We may agree to disagree, but the manner in which Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga are dealing with the fallout from Uhuru Kenyatta's spectacular revelations about the graft that seems to engulf the Ministries of Education and Medical Services leaves a lot to be desired. When Raila Odinga was calling on the resignation of Prof Sam Ongeri, it bewilders me why he did not do the same for Prof Peter Anyang' Nyong'o. The Prime Minister is in a bit of a pickle. He cannot be seen to be taking sides in the war on graft, that some kind of graft is better than others. If monies were misappropriated from the Ministry of Education's coffers, then surely, monies must have been misappropriated from the Medical Services Ministry too. If the solution to the problems that bedevil the Education Ministry are to be solved by the Minister for Education, then too, the same solution may be applied against the Minister for Medical Services. It is only logical and the engineer in Raila Odinga must appreciate the simplicity and symmetry of this solution.
The promulgation of the Constitution brought many unforeseen challenges to the fore, the most popular being the creation of new institutions, including finding the men and women to head these institutions. However, at a more fundamental level, the Executive had to reorganise itself to reflect the new facts on the ground. It is no longer okay that Kenyans continue to be saddled with a Cabinet that has over 40 Ministers and fifty Assistant Ministers. The re-shuffle of the Cabinet, as and when it is accomplished, must reflect the new austerity measures that are demanded in light of the straitened times that all Kenyans are facing. It should not be that the only institution that is showing growth in its ranks is the one that simply refuses to give value for money. It is time that the President and Prime Minister looked at the numbers and trimmed the Cabinet to between 14 and 24.
They can start by relieving the Ministers of Education and Medical Services of their duties awaiting a full and impartial investigation into the missing monies. If they are exonerated of any wrongdoing, so be it. But it is wrong for them to keep drawing salaries at the tax-payers' expense when their Ministries face such serious integrity challenges.
The same rationale should be applied against the Ministry of Local Government (Cemetery Scandal), Agriculture (Fertiliser Scam), Transport (Privatisation of the Port of Mombasa and the Lamu Port Over-billing issues), Information and Communication (CCK Director-General's new contract), Water (Tanathi Water Services Board integrity issues), Defence (Border Control failures), Internal Security and Provincial Administration (Suicidal Police, rampant violent crime, extra-legal police executions, etc), Special Programmes (IDPs' resettlement) ... and the list goes on. If there is a Ministry where political or administration have been experienced, the Ministers must be dropped and no new ones appointed to replace them. In other words, it is high tie the Executive was reorganised to reflect the provisions of the Constitution regarding the size of the government.
Before Kenyans go to the polls in 2010, it is important that the government be put on a war-footing to reflect the fact that it is no longer business as usual. It is time that Kenyans got used to the image of politicians and senior public servants being held accountable for their acts of omission and commission. The argument that "It wasn't me" should no longer apply; if there are problems in your ministry, it means that your are asleep on the job and it is time you went home to look after your cows and goats! This is the will of the people. The voice of the people, after all, is the voice of God.
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