We
expected too much of the political parties. We spent all this time
listening to their officials brag about how well-prepared they were for
the nominations conducted on the seventeenth and eighteenth of January,
that we failed to properly assess their capacities to hold free and fair
nominations. Part of the blame must surely lie with an apathetic
electorate that participates in voice only. Not one of the political
parties of note, namely the Orange Democratic Movement or The National
Alliance, could pull off a smooth nomination because both, and the
near-dozen others, do not have an organisation built for honesty or
integrity.
When Kenyans ratified the Constitution in 2010, hopes were high that it would reform the political process. Kenyans placed great hope in the magical powers of the Constitution and in due time reality reminded them that the Constitution, just like any contract, is a document that can be undermined by a few determined anarchists. The Tenth Parliament proved very able to the task, keeping Kenyans on tenterhooks every time they near-missed a deadline to pass a crucial law or tinkered with the very laws that it made. When the electoral laws were enacted, they set strict deadlines for when specific acts were to be done; the Tenth Parliament took time to study them and then acted with determination to undermine them. The result, as all Kenyans witnessed over the past three months, was to water down the electoral law of Kenya such that it is a cruel joke on the peoples of Kenya.
We should have seen this coming. One of the important rules in the Constitution concerns the role of appointed state officers. Ministers and Assistant Ministers are appointed state officers. They are barred from holding office in any political party. Through the alchemy of Judicial opinion and an interpretation of the Sixth Schedule, all Ministers and Assistant Ministers in Mwai Kibaki's Cabinet who held offices in political parties transmuted their continued hold in their respective parties into legitimate acts; not a single one resigned their offices. As a result they continued to play a hard and fast game with the rules in those parties, gerrymandering them in their favour when it suited them. The Tenth Parliament demonstrated that when it suited it, the rules would not apply against its members. The result has been a night of long knives for MPs out of favour and a good day at the nomination stage for those in favour.
In Kenya, it is fashionable today to be an elected representative. A Member of Parliament or a Councillor wielded enormous power, especially when it came to the small matter of public procurement. Because of his proximity to members of the Executive Branch, whether at national or local level, he could swing a tender the way of his favoured or preferred candidate. And because of the cartel-like behaviour of elected representatives, they could determine their pay and perks as they pleased. All they needed was a pliant occupant in State House to have their way. They were not disappointed. For a relatively poor nation Kenya paid its Tenth Parliament very well. Their take home pay was in the region of 700 to 800 thousand shillings a month, more than 100 times what the lowest paid worker in Kenya. This explains why the members of Kibaki's Cabinet who held positions in their political parties were loath to give them up, from the Prime Minister on down.
Many of them saw themselves as experts at running a complex organisation as a political party and a complex event as a nominations exercise. The shambles over the last three days should persuade Kenyans that these people lack the technical skills required to run anything, let alone their government going into the general election. These people, even the indefatigable Martha Karua, have proven singularly inept at managing the political parties they struggled so much to keep. Their management of the nomination, despite their bombast about their level of preparedness and professionalism, should be a cautionary tale for those looking for the leaders of the Twenty-first Century. The manner, especially, in which they have handled men and women who have managed billions of shillings and thousands of employees should remind you that these people do not care for the nitty-gritty of management, just the capture and retention of power at all costs.
In March, many Kenyans fear that they will be driven to violence because of the decisions of the men and women that oversaw the nominations. The callous and hard-eyed way they went about the process of securing nomination tickets from their first, second and third choice parties should tell us that on March fourth, they will do all in their power to grab power, the wishes of innocent Kenyans notwithstanding. In 2007, we didn't see the carnage coming. If we repeat the mistakes of the past, doom awaits us.
When Kenyans ratified the Constitution in 2010, hopes were high that it would reform the political process. Kenyans placed great hope in the magical powers of the Constitution and in due time reality reminded them that the Constitution, just like any contract, is a document that can be undermined by a few determined anarchists. The Tenth Parliament proved very able to the task, keeping Kenyans on tenterhooks every time they near-missed a deadline to pass a crucial law or tinkered with the very laws that it made. When the electoral laws were enacted, they set strict deadlines for when specific acts were to be done; the Tenth Parliament took time to study them and then acted with determination to undermine them. The result, as all Kenyans witnessed over the past three months, was to water down the electoral law of Kenya such that it is a cruel joke on the peoples of Kenya.
We should have seen this coming. One of the important rules in the Constitution concerns the role of appointed state officers. Ministers and Assistant Ministers are appointed state officers. They are barred from holding office in any political party. Through the alchemy of Judicial opinion and an interpretation of the Sixth Schedule, all Ministers and Assistant Ministers in Mwai Kibaki's Cabinet who held offices in political parties transmuted their continued hold in their respective parties into legitimate acts; not a single one resigned their offices. As a result they continued to play a hard and fast game with the rules in those parties, gerrymandering them in their favour when it suited them. The Tenth Parliament demonstrated that when it suited it, the rules would not apply against its members. The result has been a night of long knives for MPs out of favour and a good day at the nomination stage for those in favour.
In Kenya, it is fashionable today to be an elected representative. A Member of Parliament or a Councillor wielded enormous power, especially when it came to the small matter of public procurement. Because of his proximity to members of the Executive Branch, whether at national or local level, he could swing a tender the way of his favoured or preferred candidate. And because of the cartel-like behaviour of elected representatives, they could determine their pay and perks as they pleased. All they needed was a pliant occupant in State House to have their way. They were not disappointed. For a relatively poor nation Kenya paid its Tenth Parliament very well. Their take home pay was in the region of 700 to 800 thousand shillings a month, more than 100 times what the lowest paid worker in Kenya. This explains why the members of Kibaki's Cabinet who held positions in their political parties were loath to give them up, from the Prime Minister on down.
Many of them saw themselves as experts at running a complex organisation as a political party and a complex event as a nominations exercise. The shambles over the last three days should persuade Kenyans that these people lack the technical skills required to run anything, let alone their government going into the general election. These people, even the indefatigable Martha Karua, have proven singularly inept at managing the political parties they struggled so much to keep. Their management of the nomination, despite their bombast about their level of preparedness and professionalism, should be a cautionary tale for those looking for the leaders of the Twenty-first Century. The manner, especially, in which they have handled men and women who have managed billions of shillings and thousands of employees should remind you that these people do not care for the nitty-gritty of management, just the capture and retention of power at all costs.
In March, many Kenyans fear that they will be driven to violence because of the decisions of the men and women that oversaw the nominations. The callous and hard-eyed way they went about the process of securing nomination tickets from their first, second and third choice parties should tell us that on March fourth, they will do all in their power to grab power, the wishes of innocent Kenyans notwithstanding. In 2007, we didn't see the carnage coming. If we repeat the mistakes of the past, doom awaits us.
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