Nandi County, Neo-Liberalism and Globalization: Is it the best policy?

Is embracing Neo-Liberal policies and the concept of Globalization good for development at the county level? That is a subject of debate, however, evidence suggests otherwise- it is bad policy. I suppose the Nandi county theoretical approach to local developments revolves around the term ‘investors’, as a need that can only be outsourced. I here then (in a Democracy) seek to exercise my Socratic right to criticize his policy and to will to be executed for “seeking practical indications for where reasonable approximations of truth might be”. Sang’s’ policies rely on the assumption that by opening up the county for giant multinational corporations to invest will then lead to development. This move I argue will only add to the cosmetic outlooks of the county: that is to increase ‘mallisation¹’ and Skyscrapers while debilitating the conditions of the local economy and its workers.
Globalization in this sense does not carry the dictionary definition of the term per se, it is in how the neo-liberals have applied. It implies to the liberalization of the trade policies to allow corporations to penetrate and to exploit resources without restrictions. A typical case is banana production in Latin America, where covert forms of coercion with limited force have [1]been applied to bend Governments to accept Globalization and instead of companies importing bananas at the market cost, they  acquire land and set their own  highly mechanize farms and people will be forced out of this investment because of market and competition . With that comes the evils of corporations- total disregard of humanity and the environment. This is the direction Nandi county is taking, Sang’s policy seems to have taken ‘a come all’ approach to this rejected ideal and disregards the people’s needs.

Prof. Noam Chomsky on criticizing this neoliberal policy, argues that globalization is a concept used by Western powers to twist Governments in the third world countries to open up their countries for exploitation by multinational corporations. There is no reciprocity in the applications of the term; the rich will exploit the poor and Nandi county which is not an exception will allow big corporations to exploit their resources. John Pilger in his Documentary The new rulers of the World (2001) paints a better picture on how the events will simply unfold, Pilger, explains how the West “has increased its stranglehold on poor countries by using the might of … powerful financial institutions to control their economies. “A small group of powerful individuals are now richer than most of the population of Africa,” he says, “just 200 giant corporations dominate a quarter of the world’s economic activity. General Motors is now bigger than Denmark. Ford is bigger than South Africa. Enormously rich men like Bill Gates, have a wealth greater than all of Africa. Golfer Tiger Woods was paid more to promote Nike than the entire workforce making the company’s products in Indonesia received”.  This policy framework is a recipe for a conformist and unconscious consumer society.
First, this policy if embraced will suffocate local entrepreneurs and scale out competitors in a similar market. The county does not have any clear anti-trust laws and if for instance, the GM branch which recently opened in Kapsabet offers a sizeable amount of money to buy off competitors within the city, it will be left at will to monopolize the local market and kill local creativity. In  1994, for instance, the then President of the USA  Bill Clinton- the champion of Neoliberalism imposed a Quota on the booming textile industry in Kenya and send the country into Mitumba business.

Secondly, Multinational corporations suppress creativity and local production turning the county into a job society, a move many seem to celebrate (kazi kwa vijana), but I will have to disappoint if development is the viable end to be achieved. A ‘job’, Ralston John in his book: Unconscious civilization indicates that a ‘job’ is not a factor in the production system, what goes into a production system is research, developing, planning, risking, investing, building, looking for markets and then selling. By outsourcing investors, the county cedes the proper steps of revitalizing a society and the consequence of this action will be the rise of a precarious society and maquiladoras.

Thirdly, Corporations tend to disregard health and environmental policies because their motive is centered on maximum profits at the cost of cheap human labor and hazardous working conditions, consider the Gold mines of South Africa, the deaths and lung disease. In Nandi county, for instance, there are emergent cases of cancer and lifestyle diseases. It is without a doubt that these alien conditions emerged with globalization: it is a consequence of investors that disregard humanity in its quest for profit. Monsanto and its affiliates in Kenya, for instance, have been implicated in many countries for use of products that have been known to harm people. Round-up is in use in Nandi county as a weed killer, yet research has indicated that it contains Glyphosate, a cancer-causing substance. I am not an expert in this sector, but multinational corporations have been cited eyeing these places in testing their new ventures i.e the BT Corn and terminator technology. The intent in this new Biotech product is to create a consumer society that relies on the giant seed company for their seeds: Round-up half-life does not allow Kolgeinik, Chepkerta, Mborochik, Mitek or other vegetables to regrow hence creating dependence on companies for seeds that used to be readily available. Sang’s policies in my view will provide a haven for such to occur in the local community. The recent incident at a gold mine in Nandi county is a clear testimony on how communities become prey to profit-seeking companies.
The people don’t learn but they must learn that ‘Nandi’ county is a product in a competitive market and in order to retain its viability, it has to outrun its competitors in branding and rebranding itself. In my own limited view, Nandi county and its officials should desist from seeking external solutions until it as established what Nandi is. I suppose that It is ‘a sport’, a farm and a ‘culture’. If you doubt this, travel and in the major streets of the world the Nandi people are known in sports but who do they represent? While at home, not even a decent stadium, or housing to nurture this product. Nandi tea is the best in the world, yet farmers are paid peanuts. Why? We are the breadbasket of Kenya yet more than half the population live below the poverty line. Why? Nandi is a cultural center and yet we choose to kill these in pursuit of modernization and perceived civilization. Why? To stay viable and relevant in a World of politics, people need to command a certain field and outrun the rest. Nandi county must research and find those strengths within to balance its imports.

Reference for further reading.

http://johnpilger.com/videos/the-new-rulers-of-the-world

https://chomsky.info/20170705/

John Ralston Saul: The Unconscious Civilization. Free press 1997

[1] Too many malls