Why GenZs want tangible actions not dialogue

The last couple of weeks we have experienced unprecedented protests that has left the political class
scratching their heads. As it unfolds every Tuesday and Thursday it’s apparent that these protesters
are lead by no one yet it’s become a force to reckon with. But the question that has rented most
politician’s mind is; what does the young people want?

As it turns out the government wants to open a dialogue with them. Unknown to politicians is that
dialogues, for a long time has been hijacked by the so called ‘leaders’ who serve their personal
interests in the discussion table and GenZs knows about it. And this explain why many agreements resulting from dialogue has not borne any fruits.

Also read: Series of scandals and scams that lead to anti-finance bill protests

To understand GenZ demands, we first have to understand the age we are living in. Most of them are
tech-savvies and spends of their time in the internet learning and looking at how youth in developed
countries live and work. Thanks to the internet and social media, GenZ have seen youth in developed
countries achieve massive success in all spaces of life including technology and entrepreneurship.

Because of that, it doesn’t sit well with them to see their country lagging behind yet those entrusted
to spearhead policies to emancipate them from poverty and lack of employment are looting and
displaying opulence.

The best example is the current race between USA and China on Artificial Intelligence (AI). The two
superpowers are investing massive resources to battle each other in this AI front. However in Kenya,
we are struggling to fight graft and unending politics that redirects leaders to engage in war of words
and forget the needs of people.

While the world is in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR) and Internet of Things (IoT), we are still
struggling to set ground policies to kick-start our industrialization. For this reason, GenZ finds
themselves in a straightjacket situation, not knowing who to trust to enact policies that will help them
to move forward economically and socially. The run-away corruption and snail-speed justice system
dims the hopes of young people.

Time and again, Kenyan youths have surprised the world with cutting-edge innovations in fintech,
agriculture, automobile and digital sectors but no regime has come up with programs and policies to
utilize these skills for the betterment of the people. From demands that have surfaced from GenZ’s
protests, it’s clear that they no longer want promises and words of encouragement but rather
tangible actions and policies that will enable them to utilize their knowledge and expertise to build
this nation.

The Kenya Kwanza regime must be awake to the new reality that young people have outgrown
promises and now demands accountability and concerted effort towards building the country and
being sensitive to public’s demand, not turning a blind eye to the suffering of Kenyans.