Is Uhuru serious about ending wastage, corruption?

By Ken Opalo

Talk is cheap. And so lately there has been a lot of talk – from politicians and wananchi alike - about the need to rationalise and reduce the public wage bill and to end grand corruption in Government. Yet no one has been fired or prosecuted. When asked about this curious situation, senior people in Government have given evasive answers touting observance of due process and legal procedure. Needless to say, wananchi remain dubious.

The President of the Republic of Kenya is on record as admitting that certain senior people in his office are corrupt. This is not a light matter. When the president spoke he was speaking for 42 million Kenyans. As a result, if the Government really wanted to put together a case that would land the said corrupt officials in jail, it would in a jiffy.

Indeed, the president need not even have gone public with the planned investigation of the corrupt networks in his office and the rest of Government. He could have simply marshaled evidence using the Government’s extensive network then presented it to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Communication and the Director of Public Prosecution.

The fact that the president went public raises interesting questions. On one hand, it might mean that the president’s political handlers feel that they cannot take down the entrenched corrupt networks in the Office of the President by simply using the law. Going public is therefore an attempt to get political cover for the impending purge. It might also have the added benefit of signaling to all public officials that there is a new sheriff in town and that the tune has changed. But on the other hand, all the talk about the need to cut wastage and eradicate grand corruption in government might be just that - A cynical attempt by the political class to delude Kenyans into thinking that someone somewhere is doing something about the obscene levels of corruption that currently characterise the public sector in Kenya.

For now, I lean towards the former explanation. I hope the president and his men will prove me right in the coming weeks and months.

In the meantime, Kenyans, and especially the political class, should approach the issue of reducing the public wage bill with cool heads. Talk in Parliament about reducing the number of counties from 47 to 11 is misguided balderdash. There might be a case for reducing the number of MPs, but the notion that Kenyans are governed too much and therefore that we should reduce the reach of government completely misses the picture. Remember, Kenyans will only achieve true and lasting freedoms when we effectively disperse power from Nairobi to mashinani. And in my opinion, the 47 counties are our best attempt yet at doing this.

If counties are failing, let’s fix them. Throwing the baby out with the bath water in the name of reducing the wage bill is not an option. Those who want to reduce the number of counties are agents of tyranny and are anti-development.

As I have argued before, Kenyans of all political stripes are rooting for Messrs Kenyatta and Ruto to succeed in their fight against poverty and underdevelopment. Even former Prime Minister Raila Odinga recently gave them a pass for their first year in office. Despite the many teething problems so far witnessed under the Jubilee Administration, many Kenyan professionals still hold on to hope. Many want to believe that because of his personal fortune and connections to the business community President Kenyatta is the man to put the country on a path to sustained long run economic growth and development.

The onus is now on the president and his handlers not to disappoint Kenyans. The country cannot afford any more time going around in circles.

In order to eradicate corruption and wastage and genuinely improve governance the president will have to make some tough political decisions.

This will necessarily require a change in the style of politics. In particular, the politics of watu wetu and delegations to State House must cease. We are all Kenyans as individuals and not as members of communities. Those of us who break the law – for instance, by stealing public resources – should face the law as individuals and not as communities. A continuation of the politics of watu wetu will necessarily retard the fight against graft, as those exposed will hide behind the cover of their communities.

This is an important lesson not just for State House but the entire political class. The way we conduct our politics has a direct impact on the way we do business, both in the public and private sectors.