Ababu may be right on cost cutting bid

Few have taken seriously the austerity measures proposed by Budalang’i Member of Parliament Ababu Namwamba. Through a Parliamentary Bill, the honourable member proposes drastic measures to tame the runaway national wage bill, and thus release enough money to pay government workers, including teachers who have paralysed the education system for more than a month.

This is a tall order indeed but, if I were in Parliament, I would vote for this Bill, albeit with several amendments. Key among them would be: do not reduce my perks — for obvious reasons. No dog will allow you to touch the bone already in its mouth...not even a church dog like myself. This is why I have great respect for Dr Njoroge, the Governor of Central Bank. While I believe I can resist the pull of the gravy train and shun any corrupt serve, God is yet to grant me Njoroge’s kind of grace — to turn down clean food already on the plate. I would therefore amend Ababu’s Bill so that it is passed now but to take effect after the next General Election. I would thus pass the Bill for the sake of the nation and then prepare myself for the lean years ahead. But logistics aside, it is clear that sooner or later we may have to walk down the Ababu Street. Way back from the constitution review days, pundits have variously argued that the structure of government would be unmanageable for our size of economy. For example, some wondered how come the US with a population of over 300 million has only 50 states, while Kenya with 40 million has 47 states (counties). Furthermore, whereas the USA Congress has 535 members (Reps and Senators), Kenya Parliament has 402 members (MPs and Senators).