JAMILA'S MEMO: Conferences abroad, silence at home

They call them benchmarking trips. Delegations of our leaders flying across the world in business class, of course, to “learn” how others do it. And indeed, when they land, they see the order, the safety, the trains gliding by, the airports running like clockwork.

They attend international conferences, high-level meetings, and glamorous panels. They rub shoulders with world leaders and sit in air-conditioned halls nodding to ideas of equality, governance, climate action, and economic growth. They even stroll down foreign streets without a single bodyguard. They see cities that, though not perfect, work.

Could they take a casual walk along Tom Mboya Street without security? Or is it safer to admire pedestrian freedom only in Europe or Asia? When they ride trams abroad, do they ever wish Kenyans had a reliable train system here? Or are they content to come back, land at JKIA, and jump into motorcades that block traffic for everyone else and call it a day?

We hear them often on the global stage. They speak passionately about equality, about Africa’s right to a permanent seat on the UN Security Council. They call for fairness and recognition. Noble ambitions, no doubt. But shouldn’t equality begin at home? Equality in safety on our streets. Equality in reliable services, like functioning hospitals and educational institutions. Equality in the dignity of public infrastructure that works for all citizens.

If you want a seat in New York, first earn your seat here in Nairobi. Build the infrastructure, run efficient systems, and give citizens the dignity of working in public services. We don’t need another international deal to have a proper airport or working roads. We just need leaders inspired enough to bring home what they admire abroad. We don’t need to fly out for yet another conference to know that our citizens deserve a functioning transport system. These are things we can, and should, do for ourselves.

Yes, we can admire the world. But what matters is building a Kenya that works, where leaders don’t need to travel thousands of miles to experience order, safety, and dignity. A Kenya where what they see abroad is what they live, and deliver, right here at home.

Until then, benchmarking remains little more than sightseeing at the taxpayers’ expense.