Thus far into the Second Republic the Opposition CORD alliance has been a colossal failure. The enormity of CORD’s failure was on display again this past week with the poorly thought out idea of having Raila Odinga inherit late Senator Otieno Kajwang’s Homa Bay seat.
It is still unclear whether Mr Odinga was the originator of the idea. It might as well have come from overzealous ODM MPs eager to demonstrate their unthinking loyalty to the big man. Either way, the damage was done. Mr Odinga came off as a leader hungry for power and high position for its own sake, and one willing to soil his legacy to achieve this objective.
Notice that those agitating for the former Prime Minister to join the Senate never really articulated any legislative agenda that he was to champion. Thus far his CORD alliance has been a failure as far as legislative affairs are concerned. For a moment after the election it appeared as if the 11th Parliament would be Kenya’s most illustrious yet. The Senate was packed with some of the country’s brightest legal minds. The National Assembly had some of the most seasoned debaters in national politics. But all these hopes came to naught.
A singularly lacking leadership in the form of Speaker Justin Muturi and the Majority and Minority leaders has ensured that Parliament, instead of being coequal with the Executive on matters of national importance, has become a mere rubber stamp institution. It is common knowledge that the Parliamentary leadership gets its orders from above – either from State House or Orange House. As the Official Opposition, at every turn CORD has failed to use its members’ mastery of parliamentary powers and procedures to influence public policy. Instead, its preferred modus operandi has been to engage in extra-legislative theatrics that have little bearing on the life of Wanjiku.
In addition, CORD governors are failing Kenyans left, right and centre. As I have opined before, the devolved system of government created 47 crucibles for policy experimentation. CORD has 24 county governments it ought to be using to showcase what it can do for the mwananchi. What are CORD governors doing in terms of community-driven security arrangements? What about education, healthcare, water and sanitation? Does Orange House know how its governors are performing?
These are some questions a serious Opposition must have ready answers for. Unfortunately for Kenyans, they need not hold their breath. Instead of a government in waiting, what we have in CORD is a rudderless ship full of navel-gazing opportunists. They are no different than the largely incorrigibly venal and ineffectual crop of Wenyenchi that is currently at the helm.
To be fair, the Jubilee administration has achieved some goals. Some government services are now appreciably faster. Some roads are being constructed. Power generation is on the uptick. And the government occasionally demonstrates capacity to dream big and fresh ideas. However, these have been crowded by rampant insecurity, corruption, entrenched impunity, and the perception of partiality to specific regions of the country.
And to add salt to injury, instead of owning up to its shortcomings and correcting course, State House has opted for a siege mentality. This has further reinforced the perception that President Uhuru Kenyatta is out of touch, and that the government is for a few, by a few, but in the name of the disenfranchised many.
Under ideal conditions, a more astute Official Opposition would have taken advantage of Jubilee’s many unforced errors to position itself as a credible alternative. But as things stand, it is not unambiguously clear that if CORD were running the show they would do any better. Again and again CORD leadership has shown they are abstract politicians, and not doers. They are masters of political theatre, but have no inkling on how to successfully run a functioning government.
Am I too harsh on CORD? Perhaps. But the onus is on them to prove me, and millions of Kenyans who have little regard for them, wrong. The first test is the just published National Security (Amendment) Bill that seeks to sacrifice many of our civil liberties on the alter of government incompetence. Having failed to protect us, the corrupt and inept securocrats now want to take away our hard won rights. Will CORD save the day by coming up with a competing balanced approach to secure the homeland? We are watching.
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