Op-Ed: In Africa, Obama lets the people talk

When it comes to transparency and leading by example, Obama does not pick sides. Having ridden the technology wave and won partly due to it, Obama, for his upcoming Africa tour wants to hear from the man on the street .

He has encouraged Kenyans and other Africans to text him questions. He will answer selected SMS messages during local radio broadcasts, reports The Daily Nation in Nairobi. Obama has shunned his motherland Kenya citing non- commitment to reforms by the coalition government formed last year after disputed elections led to violence and deaths. Instead his first continental visit as President will be to Ghana where he will deliver a keynote speech on Saturday and outline his government’s policy towards Africa. Obama has of course put technology on his side at home; the traditional weekly presidential broadcast posted on YouTube, interactive website presence and Facebook. This is a contrast to African leaders who are at best unreachable by their constituents and are only heard from when election time comes around. Obama would not have chosen a better media than SMS because the cellphone industry in Africa is the world fastest growing market; growing by 50 % annually for nearly a decade; and 30 countries have more cellphones than landlines according to a report filed by cbc.ca. Cellphone ownership has already revolutionised small business and microcredit sectors and movement of cash. Registration will be confirmed in 10 minutes and will cost the same as a local SMS message. As early as Wednesday a number of Kenyans had registered and filed their questions, a number of them also want to ask him why he has shunned them when they need him most , reports an anonymous local contact. Last week, Obama expressed his discontent with the ongoing wrangles within Kenya’s coalition government. Nigerians, Ghanians and South Africans have also been invited to send in questions.