Institutions are only as strong as the leadership they have!

Institutions cannot stand alone; they need to be led...and that's where our choice of president comes in.

Think about it this way: if it was possible to make very strong and independent institutions that can work efficiently whatever leadership they have, then what would be the point of voting? Indeed, what would be the point of having any leader?

@Mukiha, what people are avoiding here is, "Is Kenya ready for a woman president from Central Kenya"....

@ Yesu Wangu,

I can see someone already gave you a response. However,please note that communist China is very capitalistic. That is why you have all these Chinese companies being ranked among the world's best. The fact is that there is nothing like 'free aid or grant' No country has money to give away for free. It is always in return for something. Now that 'something' being demanded is what determines where Kenya aligns herself.

The Kibaki Administration realised that workiing too closely with the west had almost brought down the Moi regime due to their demands on their money. So what does Kibz and co do? they bring as many people as possible into the tax bracket and support their budget by upto 95%. The West are still held up asking for SAPS including the governemnt must buy Land Rovers from their companies ( By the way, the West is controlled not by politics but by companies) etc. China sees an opportunity in the rising middle calss and quickly 'buy' that market and the building of infrastructure by giving the government 'grants'. When the West realises their companies have been left out of the boom, they begin sending economic hitmen to sabotage anything the country is doing so as to instal one of their own. He who believes that the Kenyan Police , Judiciary and anything Kenyan is substandard apart from the presidency. They even send him a guy to do his PR 'pro bono' and we know what happenned after the election. I hold my peace.

Mr. Bwenyenye, all you have said is true and yes I have got responses, but my question is still unanswered. And I really need it answered.

If I may rephrase it, what if Kenya had been friendly to China long ago, soon after independence? Has Kenya belatedly recognised it is better off with China than with the West? Has Kenya just recently noticed it burnt its fingers with the West?

Of course answers to these questions will breed more questions.

In the 1960's there was a global battle for leadership. The Germans and Russians had been beaten by the allies in the 2nd World War. By any means, German technology was and has remained far more superior than those of the West. The West won the propaganda war and castigated the East and created the 'Cold War'. Back then, Kenya was just emerging from the British Shackles. One of the basic conditionalities for self rule was the preservation of British Interests in Kenya. We could not get out as we had no systems of our own at the time. By the time we realised, we were in too much debt. I know, some good Kenyans saw this and tried to bring in the east. Some of my people even went to study medicine in Russia on a grant. Due to the sanctions that China and the East were getting back then, they could not manage to fight head to head for countries like Kenya and so the thing fizzled out. They set their systems right and now, their savings are running America which is in very very heavy debt.

So Kenya could not have risked going West at that time. We would have suffered many coups like happened with other countries. I think it was a wise move then as stability was what we needed most.I do not think we would have been any better that we are today if we had gone west! Infact, I think we would have been worse off. Again, back then, there were not many conditionalites on grants up till the 1990s.

As things have gotten worse in the West, their aid related conditionalities have worsened with them now looking at economic gains of their companies at the expense of yours in the name of 'globalization'. And so, perhaps Kenya has played its cards well.