Nairobi, July 14 -- A mid-year opinion poll by TIFA showed that Kenyans are worried most about the economy and livelihoods. Forty-seven percent were worried about the cost of living.

Twenty-three percent worried about unemployment and poverty. One would expect these issues therefore to dominate the political discourse - that the opposition would be keeping government on its toes, by presenting their alternative policy platforms to solve these problems. But it is not happening. Why?

There is a glaring gap between daily political news, and the actual needs of Kenyans. And it seems to be a structural design of the country's political system, rather than an accident. While ordinary Kenyans are overwhelmingly focused on economic issues and d...