By Joseph Lister Nyaringo
The incoming United States ambassador, honorable
Kyle McCarter, has taken over from his predecessor Robert Godec, when Kenya is
embroiled in many challenges.
One wonders if ambassador McCarter’s diplomatic
role in Nairobi will set a paradigm shift from his predecessor who was more
friendly to the status quo. Preventing corrupt Kenyans to enter the US nor
pay for their children's education is a masterstroke by the new
ambassador.
From corruption, the main elephant in the room,
money laundering, drugs menace; to the war on terror, one can say, the
ambassador has stridden into an environment of turbulence and uncertainty.
Kenyans at home and in the Diaspora are
optimistic that the ambassador is up to the task to represent the US President
Donald Trump.
Ambassador Mccarter’s philanthropic work in Tharaka
Nithi with his wife Victoria, speaks volumes about his big heart and passion to
support the people of Kenya.
The new ambassador may be the first US diplomat
with a better understanding of Kenya’s culture and language more particularly
Kiswahili since the US formalized diplomatic relations with Kenya in
1964.
Kenyans have high optimism about the new
ambassador and what the Trump administration’s foreign policy will be during
his tenure. We always appreciate assistance from genuine friends like the US
who are ready to stand with us in good and bad times. However, I would like to
emphasize this: We have a primary role to play for Kenya’s social, political
and economic transformation.
Chinese influence and war on corruption
The issue of greater interest is how President
Trump’s foreign policy on Africa that was arrived at last year when his
National Security Advisor John Bolton, named Kenya an “anchor” country.
This strategic step to cushion China’s
aggressive economic influence in Kenya will have far-reaching economic
ramifications for the country. It has been discovered that China is primarily
for self-economic enhancement which does not benefit Kenyans and the whole of
Africa.
Ambassador McCarter is likely to face growing
concerns from Kenyans about over-borrowing from China which has bloated the
country’s public debt to a whopping Kshs. 4.884 trillion (USD$49 billion).
An increase of 42.8% in over a decade.
If over-borrowing from China is not scaled down,
Kenya will sink into a "debt trap" which will affect even
the unborn on repayments. According to the International
Monetary Fund (IMF), the right ratio of public debt for a developing country
should not exceed 40%.
As the adage goes, the borrower is a slave
to the lender. In Sri Lanka, the country was forced to give up its two ports to
China, as a result, of failing to service their loans. What will remain of
Kenya if China claims the Port of Mombasa or Lamu if overborrowing from the
Asian giant is not curtailed?
Trump administration should come to Kenya’s
rescue to recover funds stashed in offshore accounts by corrupt Kenyans. If the
US and European countries will collaborate in this endeavor, it will
drastically reduce the looting of public coffers and money laundering.
Kenyans are yet to know if a memorandum signed
last year between President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Swiss counterpart Alain
Berse did yield some
fruit to recovery funds hidden in
Swiss banks.
The US government can help to divulge these
mysterious to Kenyans about funds in offshore accounts: Who is behind the
accounts, the amount in the accounts, the accrued interest and lastly, the
repatriation timelines of the funds. Transparency and accountability from the
Kenyan government in this matter. Kenyans have a reason to fear that the funds may
be repatriated back but still end up in the leader’s pockets.
To spur investigative
and prosecutorial capacity, the new ambassador should consider setting up a
working partnership between Kenya’s law enforcement, The Ethics and
Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) with the Federal Bureau of Investigation
(FBI). This will reverse the shoddy work often done by local agencies in
apprehending, prosecuting and convicting the corrupt.
US investment
Despite Kenya being the
largest economy in East and Central Africa, corruption has slowed the country’s
economic growth. It has increased poverty, slowed infrastructure development
ruined the delivery of essential services to the citizens and impeded foreign
investment.
There are no investors
who will want to put their funds in an environment of uncertainty… where money
laundering is a norm with bribery, a tradition to get services in a government
office.
It’s worthy to note that many US companies are
ambivalent to invest in Kenya due to heavy government bureaucracy, corruption,
and high tariffs. This is an area that the current ambassador should address
with President Kenyatta’s government in order to make investment in Kenya more
flexible and friendlier to new investors.
Last year, President Trump and President
Kenyatta signed a memorandum in Washington DC to spur Kenya, US strategic
partnership on trade, investment, and infrastructure development; a sector
currently dominated by China.
Aggressive diplomacy
Diplomats from advanced democracies have over
the years openly supported Kenya’s struggle for democracy, social justice, and
good governance. In fact, a couple of them fighting alongside Kenyans for the
re-introduction of multiparty politics in 1991.
The big question for ambassador McCarter is
this: Will he be another Smith Hempstone to confront the purveyors of
injustices and corruption head-on? The stakes are high in Kenya. The country
desperately want a US diplomat who will take the bull by the horns voraciously
by challenging the status quo.
Kenyans miss former British ambassador Sir
Edward Clay of “vomiting on our shoes” fame and former Germany ambassador,
Berndt Mutzelburg. The two never spared the “big fish.” They dressed them
down without fear.
The US is Kenya’s traditional ally and genuine
friend. Genuine friendship was reflected when the late ambassador Hempstone and
Mutzelburg (Germany) openly supported the young Turks like James Orengo, Paul
Muite, Raila Odinga, Gitobu Imanyara, etc to fight for political pluralism in
early 1990.
Some will argue that the West has no role to
meddle into Kenya’s affairs but, this is far-fetched.
When we are in a crisis
it’s the US and other Western powers who come to our rescue. We cannot
whitewash the influence of the US, and the EU in Kenya’s social, political and
economic affairs.
Through ambassador McCarter, there is hope that
the US will continue supporting Kenya to confront her modern challenges in
the region.
Nyaringo is the
President of Kenya Patriotic Movement, a diaspora lobby based in the US
