Governments across the world are routinely buffeted by scandals. State bureaucracies are multifaceted labyrinthine entities that attract all kinds of characters. Sooner or later, some of these characters engage in unseemly conduct. So the revelation of scandal itself is typically not a great indicator of governmental performance. In fact, it is the case that more transparent governments are more likely to see scandals exposed. However, it matters how governments react to scandals.
Government reaction often tells us the extent to which the leadership of the administrative apparatus is committed to good governance. So how does the Kenyan government react to corruption scandals? I am afraid to say that, right now, the Uhuru Kenyatta administration is acting like it exists to protect unscrupulous individuals who feel entitled to our hard-earned tax shillings. There is not a shred of evidence that the government even pretends to care about good governance anymore. All signals indicate that state coffers are fair game for anyone interested in looting. And as a country, we are increasingly exposed to a common pool problem. The different factions within government are in open competition about who can loot the most in the least amount of time. Nobody, not even the Treasury Secretary Henry Rotich, appears to care about the big picture anymore.
This is disappointing. The UhuRuto regime was supposed to be a modernising administration. At the time we were promised a youthful, forward-looking and competent government. The Jubilee campaign was run competently.
The initial optics seemed great. But then as soon as the glare of cameras was gone, government officials set about stealing money left, right, and centre. We cannot hide from this fact anymore.
The reality is that we have a kleptocratic state administrative structure bleeding the common Mwananchi dry. You see it in the sapeur-like sartorial choices of senior government officials. You see it in the base gratuitous conspicuous consumption. You see it in the poorly-planned, badly-designed hotels and apartment blocks cropping up all over our urban areas.
As a country, we are being led by provincial narrow-minded tribalists with little ambition. These are men and women (in CORD and Jubilee) satisfied to steal hundreds of millions of shillings for consumption. Not to build global business empires that create jobs. Not to endow universities or hospitals or engage in other worthy social causes.
These are thieves that steal so they can eat. And their singular lack of ambition and self-respect means they cannot do much with the stolen money; and so they are left with no choice but to keep stealing. In other words, while most of us have to work to live, this cast of characters have to steal to live. We cannot pretend to respect these people anymore. Our patriotic duty is to hold the mirror up to them. Which brings me to the role of Uhuru Kenyatta in all this. I am still of the opinion that the President means well for the Republic. The problem is that he has made a series of bad choices over the last four years, the most damaging of which was his choice of key advisors.
You see, when a scandal breaks out, all governments go into damage control. Denial and attempts to shape public opinion are standard operating procedures. But how this is done matters. It matters because it sends a message not only to the public, but also to government officials. Since news of the Health ministry scandal broke, what exactly has State House done to signal to state officials that it does not tolerate corruption?
If you were a government official watching government mouthpieces on television and reading op-eds, what would you conclude to be the official government position on corruption? Assuming you were in government and cared about your fiduciary duty to the common Mwananchi, what would you have done as soon as you learned about corruption at the Health ministry? Why has President Uhuru Kenyatta not done this?
