thieves on the streets of Nairobi, they are always assured of instant ‘neck-lasing’ even for mere suspicion of pick-pocketing. Instant justice or mob justice is prevalent, but when it comes to stealing ‘government money’ it becomes simply a news story because a majority of Kenyans are yet to understand the connection of lost billions to their empty pockets. Kenyans should brace themselves for more legal jargon on how ghosts engaged in siphoning out cash from Kenya chose never to be identified. But won’t this be a year of opinion polls? 

Robert Weissberg in ‘Polling, Policy, and Public Opinion: The Case Against Heeding the ‘Voice of the People,” challenges the view that opinion polls which are disseminated by the mass media as reliable guides to public sentiment ought to be treated uncritically. According to Robert, rather than offering the public a chance to offer advice to governments on policy issues, public opinion polls do more to convey the political agenda of those conducting polls than the true sentiments of the people polled. 

If we were to poll Kenyans on whether cash delivery vans should escort cars, chances are they will poll “yes!” Nobody in Kenya was happy to see bodies of our brothers and sisters mowed down by senseless criminal gangs. But the truth also holds that the same public still has a strong sentiment that the government ought to do its work so that it can become more unnecessary to escort cash on transit by improving its security and judicial systems. Are you happy with the government increasing the number of districts in Kenya? Oh yes! Are you willing to pay an extra Ksh.100 to facilitate creation of new districts? May be yes, to bring services closer home, oh no, that will increase bureaucracy! Corruption: will you vote on this issue even when you have no sufficient information on exactly what is going on? Increased traffic fatalities, should we ban motor vehicles? Should we ban alcohol, should we ban pastors!

On roads, the fatalities are caused mostly by pot holes, bad weather, drunk driving, poor motor vehicle maintenance, mechanical failure, under-age driving, and poor judgment on drivers’ part among others. Each item ought to isolated and be tackled to facilitate reduction of fatalities on the road. For instance, one ought to argue for fixing of better infrastructure, ensuring effective driving schools, ensuring lower taxes to motor vehicle spares to make it cheaper to maintain vehicles and so forth. Enforceable safety standards are a priority to save human lives. 

In our agricultural communities, exposure to pesticides and other farm inputs is of great concern to all those who care about human lives. Other than simply poll-out products, big businesses ought to be asked to ensure high safety standards, at the same time, the beneficiaries or consumers ought to take the responsibility of ensuring safety standards in order for the product to serve them well. To simply engage in populist polling on products without offering an opportunity for ensuring safe use will stall innovations which have always come with great risks. 

May double ‘O’ seven give us the best opportunity to choose our leaders and stewardship options wisely.