Make 2014 The Year of Liberation, Canon Karanja Urges Kenyans
The National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) has called on Kenyans to make 2014 the biblical year of liberation. In his new year’s goodwill message to the nation, NCCK’s General Secretary Reverend Canon Peter Karanja said that it is incumbent upon Kenyans to free themselves from negative political influence, poverty and negative ethnicity.
Canon Karanja, who gave his message from Mombasa on the eve of the new year, said that Kenyans had been held hostage by politicians for too long and that it was time that changed. “For Kenyans to fulfill their dreams, they must take personal responsibility and engage in those things that promote their social, economic and spiritual welfare, leaving politicians to deal with the national and county frameworks,” said Canon Karanja. He pointed out that politicians and government can only create a conducive environment for the pursuit of our aspirations. He added that for Kenya to prosper and become a fully industrialized nation, it was critical to adopt an entrepreneurial approach to farming and all other economic activities in order to create wealth and not just to only meet their personal and family needs, but also improve their living standards.
At the same time Canon Karanja challenged the political class to do away with the culture of impunity and the preoccupation with higher salaries. “It is a pity that the benefits of devolution continue to be out of reach for Kenyans because hardly any county authority has processed effective ways of meeting the needs of the people who elected them. Unless the trend changes, the remaining years of this governance term will pass by and most county leaders will have nothing to show for their county assembly and government term”. Canon Karanja added that it is worrying that the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) has been bullied by politicians to increase wage disparities rather than close the gap. “We passed a new constitution, we need to be better people in order to see its fruits”.
This must worry Kenyans in the face of the imminent layoffs in the civil service which will have adverse effects on those already vulnerable while we carry the burden of a disproportionate elected leaders and constitutional officers in many commissions which have little to show for the public resources spent on them.
He appealed to Kenyans to remain hopeful and engage so that in the appropriate time, they may all engage on further reengineering of our national socio-political structures to make them rational and affordable. Canon Karanja concluded by wishing all Kenyans a prosperous 2014.
