For the last Six years of Kibaki government in Kenya,the poor taxpayers have been coerced to part with 700 million Kenya shillings( 17.5 billion Uganda shillings)on six commissions.That is an average of one commission per year.We had the Goldenberg commission,the land commission,the Arthur brothers commission,the waki commission and the Kriegler commission among them.None and I repeat none of these commission`s recommendations have ever been implemented or at least taken seriously.
While the amount of money going into these commissions are huge and a real burden to the taxpayers who are also the poor of the society reeling under the weight of hunger,insecurity and all forms of injustices;Of course the rich and the political class don't pay taxes.The very taxpayers are the victims of the injustices that these commissions are geared to address.They are the victims whose coffers have been looted through grand corruption,whose land have been grabbed and have been made landless,whose properties have been destroyed and loved ones butchered on poll clashes and whose lives are mythically drained out of their physical bodies by all forms of governance related issues.
The grand coalition government has "rubbished" the recommendation of the last two of these commissions,just as it has with the others.
One,the reinstatement of Amos Kimunya into the Cabinet even before he is cleared of corruption charges,including having the central bank governor in office,while the commissions report implicates him of lying in office is a scam to the public funds and a signal that the grand coalition government is not committed at all to fighting corruption.
Worst,but not in any scale, is the watering down of the waki report and the recommendations that instead of taking the matter to the International court,the matter be settled through a local "Kamkunji". Simply put,throwing out the recommendations,while the post election violence was a crime against humanity.Without the recommendations being implemented to the later,we might see an amplified recurrence of the same in future.
We have witnessed the sacking of the Cereals board directors on charges of corruption and even the prime minister has suspended one of his aides on maize scandal and an "investigation" put in place on some individuals who colluded with government officials.Why has the government not arrested the sacked corrupt officials including the prime minister aide? What assurance do Kenyans have that these same people are not goin to be reappointed back at a later date?
Why all these.Do we have a government? why waste public funds on commissions that dont have results.Is it not another way of defrauding Kenyans.
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The problem of Kenyan leaders and that of many emerging democracies, is the practise of leadership. Our leaders are not persons interested in the common good; if they were, how can 10 million Kenyans be facing stravation in the face? Where were the lead government planners?. They have little regard for human dignity; how else can you explain for displaced persons in camps? They are selfish and not statesmen/women;how else to you explain for a team of MPs who are recommending that persons listed on the Waki List remain in office until investigations tell of their innoncence or guilt! They should leave just as the horded Kimunya out of office. But then again, he is back in the office that seeks to serve the just welfare of men! I have a plan: a peaceful method of social transformation. We have been to the streets too often, half the parliamentarians went into parliament from the streets, post election violence has left a bad taste to street action. So I propose, we make arrangements for our daily provisions, stay home, and dont pay taxes. Once the state coffers run empty, maybe the latent leaders will arise to save the day. There is need for accountable leadership.
Rita,you have gotten the point right.It is the egocentric and non visionary leadership that is the real problem.
But how can we operationalise your recommendation of not paying taxes?
The coercive machinery of the government and the judiciary shall surely hunt the people to their graves.You aleady can see that.One month pay for an MP equals to 14 years salary of a teacher,while it is the teacher who pays the tax,if he defaults,he/she shall be in trouble.
Again with the poverty that has reduce the people to the hand to mouth living,what arrengements can be put in place to convence the people not to go to work?Because if they work,they shall surely pay the tax which always the first item on their payslips.
Again even if we starve the public coffers,the government can go to external borrowing,which is a direct debt that we or our children must pay.How can we convence the donor agancies not to fund a governemnt that is not using the fund for any other purpose save for corruption?
Thanks Rita, Titus and all for the incisive comments and getting this process going.
I begin by pointing out that, whereas on the face value our leadership looks vision less and pathetic, that might not necessarily be true and its something we need to watch out as civil society and governance actors.
First, i concur with the comments that talk of Kenya as based on the tribe of the rich and that of the poor. I go further and argue that, part of our problem lies in our failure to contextualize our national fabric on the basis of class. Now am not getting socialist or something, but the foundation of our nation is a function of colonialism.
At independence what was granted was 'flag' independence and not 'economic' independence. As such, all we have is the transfer of power from the colonial elite to a local black elite. For those keen on history all you need to look at is the betrayal of the Mau Mau and other independence movements in terms of the demands; LAND, FOOD and FREEDOM.
So who did this power move to, the Kenyattas, Michuki's, Kibaki's, Moi's etc. As such, from the start we had our nation constructed on the basis of a powerful, landed, wealthy and priviliged class, that is divorced from the realities of the popular masses, but is inter linked with the Global Capital Forces, though subservient to them and acts as a in the words of Walter Rodney as a ' transmission line' for global finance and interests. One can read his book, "How Europe Underdeveloped Africa." In the Kenyan case the Anglo-America interests are more supreme and visible. All one need look at is the history of ownership of companies, contracts, etc. But this is a story for another day....
So fast forward to 45 years after independence, if we got it wrong at the beginning we have not tried to remedy that. so what we have is a bastard political process that is founded on the state as the site of primitive accumulation, patronage and mediocre personal aggrandizement and` wealth accumulation.
That is why, the competition for political power in Kenya is almost serial. Because we look at political power as an investment for further enrichment and accumulation. It would be interesting to find out (can we carry out such a study) on average how much political campaigns in Kenya cost. On average at least. And i remember Kiraitu eloquently explaining away the Anglo Leasing scandal that due to the strains and demands of political campaigns, once in power it becomes almost obvious that people must use all the avenues and spaces they have to not only replenish the accounts but create more slush funds for the next campaign. No wonder we have scandals left, right and center and the more the reason that we are in a perpetual campaign mood.
Now that to me looks are real visionary approach to issues. It is certainly a very wrong, nay warped approach, but as you can see its well thought out, crafted and implemented.
Not long ago there was the picture of Devani toasting to Triton with the big kahunas in town. As they say, pictures speak louder than words.
As such, if we have such a bankrupt political value system that essentially upholds wealth creation by any means...thats why all the crooks buy their way to parliament and power to cushion themselves.....then what we have in the end game is a BANDIT ECONOMY.
Granted, it puzzles that our current parliament is made up of the best minds in the land. But what do we get in return??
My submission is that as long as our pursuit is wealth accumulation by any means, what we end up with is a buccaneer state. Where leaders will sell maize as their people starve, where we shall rip off national institutions like KPC and then take a spin to privatize them to the same corrupt and crooked networks, where leaders will not pay tax and in the same vein empathize with the teachers, where discredited leaders will be brought back to positions of power with reckless abandon and in total disregard of our intelligence, where commission will spring up one after the next so that friends and connections in high places can have plum jobs and reap from the state. While all we have is a nation burning, IDPs getting tear gassed for demanding their dignity, children stay home because their parents are not privileged to afford private schools, including sacking the soccer coach because he sees more value in the legs of the body's of the boys meant to hold our flag high and not a boardroom exchange of cheques in the name of those who govern the sport.
So whats my point, at the end of the day, we cannot have a visionary leadership if we don't of necessity change our political culture and value system. If we do not have a shared ethos and ethics that guide us, then we cannot build strong institutions that serve to moderate social relations in our society.
Hence, we remain, in the words of Thomas Hobbes capturing the havoc of industrial Europe at the formation of its Capital enterprise in the 17th Century....(which is now in decline and not even Davos can save it)..........
"Where Life is Nasty, Bruttish and Short"........
I pose a question that we can debate,
" What is the essence of Sate Formation and What is its Implication for a country like Kenya."
Abrazos,
Kiama
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