Democracy, tech are key pillars of transformation

Let’s discuss The Circular Riddle of Two Ds. First, democracy.

Wikipedia describes a guided democracy as “a formally democratic government that functions as a de facto autocracy, is legitimised by elections that are (ostensibly) free and fair, but does not change the State’s policies, motives and goals”. I once saw its alternative name, “managed democracy”, described in an FT commentary on Russia thus: “Democracy is where the authorities arrange the elections; managed democracy is where authorities arrange the elections and the result”.

For those wondering about where BBI is taking us, Charles Onyango-Obbo in the Daily Nation of July 16 teases us that the future of Kenyan politics is such that the people might call for revolution (and social justice, human rights and the like), but we’ll always end up with the next best thing – a “passable bourgeois democracy”. As he posits, the Old Order (and Old Money) is terribly adept and ruthlessly efficient at neutering calls for a New Order, leading to “half-loaf outcomes” after years of activism.

Given the purge now taking place in our political space, amid increasing complaints about “guided democracy”, that’s useful food for thought at a time coronavirus recently checked into State House, the Treasury, the ICT ministry, Public Service Commission and some leading hospitals.

Second, let’s jump to our digital future and pick up four documents from 2019, pre-Covid.

Remember the Digital Economy Blueprint drafted by Kenya, for Kenya and the rest of Africa? It envisions “a digitally empowered citizenry, living in a digitally enabled society”, and is built around five pillars: Digital government (and platforms for public service delivery). Digital business as a robust marketplace for digital trade, digital financial services and digital content. Infrastructure that is affordable, accessible, resilient and reliable. An ecosystem of homegrown firms to generate world class products and services. A digitally skilled workforce. Add Konza Technopolis as the first of Kenya’s future smart cities.

Recall the National ICT Policy? This document envisions Kenya as “a globally competitive knowledge-based economy”. It identifies four “policy focus areas’. “Mobile first”, meaning inexpensive and accessible internet available on locally assembled devices. “Market”, as raising ICT’s contribution to 10 percent of GDP by 2030. “Skills and innovation” that build world class research, products and industries. “Public service delivery” towards making and taking all government services online.

Included in this policy intent is 20 Kenyan multi-national ICT companies, 300 mid-sized ICT firms, 5,000 ICT-focused SMEs and 20,000 ICT start-ups. All of these expected in five years, by 2024.

Don’t forget the Digital Ledger Technology and Artificial Intelligence Task Force that proposed strategies to eliminate corruption, minimise public debt, streamline democracy and elections, deepen financial inclusion, enhance public service delivery and improve our national anti-corruption rating by 2022.

Add the task force’s recommendations to support the Big Four agenda through blockchain and artificial intelligence to streamline agriculture supply chains, lower housing finance costs, track drug supply chains, provide disease control analytics, eliminate counterfeits and clean up land titling.

Finally, the World Bank on accelerating Kenya’s digital economy.

Eight key messages of recommendation were offered. Ensure regulation and policy keeps pace with rapid market evolution. Move Kenya from startup to growth. Build human capital. Improve digital public services offerings and trust in online transactions. Address growing market concentration (mobile telco market power). Close the digital divide. Tread carefully on taxation of the digital economy by encouraging wider access but prioritise downstream (user-level) revenue opportunities.

And, think regional and global. It was estimated then that an integrated East African digital market (with single connectivity, data and online sub-markets) would be the 9th largest in the world, with significant benefits to Kenya’s digital firms and to consumers.

Summing up this smorgasbord of ideas, there’s much work to do on multiple “Ps” — policy, products, people, platforms, private sector participation, pricing and projects — if we are to develop this digital economy opportunity. Yes, digital isn’t “the future of everything’, but it will be a critical cog in our Covid-19 New Normal, Next Normal or Great Reset (pick your phrase). Today’s buzzphrase is the real time economy.

Let’s cheekily close the circle. If the beginning (and end) is guided democracy, this costs money. Fiscal 2020/21 has just begun, so we’re in “company formation for tendering” mode. ICT is always a juicy target. Not these high-sounding ideas, but basics like computers supplied at a 200 percent mark-up, or cabling at a 300 percent margin.

In this cynical transactions- not-policy scenario, that’s plenty in deals to keep our guided democracy well oiled.

Might we one day discover that democratic reform and digital modernisation aren’t mutually exclusive? Let’s quietly mull this circular message this weekend. Hell, so too should our BBI and ICT task forces.