What Kenya's political parties can learn from the Communist Party of China
The Department of Political Science and Public Administration in conjunction with the Embassy of the People's Republic of China organized a thought-provoking seminar on the Centenary Celebrations of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The scholarly discussions which were held on 16th June, 2021 interrogated the experiences of the CPC and how these experiences could enrich the ideological orientation of Kenyan political parties and thus contribute to the economic, political and social growth of the country.
In order for Kenyan Political parties to fully benefit from the CPC experiences, they must first gain an understanding of Chinese influence and its future impact on various parts of the world and how the hot topic of soft power comes into play. The mainstream intellectual view is that culture is the core resource of CPC state power. This view has been accepted by the CPC leadership. CPC has reinforced the importance of building ‘a socialist core value system’ that can strengthen the cohesiveness of the Chinese nation. It is based upon this unifying guiding ideology that China has continued to expand its influence overseas.
Prof. Stephen Kiama, Vice Chancellor, University of Nairobi, in his welcoming remarks drew on the differences between Kenya’s multi-party democracy and China’s one party state. “Political parties are supposed to be the vehicles for implementing public administration and governance in Kenya. However, the evolution of Political parties as effective agents of public administration and governance in Kenya has been to a large extent an underperformance in the view of some scholars in Kenya. On the other hand, China is a one party state. Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China (CPC), China has experienced a tremendous economic growth and peaceful rise to a global superpower.”
The Chinese Ambassador – Kenya, Amb. Zhou Pingjian pointed out that the success of the CPC is because its fundamental purpose is in serving the people wholeheartedly. “How could the CPC flourish from small roots, survive every crucial test, surmount so many difficulties and advance from victory to victory? In retrospect, the fundamental reason is that the CPC is always committed to its original aspiration and founding mission whether in good or bad times and perseveres in marching towards its goal, winning wholehearted support of the Chinese people.”
Africa Policy Institute’s Director, Prof. Peter Kagwanja gave his expert opinion on how Kenya can use the CPC experience to improve its governance and in turn promote development. “One of the most enduring lessons from the experience of CPC over the last century is that long- term stability of political parties is necessary for development. Another lesson is that constant monitoring and review of policies leads to party renewal and reforms of society in response to emerging challenges enhance the relevance of party. CPC’s zero-tolerance to corruption has enabled it to the maintain discipline within its ranks, assert the rule of law and safeguard crucial resources for development. Finally, is the need to build solidarity across peoples and civilizations.”
“Indeed the Chinese people have got a story to share with us and the world on development. China is a developing country just like Kenya though big in size and with a population of 1.3 million people. We at the Jubilee Party believe that the China story is an amazing story on poverty eradication and human development. More importantly, good leadership brings progressive empowerment and prosperity for all. Nevertheless, tried and tested leadership of a successful model delivers happiness to its people and stability for future generations. This is what China and the CPC Party has proved to the world that it’s possible to eradicate poverty and create prosperity in our times through consistent leadership and handwork.” These were remarks by Amb. Mutinda Mutiso, Jubilee Party.
The governance and experience seminar was highly captivating with virtual and physical participants holding on to the speakers’ every word and eager to get their questions answered.
