Should we blame the media or their idea?

Please bear with me when you read this because I feel the pain of desperation, torture and rejection of the poor in the society. This is the community that is suffering from almost all the aspects of hate, disgust and impending natural calamities.

In spite of all these problems, the media has neglected their plight and only gives scanty slots to report on their situations. There are those of us on the other hand that claim to be patriots of the nation yet they have put their  plights in the offing.

The media has put forth its position but will do anything to conceal their positions on certain issues affecting the IDP community. It has also been trying to show assistance to the less fortunate in the society but only to woo the readers.

Looking at our societal environment’ it is evident that there are things that are not good to look at and be proud of in the social setting. But there is very little being done by the media to counter this.

When I say this, I guess you have a picture of the way some people in the nation are going through hard times but without sympathy but loads of neglect and “mockery”  from the cream of our leadership.

Just the other day, there was an issue where IDPs were to be given land. But when looking at the media reports of the same, the land in this case was infertile and unfit for agriculture. This brings us to the point of argument, to the IDPs need any settlement or do they want to reconstruct their life.

Since the media is reporting on the IDP issue without the necessary vigor and taste, it is the duty of the public to think about their plight.

The media tends to put political rallies and office campaigns forward and with scanty reports on the IDP issue. Many are the times when the IDP issue is neglected and never being given the prime space in the news coverage.

This is an agenda that in my opinion the media has put forth since the IDP issue ensued. It  should be noted that since the IDP plight ensued, little is being covered on the same as days go by.

Having these systems in place, the media taking the political class as the prime news worth individuals, we have been made to think of what they say as important, instead of whatever the society is going through.

During the ‘homecoming party’ of the Ocampo Six, the media covered more on the unfolding events in the party ground and less on the IDPs, although there was a clash of venue. Less was being said about the IDPS, instead, the focus was much on the Ocampo Six issues.

Having set the agenda that the ‘homecoming party was of more importance, they built the idea in many people’s minds that the IDP issue was less important hence in my opinion the reason why their prayer venue was cancelled.

Although the IDPs are the true bearers of the burdens of the post election violence, the media literally does less to highlight their plight. Had the media given the focus on this issue, then the government should have fallen into the task of ensuring they are resettled in time.

Instead, the media is always waiting for disaster to befall them before they can cover and give some insight of the same. This agenda has dominated the majority of the media houses thus making it difficult to push the government into action.

Although this has been the case, recently, Radio Africa group has tried to bloom the IDP story through their spot- THE IDP STORY_ after every news bulletin, it has not been successful in other media housed are still working behind the mirrors on the same issue.

Taking a look at the rallies that have been taking place, it is evident that the political class is seen as important and their presence felt, thanks to the media. They will get their opinion driven home through advertisements and vocal power because they have the money to pay for the spots.

Welcoming the Ocampo Six suspects and making them look like heroes was an uncouth way of action by the media since they killed the IDP story. During the rally, the speakers had nothing positive from the IDPs but insults to the Prime minister, whom  they view as their political enemy

To me, this should not have been considered a prayer meeting but an adoration of the evil of society. It was a meeting meant to hit at their political enemies.

To confirm the ineptness of that “prayer” meeting, there was an indication that the IDPs were not present since there was no say from their representative.  On the other hand, if they were present, then the media shunned away from covering them.

Apart from the IDP issue there are more serious issues of national concern. There were those that lost their loved ones in the process of the war in 2007. People lost property among other things as a result of the war. All these ended with the culminatination of the war, and the media has since embarked on other aspects in their news.

We have also been preaching on national healing and integration ever since the violence ended and if there is no leader that is ready to spearhead the aspect of cohesion, there will never be forgiveness.

The media need to act as the public eye and cover on the plight of poor. It should not be coaxed by the moneyed and the societal cream and forget those that depend on their voice.

We need a medium will instead be looking for alternative sources of income and new information about the actual position of the normal citizen.

The media should the philosophy of nationalism brotherhood and equality in giving space. By so doing, we shall be in a position to run to the media whenever we get in trouble.

Let’s embrace brotherhood and avoid hate or else, the future will judge us for the bad we are doing to the society.

Our local universities should be empowered to do research

 There are benefits of research in the current world both to the students and the rest of the community. But as for the Kenyans’ situation, these benefits are a story left to the foreign universities and other tertiary education centers and consumed by the Kenyan education system.

The Kenyan system has for a long time depended on researches done by other institutions for their research learning. In the long run, the same foreign researches have been applied to the Kenyan situation.  Our dependence on the foreign research findings has been a set back to the way the country’s education system is running.

Great discoveries in the laboratories, in-house findings, natural research and other research explorations are aids expanding our understanding of the world, maybe cure diseases, and make life better in myriad ways.

Most of these findings for the Kenyans situation have been imported thus, are foreign since the Kenya Universities systems are not a source of such research work, thanks to the current systems in the section.

Whereas we may be blaming the current government policies and funding s for the education sector flops, the colleges are also to be blame on the other hand for not trying to equip their school with the relevant necessities for research. 

Include the social stereotype of local research and you shall be disappointed. We are so much inclined to foreign research that we use the same findings for our Kenya situation. This belief on foreign research findings is futile and the blame for the production of raw graduates.

Tertiary education in most parts of the world has been empowered and their research findings are being taken and applied to the issue happening in the world today.

Universities in South Africa are ranked better that those in the Kenya because the students are involved in the process of building their profession unlike the Kenyan situation where we only go on practicum once and the rest is class work.

According to a lecturer at the Oxford University in London, colleges should give undergraduates more opportunities to delve into research. He says that Undergraduate research is one of the most effective ways of teaching available. In the past five years, it has been progressive .he said that it is not that nothing was happening before, but faculties are more interested in it now.

Undergraduate research has become so popular in the west and most of the researches are being posted in the internet and books written on the findings. Compare this to the Kenyan situation and you get the reason why we are still trailing on the ranks.

Although we blame our tertiary education system, there are other social and status issue attached to the same. In the recent weeks there was a publication on how the professors are inhibiting the learning standards of students. It was reported that there are professors who are not supportive to students who apply for higher learning for personal reasons.

According to the article, it is said that there are professors who are status hungry that they are so much unwilling to allow students to venture into their academic goals especially the doctorate status so that they may remain pioneers in the relevant field.

If this is going to be the culture of our academic situation, then our education system is slowly grinding to a halt. There may arise questions as to why students prefer foreign universities to further their education and all that is due to the systems in the local education standards.

Recently, the Vice President was condemning a research finding by the Synovate Group, claiming that they never interview people from the country side and marginalized areas thus the research was worthless.

 You see, if this opinion polls and researches were being done by our local Universities, then there could be no worry since a big institution will carry opinions from people of diverse backgrounds.

It is difficult to shape their way of thinking into what you want them to say. That is just a brief advantage of empowering university research in the country.

Professors say research engages students, who learn to state a problem, seek a solution, and then defend that solution. In doing that, students gain confidence, maturity, patience and tenacity, they say.

Having this in mind and reacting to the Vice Presidents comment on the Synovate research finding on the handling of the case on the Ocampo six, there could be a ground of verification to that.

It is thus important to consider upgrading our Universities and empowering them in doing researches for the betterment of the nation. By doing so, problems and solution to our problems will be found, thus making life easy and sustainable as opposed to depending on foreign findings which may not be compatible and the right solution to the Kenyan situation.

Since the issues we face today are complicated and especially in the social standards, the same can be resolved by people of different disciplines working together. If we can get that started as undergraduates, in our institutions, the better our future is to come.

Constituencies should employ external auditors for their funds.

Following the revelation by the National Taxpayers Association (NTA)   that over 444million Kenya shillings has been misappropriated by 28 constituencies and 5 local authorities through the Constituency Development Fund, (CDF) and Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF), it is the high time for local authorities and constituencies to employ external auditors to check their accounts on regular basis.

During a press adress,  the NTA organization said that over 177 counties are sinking into this phenomenon. As for thelocal authorities, it is vital for them to employ worthwhile auditors to take charge of the way their finances are being run.

Taking a  look at the constituencies, I suppose the thorn is among the top management of the funds and other employees within these circles. According to unofficial findings, many CDF officials are selected basing on their political basis as opposed to their qualifications for the offices.

In my opinion, these offices have become a font of political power or a source of campaign money. Since the docket is solely managed by the local MPs, who may in a way lack the idea  have or professional capability to run finances, the kitty is prone to mismanagement and leaks.

 The parliament has the duty to ensuer ensure that all constituencies financial records are audited by a government accredited financial auditor so that the local officials may have a supervisory power over them.

The media on the other hanmd has not been highlighting on this CDF issue thus making the residents concentarte on other aspect in their constituencie rather than think of the funds. The media is trying to s

I like the effort put in by the Kenya Anticorruption Commission (KACC) in seeing to it thatthe funds are not mismanaged and that the ones responsible are held and questioned over the same.

Employing the tactic of external auditing of the fund will also ensure checks and balances and the MPs will also be put to toes in ensuring the money is not returned to the treasury by the end of the financial period.

The fund management boards in the constituency joyride on the allowance of returning the unused money to treasury as a loophole in covering up the might be exposable leaks.

Looking back, there are many aspects in the CDF history, since it was established; there have been numerouscomplain on the way the money is being used in the constituency projects.

It is certain that LATF is the most abused financial docket by the concerned bodies. Although LATF receives more funds as compared to CDF, little has been felt in various constituencies. Most projects in the counties have been labeled with association to the CDF. There are very few projects being funded by the LATF in the localities.

In most occurrences the funds have been sucked by overestimating the actual cost of the project. Some projects are believed to exist only in paper but in physicality, these projects are nowhere. That is just how these funds are sucked into private pockets.

To end this impunity, I think it is the role of the society and more certainly the Kenya Anti-corruption body in conjunction in other Integrity monitoring institutions to create ways or channels through which these funds are injected into the relevant projects.

On the other hand, government agencies should be employed in assessing the said projects before fund are released into the same. By doing that, I am certain that there will be accountability in the way these funds are used. That is the best way to do away with corruption in the respective counties and constituencies.