YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Social Conflict Footprint: Scaffolding The Prosperous Youth Through The Global Reset and Treasury’s Austerity
By Wangari Kabiru
January 18, 2023
15 – 20 minutes read
“Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God” (Colossians 4:12).
Social Conflict
Since the beginning of time, society has been discreetly causing societal tensions by normalising suffering, struggle, and social upheavals. These components have been ideal ingredients for recipes to spark arguments, controversies, and even battles easily.
Thus, all of the regions in the East, West, North, South, and Central are ripened for fully blown out social conflict. This is why you are likely to run into more people with a short fuse – irritable, quick-tempered or even outrightly violent and barbaric.
According to the Conflict theory, society is in a state of perpetual conflict because of competition for limited resources. The theory holds that the best way to maintain social order is by dominance and power, rather than consensus and conformity.
Experts of all credentials in today’s world seem to be gloomy. Using a master paintbrush of doom to paint the future forever. That is if humans do not move quickly to audit the footprint in multiple fragmented areas – like yesterday. Including, redirecting human appetite for nature’s best, its abundant resources.
The World Economic Forum (Davos), is an annual event that brings together billionaire influencers. The Davos Agenda 2023 has ‘cooperation in a fragmented world’ as its subject. Citing, “the world today is at a critical inflection point. The sheer number of ongoing crises calls for bold collective action.”
At the Davos annual meeting, government, business, and civil society engage in dialogue about the status of the world and the priorities for the coming year. These movers and shakers from around the world gather in Switzerland’s high Alps.
“There are clear signals that New Year 2023 is likely to shape up to be a rough one for the global economy. Multiple factors are likely to come into play and affect growth prospects across the globe,” said Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, Cabinet Secretary of National Treasury and Economic Planning during the budget public sector hearings.
Through the country’s budget process, the general public has now been made aware by Kenya’s treasury experts of the Alps tablets predictions, a mountain-inspired message.
Understanding The Future Cost of National Budgeting
Budgets are made by individuals, businesses, and the government to determine how to prioritise demands and resources. In a surplus budget, resources are left over for future use. Whereas in a deficit budget, expenses outweigh revenues.
A budget is essential to running a successful and well-coordinated institution that can leverage opportunities to the benefit of diverse stakeholders. Budgeting establishes stewardship. A way of expressing responsibility for a season’s vision.
In carrying out its programs and for administration, the proposed uses for the money at various levels of government are reflected in the national budget. Additionally, the national budget offers recommendations on the government’s main priorities in delivering essential services. It is an important record of the government’s accountability for the agency relationship established with its constituents.
‘The best math you can ever learn is how to calculate the future cost of current decisions’. Inclusion of the social conflict considerations forms an essential part in the budget process. In reality decisions taken today over resource allocation have an impact on the future.
Treasury management is truly a rewarding vocation for consideration by career starters and changers. It comes with a lot of responsibilities for the treasurers about the financial strategy. Including revenue management, bills management, investment management, and risk management.
It is considered that the economists at the treasury work with the relevant ministries, departments, agencies, and programs to support the creation of national budgets. According to the Oxford Dictionary, an economist is a person who studies or writes about economics. While economics is the study of how society organises its money, trade and industry.
In Kenya, public hearings, also known as public participation, aim to bring the government in its agency capacity to the people and other interested parties at a fair table.
For those appraised of the national dialogue at the Treasury’s new year event dubbed as 2023/24 – 2025/26 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) Budget – Public Sector Hearings, the Cabinet Secretary’s overarching message was one of austerity. An austerity message echoed by the Sector Captains one after the other.
“We have witnessed here in Kenya that food security and climate change has produced severe crises compounded by these supply disruptions, inequality, poverty and social conflicts. The FY 2023/24 Medium-Term Budget is being prepared against that background”, added Prof. Njuguna Ndung’u, possibly in his capacity now as Kenya’s chief economist.
Governments’ adoption of austerity measures sparks debate and divergent viewpoints. Austerity, supply disruptions, inequality, poverty, and social conflicts do not make for happy bedfellows. The message highlights the blurred lines of cause and effect, with a mosaic of issues at play, including social conflict.
Of concern in the national budgetary and planning process, are the already vulnerable members of the society of all abilities. They include children, youth, and the elderly. We must be alert to the ease of being marginalised further by default. Just as with the general population, many have been disoriented deeper by the Global Reset.
Scaffolding The Digital Eagle Youth
World over, the youth, a transition age group, have done things differently. In a digital world, the youth now do things digitally differently. They are Digital Eagles. Youth living on the metaverse. With superman capabilities arising from Artificial Intelligence (AI). All these technologies were created for them to use; be, play, and work with.
Particular attention is required to this generation of youth in national planning. As these Digital Eagles are coexisting within the digital world created for them.
Traditional planning by institutions is hedged on priorities, policies, and past performance. Incongruences arising out of this standard planning style, is easy fuel to trigger social conflict directed at the youth or rising from them. There have been many societal triggers inherited out of the analogue orientation of society, let alone with the Global Reset.
Images of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s gaze, facing Mount Kenya surfaced early in the year. Said to have prayed for the youth. A social statistic, whose emblems society has allowed to be nipped. Perhaps, the popularised use of his social media moniker Riggy G, stirs up the fatherly eyes of mercy. When their lineage is under threat, discerning parents will almost certainly seek interventions to restore their Shupavuus, their offsprings.
A perceptive artist would most likely depict an eskimod father in the morning chill with pacing eyes gazing miles downwards to the Shupavuu youths. After the picnic stop halfway up the climb, the Shupavuus move in a tango. Merrily sliding down in the mud before climbing back up. Jumping over shark infested streams. Then, bumping with rocky boulders. Gaily, unaware of the blood-thirsty mountain carnivores prowling along their path.
This, while the now-grandfather, with blurry eyes transfixed heavenwards, begs God to save his heritage from a height of 5,199 metres. Believing that the God who had once dropped manna from the heavens would ‘kuja na usitumane.’ Strike. Come down to handle this safely.
The scene, over the beauty, of the captivating mountainous landscape in the morning sunrise. Scenic for the Shupavuus. The offspring who, if ever, get to the tip, alive.
Could this indicate that the country has reached the tipping point of activated minds? Sobriety to the social conflict footprint feeding the appetite of a few? Has the aging wool that was obstructing the country’s sight to its vision fallen off?
The knees of Kenya’s numerous moms are too painful to climb up and at least touch God. They definitely need help in the quest for divine providence upon the gift of their wombs?
These Digital Eagles Youth are perceptive, privileged by birthright, and a prosperous generation. Whether born in a palace, porch, or patio. Many people, including themselves, must come to terms with the fact their timing of birth coincides with the optimum stage of human evolution.
To earn my place in the modern-day African Global Reset wise sayings digital hall of fame, I add, “with a healthy dose of AI, well sprinting African calves will thunder!” These young people, as the Digital Eagles, can rearrange our social structure; tackle many of our self-generated social difficulties in creative ways.
If, given the resources offered by the digital age, they are scaffolded in character, and reinforced by guided instruction. Without this, and with the double-edged choices of their privileged birth, then more fathers should prepare to climb higher mountains.
The national budget, which many people mistake for just some figures used in economists’ calculations, actually communicates and even establishes the social structure agenda. It has an impact on the likelihood and severity of social issues, which give rise to and have an impact on social conflict. Look into the budget to see who is expected to profit, to what extent, and who would slog along in society.
Every family has a different budget, even within the same village. Communicating each home’s priorities, which almost always revolve around and influences the members’ overall wellness.
Mediation In The Communities
In the MTEF budgeting, the functions of the Kenyan government are mapped into ten sectors in line with the UN-Classification of the Functions of Government (COFOG). The youth affairs are mapped to The Social Protection, Culture, and Recreation (SPCR) Sector whose vision is a “socially inclusive, prosperous, and equitable society”.
As a long-term development blueprint, Kenya Vision 2030 ‘aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrialising, middle-income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure environment’. Motivated by a collective aspiration for a better society by the year 2030, the vision has 3 pillars at its core.
The economic pillar; moving the economy up the value chain; the social pillar; investing in the people of Kenya; and the political pillar; moving to the future as one nation. If the youth are to ever partkate of this vision, deeply entrenched social challenges are already facing them and in turn their communities. These require to be addressed.
The Mediators in Kenya at WASILIANAHUB are inspired by our Dream Agenda for Kenya, “positive, collaborative, and happy communities for our peaceful world”. This Agenda guides the Community Mediation Workers on the ground. As mediators and para-mediators adapting mediation and restorative practices towards conflict transformation for the wellbeing of their communities.
We need to interrogate the Sectors and acknowledge how best to prepare and get the youth to 2030 in top form. In the spirit of the Global Goals, the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the Kenya Vision 2030. Rooted as youth of character in an abundant culture, who mediate themselves into tapping the divine resources within; facing the ying-yang of life’s journey confidently.
For Kenya, conducting a social conflict audit would let one know whether or not more fathers and grandfathers in Kenya would be labouring fervently for their youth in the mountain climb of life. Would they now need to pack up for Kilimajaro at 5,895 metres, as a warm up to the Everest climb, 8,848 metres high? Not for the usual adventure, sports championship, or as a new career. But, to mediate for their youth! Because, you and God as a team, can handle this for our sake.
Cries for a dedicated Men’s ministry can be heard among the war cries at the foot of the mountain. Stronger, more stable, and clearer They might even cause the mountain to crumble. “ Your honor, we object! But we don’t have a national budget priority line for guys,” we bellow. “They might crash into the mountain, oh no”.
Then, with ripples in the soft silence that follows, we risk losing the seedbed. The male species appear to inadvertently slip out of priority investment in government programs. Until becoming a cross-haired statistic in the community. Then, viola, in they go. They are also not a fad to the development circles fraternity. Does Kenya urgently need to establish a priority ministry focused on restoring our country’s value to the seedbed, young and mid-aged men especially? What fruits do we wish to reap?
This is but an example of the undercurrents that have developed in Kenya. Fertilised by authoritative statements made by leaders setting policies, casual jokes told by onlookers in the village, and gossip used as social fodder.
It is time for business unusual. To count the cost of conflict. What exists in the social structure generating social conflict? What reversals are required? Who needs to give attention and how? What fruits shall we reap?
Remember Nobel Laureate Professor Wangari Maathai of the Greenbelt Movement hugging trees at Nairobi’s Karura Forest? Just under 20 years since receiving the Nobel Prize, Kenya has started a restoration drive. Heeding to the late Nobel Laureate’s warning to us – before nature destroys us.
Seasons call to individuals to audit the unfolding social issues, reset to shared values. Then take communal actions to steer towards shared goals. In order to make societies better and transform for the long term.
As a result, forward-thinking Appropriate Dispute Resolution (ADR) practitioners like WASILIANAHUB and partners have transitioned to Regenerative Mediation. Reskilling community-oriented Conflict Transformation Mediators. Providing dedicated peacebuilders, negotiators, and mediators with +ethical practice skills in mediation, restoration and digital. In order to effectively serve the changing needs of analogue, transitional and digital powered conflicted communities. Enriching lives in new times.
Count the cost of conflict. What social conflict footprint affecting the youth is set out by priorities drawn by the Captains across the Sub-sectors? The government itself, and youth-serving organisations should take a peek into the 3.6 trillion shilling national budget for answers on the scaffolding required.
It is a new year. Kenya is an Eagle when she flies. May your lips purr musicals of good health, prosperity, and joy for you. To those who love you, and your happy, connected, and positive communities. May you stir the la femme energy in you, required in the new Global Reset world. “May we dwell in unity, peace and liberty and may plenty be found within our borders”. Remember that there is such a beautiful world on this planet. The forefathers and mothers saw it. The Community of Mediators in Kenya at WASILIANAHUB are here to help. We wish you a Prosperous New Year 2023.
Reposted: For activating minds at mastermind.co.ke
Wangari Kabiru is an Innovations Specialist and writes about society. Learn more.
Wangari Kabiru is an Innovations Specialist; promotes collaborative practices, enjoys game design thinking, and writes about society. Is a Gen Z and Alpha Character Strengths Character Coach (PPAK – ACC Level 1). Convenor at WASILIANAHUB, a Tech-Justice innovation, Learning Community of Mediators, and Women In Mediation Leadership (WIML). To find a Mediator in Kenya, and Articles as first posted in the Mediation and Dispute Resolution (MDR) blog: wasilianahubmediators.co.ke.
