KENYA @ 50 YRS IS A FRAIL AILING OLDMAN ; On thursday , i watched 500 million shillings of the tax payers money go down the drain . The Jubilee celebrations were an anti climax , like sitting in church for hours and leaving without a single prayer having been uttered . The microphones did not work properly , the television signal was constantly broken . President Museveni's short halting speech did not lighten the mood either. The deputy president studiously ignored leaders before him who made Kenya what it is today . The president did not enumerate our achievements @ 50 years . It is only presidents Kikwete , Banda and Goodluck who stuck to the theme and spoke positively . At the risk of being branded unpatriotic , i see Kenya as a frail oldman , ailing , illiterate , hungry and pessimistic . At 50 years old , our feet are jigger infested . Polio is still ravaging us . Thanks to untreated water and smelly garbage heaps , typhoid is taking its toll on kenyans . Malaria is having a field day in most areas despite perfunctory efforts by the government to combat it . At 50 years old , we are still using sooty tin lamps because electricity is not only unaffordable , it is mostly available in urban areas . And even in these areas , power supply is erratic , a guessing game . At 50 years , runaway inflation ensures that the common man doesnt have enough food , forget a balanced diet . At fifty , there still is no tarmacked road nor regular transport to take me to the northern part of Kenya and when i hike a ride on a lorry , i need an armed police escort to make it there in one piece . On reaching there , i discover there are no schools , no water, no electricity and no hospitals . At independence negative ethnicity was an alien concept . Today , it is woven into our national fabric . We wear it proudly like a badge of honour . Kenyans are ailing out fear . The first is the fear of not getting proper medicare at government hospitals where drugs are permanently out of stock and doctors are preoccupied fighting government bureaucracy . The second is the fear of not being able to afford services at privately owned medical facilities . What sustains us is our unwavering belief in God. Unemployment is at an all time high with the government intent on adding to those numbers . In Europe and America , the ravages of unemployment are mitigated by a Social welfare fund where food rations are available for the poor and needy . With a very expensive and porous educational system , are we more literate today than at independence ? Does literacy revolve around attending classes ? And for those who have received an education , how does it benefit them when degrees are a prerequisite for meaningful employment ? The ills bedevilling us far outweigh the few positive gains made . The problems facing this country are the creation of a mean spirited political class driven by greed for personal gain . The mediocre , myopic nature of our politics is simply astounding . We have the resourses , zeal , energy and willingness to push this country forward . Like a ship on the high seas , we need a captain who knows where the reefs and icebergs are for safer steerage to the dock . Do we need another titanic today ?