Cascade the vision and brand to the people

You would have imagined that Kenya would at this point in time exploit her socio-economic potential to the full.  But alas… we are obsessed with the parochial; which ministers accompanied the Prime Minister on his trip to the United States, Iran or even Zanzibar.

In the meantime, radiant initiatives like Vision 2030 and Brand Kenya have been pushed to the back burner.

Vision 2030 is certainly not meant for the people currently in government.  Most (if not all of them) will be dead and buried by the time the year 2012 gets here.  It is meant for the great grand children of the so-called leaders of Kenya.

I have no problem whatsoever in these leaders driving the agenda to achieve the objectives of such initiatives.  My dilemma arises out of the fact that these proposals appear to be the preserve of elites invited to card-only functions in Nairobi, let alone the breezy island of Mombasa or the scorching Kisumu lakeside city.

Kenyans – the ordinary ones who carry the votes – need to buy into these initiatives if they are to make any headway.  The government needs to learn to preach to the un-converted as opposed to the transformed.  That is the only way to grow the flock.

Such initiatives are not rocket science but I can comfortably hypothesise that even your urban elites cannot tell the difference between the Kenya We Want, Brand Kenya or Vision 2030.

Somebody somewhere has failed in their obligation to sell these initiatives to the majestic people of Kenya.  A lot of the times, we forget that it is they who matter.  It is not about Emilio, Stephen or Amolo.  These are individuals you and I can consign to early retirement if we please.

I’m reliably told that we fail to grasp great ‘branding’ opportunities during the numerous marathons that Kenyan athletes win world over month after month.  We need to make such victories ‘a big deal.’  On Monday, my colleague Laura Walubengo reminded us how Sky News treats reports.  It’s always about the one Briton who died among 200 people in a blast in Egypt or Pakistan.

One Kenyan winning a marathon in London, Berlin, New York should be a selling point when ‘branding’ Kenya.

This past weekend, Kenya bowed out of the IRB rugby 7s tourney after a feisty struggle.  If that is not branding Kenya, then someone teach me what is.

A big up to Raila Odinga for taking cognisance of this feat during Kenya’s 46 Madaraka Day celebrations.