Siaya Senator Oburu Odinga has challenged Kenya to reflect on why Singapore has surged far ahead economically despite the two countries being at comparable levels of development at independence.
Speaking during the launch of the Vision 2060 at KICC on Wednesday, August 12, 2026, Oburu said that in 1963 and 1964, Kenya and Singapore had similar economic indicators, including income per capita and gross domestic product (GDP), but the Asian nation had since achieved dramatically higher levels of prosperity.
He recalled that ODM leader Raila Odinga had often posed the question of what enabled Singapore to transform its economy while Kenya lagged behind.
“Singapore, in terms of income per capita, in terms of GDP and development growth, we were exactly at the same level,” Oburu said.
“My brother used to ask that question: What did Singapore do to rise up to a level where their incomes per capita are now 40 times that of Kenya? We must think as Kenyans. Where did we go wrong, and where did Singapore go right?”
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The senator said the gap between the two countries was not permanent and argued that Kenya could still attain similar levels of development if it adopted the right policies and governance standards.
“Where Singapore is is reachable. We can reach it if we do what Singapore did,” he stated.
Oburu identified corruption as the biggest obstacle to Kenya’s progress, describing it as a deeply entrenched challenge that requires a change in societal attitudes.
“First, we must deal with this animal called corruption. Corruption is very difficult to eliminate. It is very difficult,” he said.
“But I know it is possible to build a society which is non-tolerant to corruption. We can build a society which is completely non-tolerant to corruption.”
He also called for austerity measures within government, saying public resources should be used more prudently.
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“We need also to reduce government wastage, wastage in government. We need to tighten our belts, those who are in government. Let us tighten our belts for the people, for the sake of the people of Kenya,” he said.
Oburu’s remarks come amid ongoing national debate over public debt, corruption, and the efficiency of government spending, with leaders increasingly invoking Singapore as a model for economic transformation and disciplined governance.
