By Ephraim Njenga vai fb
Democracy is highly overrated. In modern times it is turning into pure madness. If democracy was so efficient even CEOs of companies would be appointed through the ballot. Yet you have never heard workers revolting and claiming they are working in a dictatorship. Imagine if we were to elect Safaricom’s CEO.
I have been studying the fast rise of China in recent years. I have come to conclude that such a rise could never have happened without discipline.
Democracy yields indiscipline and chaos because it is assumed that those in charge must be opposed by those outside even when there is nothing to oppose.
Look at India the world’s largest democracy and the mess it has turned into. Look at America where the president is being fought daily not on performance basis but on petty and ridiculous grounds all in the name of democracy.
The Chinese Communist Party is a ruthlessly efficient machine. It ensures only the cream rises to the top while sinking rubbish to the bottomless pit. That is how China will rise to the top of the world as other countries engage in endless arguments and destructive power contests in the name of democracy.
Modern day democracy has resulted in endless power contests for power’s sake. In our case, what we call democracy is just primitive tribal supremacy contests which ensures little progress can be achieved. You can make progress for ten years only for democracy to come and wipe everything away.
We were taught that democracy is a government of the people, for the people by the people. Rarely does democracy deliver such an outcome.
Democracy is supposed to produce the best leader but most often it produces the most popular leader. Democracy can only yield superior ideas accidentally. Mostly it produces inferior but popular ideas. These can’t propel a country anywhere.
If people with excellent credentials and track record were to vie for the presidency in Kenya they would stand no chance. Jubilee’s slogan in 2017 was “wizi uendelee” and people still woke up early to vote for them.
Democracy can only work in countries where Judiciary and Parliament are just as strong as the Executive. It can work in countries where the systems are so strong that it doesn’t matter who is in charge for the country to succeed. Those situations are rare and few in between.
Would you prefer a system that works or democracy for its sake? Why would Kenyans leave a democracy to go and slave in middle eastern kingdoms?
What we need is a system which produces a non-corrupt leader who delivers for the country. Whatever the name we give to such a system does not matter.
The mistake we make is thinking that the opposite of democracy is dictatorship. We need new and better systems of running countries. Maybe we should just have a presidential selection committee that collects CVs of candidates and chooses the best person to run the country.
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