Technology has become a important tool of our everyday life playing literally a vital role in our daily life. The youth have become associated with this trend and would do anything to be associated with the current trends in technology. Problem is the rising trend of technology only emanates from the Western world and slowly pours its way in Africa.
Africa being on the receiving end explores these avenues in the manner and theme that has been developed, therefore putting Africa on the verge of being an integral copy cat, not being producer but rather a consumer.
If well customised, technology could boost Africa’s production in all sectors of the economy, predominantly, being an agricultural hub. Africa should look on the way to boost or capture all this immense treasure to escalate production. Problem is the hub technology has just taken into marketing and promotion especially the internet and other electronic media.
Our youth are shunning the jembe and slowly switching to the mouse a more comfortable and cool thing to do or hold than the toil under the scorching sun in the name of food production.
The field on focus for most tech experts and practitioners is the social media hub and entertainment. Some have even gone into advertising foreign technology which is most advanced and readily available than spinning and yearning for the domestic production.
Africa therefore, should put forward mechanisms that can bolster and nurture the tech youth, tailor them on the readily available researches and therefore produce likeminded individuals who could promote by chance the slowly diminishing nature and agricultural production.
I would streamline my argument on Kenya, being an agricultural country, it beats me that such a country which produces high quality coffee, tea and flowers for export, still lingers at the bottom-line and struggles to overcome the borders of extreme poverty and economic quagmire. The country has good rivers, pregnant soils and soaring enterprising human resource. These resources could elevate the country to higher economic standards.
Kenya can! And Kenya is able to embarrass the advanced economies in a blink of an eye.
She has beautiful coastal beaches, wonders worthy noting and friendly citizens. She has fertile soils and markedly good or if well put, average climatical patterns. This means that, she has the ability to grow various crops, both for domestic use and export. For these to be enhanced the country’s economic planners and agricultural experts must sit down, develop proper strategies which could in a way bolster the journey to recovery, bolt up the speed to economic development and gear the country towards economic sustainability.
How can this be worked upon? Right from the beginning, Kenyans ought to admit that they are a developing country and stop equaling themselves to countries like the USA. What does this allude to? That Kenya being a struggling economy our economic backbone should be the readily available resources, agriculture and the diverse human resources.
Secondly, the spirit of the love of domestic products could also be nurtured. You are wondering how this could be done. Practically, it is near impossible. The foremost thing should be, building customer base and in calculating consumer trust by producing quality products. After establishing this, the rest will be left to marketing and advertising.
On the road to recovery the government should also play a role of curtailing the entry of substandard products into the economy in the form of goods, applications and machines. The hard part here is that corruption has blinded the eyes of the leaders, hence opening the avenues of manipulating and eroding the market base. If policies are tightened the country could be in for a smooth ride.
In any country, the youth contribute a large number of individuals; their manpower is enough to counter a thousand nuclear plants. Therefore, if their input in creativity is nurtured and well rewarded they can be the economic river of success.
The government came up with two policies which I think if tightened then they can bear some fruits. These policies are, the ‘Kazi kwa Vijana Initiative’ and The Youth Enterprise Fund. They are worthy and pregnant policies to steer Kenya and also maximize on the youth contribution to national development. One, problem worthy noting is that, all these reward youth contribution in business, and what is business? Import and export which is a much lucrative venture to anyone who wants to make a quick buck. The initiative also acknowledges production, and do you want to know what production is, churning in more money, through export sensitive produce, that is cash crop farming and IT. Food production has been dealt with a huge blow!
Lastly, women, thanks to KWFT, Kenya Women Enterprise Fund, which also offers some dim light to development. But it is not just enough, much needs to be done.
One big roadblock, to Kenya’s economic success is too much ambition, greed and poor governance. Well, the current government has done some good by upgrading roads and making the country much accessible. There are also plans to upgrade the railway system. This is good thinking, only that it is mainly concentrated around Nairobi, the capital City. Being narrow minded, you can say. Our leaders have one weakness, which has spread even to those in rural areas; not thinking beyond your homestead, well put, beyond your household.
Greed for power and ambition to outsmart others has also proved a total heck! Someone rises to fame not with the welfare of others in mind, but with the ego to prove others wrong, not to rule with policies clearly outlined but to showcase his or her being macho. In short our leaders do not have policies to sell but rather superior verbal qualities to entertain the masses with. This clearly shows that we vote in someone who clearly has no clue as to where, he could steer the country to.
Once in office, these greedy leaders will try to award position according to how loyal one has been, paying little attention to those who bear the qualifications necessary for the post. Thanks to the new constitution, maybe this could change. Though, I am rather apprehensive.
One thing remains clear; we are living in a technologically eruptive society. With changes erupting from all corners of the globe. Therefore, in order to be upbeat with the emerging trend, we should be part of the volcano of technological eruption while paying keener attention to domestic development and production. We should not just be on the receiving end but also on the giving end. One more thing, let Africa not be a major importer of food produce, it’s a shame! We must be in a position to nurture, manufacture and produce what we eat, which is paramount than getting money through exports and then buying what to eat!
We can therefore be ourselves in all angles of production. We only need to ask ourselves, what is most important to us as Africans?
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