Last week we 'celebrated' the fourth
anniversary since the promulgation of the constitution. Thousands of Kenyans
thronged Nairobi’s Uhuru Park on August 27, 2010 to witness President Mwai
Kibaki sign the document into law, which he had promised to deliver within 100
days in office after his presidential election in 2002.
This constitution promised lots of
positive change to the people of Kenya mainly through devolution, a
decentralised political system. This system limited the powers of the president
and gave more to the people of Kenya, as they would have representatives who
would relate to their needs more than the centralised leaders. Previously, as a
result of a central political system, there was an almost complete disconnect
between the people and their leaders. The new constitution aimed to
redistribute resources to previously undeveloped regions for the benefit of all
Kenyans. Counties were expected to compete against each other on innovative
development ideas, with county economies specialising in producing specific
goods or services that others would not, and all this would in turn better the
larger economy of our country.
This scenario explains why 67 per
cent of Kenyans voted for the implementation of the constitution. Four years
later, the only beneficiaries of the constitution seem to be the few Kenyans in
elected office, namely the MCAs, MPs, governors and the executive. With many
development projects lagging behind or maybe not yet started, there is massive
waste of resources with the current levels of politicians.
The MCAs, being the biggest
beneficiaries, have not only crippled development through their excessive
travel allowances, but now they are looking for a Sh12 billion deal for car
grants, 2,100 government-constructed offices in their wards, and salaries for
their staff. This will see the taxpayer part with more money that will also
maintain and fuel the MCAs' vehicles.
This constitution was supposed to be
about all of us; about equity, not about elected leaders enriching and
entrenching themselves with impunity. However, they are flouting the rules and
seeking to amend the law to suit their selfish needs.
For example, Article 34 of the
constitution guarantees freedom and independence of electronic, print and all
other types of media. But Eldas MP Adan Keynan has introduced a bill in
Parliament that seeks to gag the media and silence public scrutiny and
expression in regards to the performance and conduct of the members of
Parliament.
Article 204 provides for an
Equalisation Fund to improve basic access to basic needs of the marginalised
communities. But regions like Mandera and Turkana have not benefited from
special funds to raise their poor standards of living. Instead, members of the
National Assembly now want to control the Equalisation Fund. The national
government is still disbursing funds based on 2009 approved audited reports by
parliament!
Article 230 (5) says the Salaries
and Remuneration Commission is an independent entity and has the power of
regularly reviewing salaries of all state officers to ensure the Compensation
Bill is fiscally sustainable. But the SRC seems not to feel the pinch of
high taxation when setting the pay and allowances for the members of the
bloated National Assembly and those of the Senate. It will be even worse with
the MCAs and their expected car grants and office grants promised to them by
the President, which in itself is unconstitutional as only SRC is mandated by
the constitution to discuss and harmonise all public remuneration.
Article 104 on the right to recall
says the electorate can fire its MP and
senator before the end of the term of the relevant House of Parliament. But all
we have seen is the targeting of governors and deputy governors through attempted
impeachment by MCAs and senators, who act no better than hired goons in a show
of might. More importantly, we as Kenyans can do much more to hold our leaders
accountable. It is our right to fire non-performing MPs and senators.
We must uphold the Bill of Rights as
stipulated in chapter four of the constitution.
Do these politicians even think
about us once elected in the same the same way we unconditionally hate each
other on their behalf? Personally, I can never lose sleep over them nor will I
ever vote for the popular tribal candidate, unless they totally represent my
interests and I know they would deliver. This is a resolution I hope all
Kenyans can embrace and act upon during elections; it is the only way out of
this draconian rule by these politicians that will keep us in a dark forest
unless we are prepared to change our thinking and approach to voting. Let’s
vote with the mind rather than the heart.
Extract from my article at the Star: http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/article-188784/we-must-uphold-law-and-crush-mcas-impunity#sthash.39F8hmyb.dpuf
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