If I was…

We have a problem! The shilling has gone through the floor against the dollar, fuel is at 120 bob, maize flour cost more than wheat flour, the stock exchange…..wacha tu.
There is much talk of infrastructure, democracy, new constitution and so on helping our economy. [Some very interesting thoughts about that here - http://www.ted.com/talks/yasheng_huang.html]
I think that what we need is the following
1. What my friend Pst. M calls "an abundance mentality." Surely we have so much yet we look down on ourselves.
2. A "can do" mind set. Too many times I hear people talk about what we do not have… We have resources, telecom savvy populace, relative peace and sharp minds… speaking of which
3. Solution oriented thinking.
Abundance? Yes we have a fairly good economy. I think the economists in government can stem the slide of the shilling.
Can do? Yes we can do it. I heard some leaders in the news throwing up their hands and saying that we are helpless. No. We are not helpless. We have legislative/regulatory power to harness the shilling and to tame the prices. In addition to that we do not have to go to the IMF and other donors to help us. We can manage on our own. Or cant we?
Solution oriented? We do not have to rely on older solutions that have been worked out for other economies to solve our problems. For instance, has anyone thought about price and demand inflationary control using our large informal sector? Who has thought about leveraging our economy through our regional advantages? Ok so what about the massive pool of brilliant minds that have this country at heart? [See clip above!!] What about the innovation that we have seen locally over the years – I believe some of that can catapult us to the next level economically? Then what about the tax, innovation and investment incentives? I am no economist but I know that our hands are not tied!!
Someone out there… we can do something! Talk to me.

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