Appointments to parastatals a disappointment

Kenya: On Monday, President Uhuru Kenyatta announced far-reaching changes in the management of parastatals.

The appointment of 302 people was by far the longest list in living memory of State appointments. But alas, most of those names are synonymous with a not-so-glorious past!

A sizeable number of the appointees were politicians who served in previous governments but got their marching orders in the 2013 General Election. A few are technocrats who proved their worth in public service before.

At a time when the tourism industry is facing a serious slump, impacting negatively on the economy, the appointment of Richard Leakey, a renowned conservationist, to chair the Kenya Wildlife Services board might just be the right move to turn around the fortunes of the tourism sector. Others on the list are accomplished economists, education experts and bureaucrats. But a big chunk of the rest comprises politicians.

Whereas a communiqué from the President's Strategic Communication Unit hyped on reforms and transformation in the parastatals in line with the recommendations of the Presidential Task Force on Parastatal Reforms, little was seen in the appointments.

While all sciences have advanced, said John Adams, a former US president, that of government is at a standstill - little better understood, little better practised.

In 2013, while campaigning for office, Uhuru Kenyatta and William Ruto's central plank was of youthfulness and a promise to shift from the old way of doing things.

That is, rewarding cronies and the politically correct with State appointments. Many believed them when they read out a Cabinet list populated by Kenya's finest technocrats.

While holding no grudge against advanced age, most of the appointees have been in public service and could have either delivered or failed to deliver all the same

Given the state of affairs of the country, it would be stretching it too thin to expect different results from the same cast of politicians.

It could be that other than a desperate attempt to shore up Jubilee's mixed fortunes, as the latest opinion polls show, Mr Kenyatta could be using the appointments as a carrot to lure more Kenyans into the fold and thereby undermine the Opposition's push for a referendum through the Okoa Kenya initiative.

His advisers probably thought by reaching out to individuals who would otherwise have mobilised support for Okoa Kenya, the initiative would crash off the rails.

In truth, the currency of the appointments was political capital, not the need to instil corporate discipline in the parastatals and ensure there is return on tax-payers' money.

While many had hoped Mr Kenyatta would break away from the past, it is disappointing that he has chosen the much-travelled path of rewarding chums and the old-boy network.

That could ultimately prove to be a liability in the long run.