Support Parliament’s bid to fight misrule to realise our potential

First, allow me to wish all Kenyans a happy and prosperous 2018 hoping that the year will offer us a wide range of opportunities to progress as a nation and realise our potential. This year we should press the agenda of: “Justice be our shield and defender” as powerfully prescribed in our national anthem. The need to mainstream this agenda has never been as important as it is now due to the sorry state of our nationhood brought about by governance, integration and rule of law challenges. All Kenyans are called to join hands in confronting challenges that have returned the country to the brink once more.

As a member of the National Assembly and a patriot, I am concerned about the sorry state of affairs. That is why I joined Parliament’s implementation committee which is meant to pursue, review all decisions of the House and push for follow up and full implementation of all decisions, resolutions and laws passed by the august House. This time around Parliament is eager to shed off the unfortunate tag of a “mere talking shop” that has been erroneously smeared on it mainly due to failure by relevant organs of the state to act on some of its key resolutions and edicts.

Part of the problems afflicting this country like social, political and ethnic conflicts emanate from circumvention of constitutional provisions, and by-passing resolutions of Parliament and other critical arms of the government. It is my hope that this important House committee, where I have been elected Vice-Chairman, will be fully supported by the public and other governance stakeholders as we embark on this course.

To start with, most of our top political and ethnic challenges are direct results of the Executive failing to implement key guiding principles of the Constitution and statutes passed by Parliament. The bad governance practices that have sharply divided the country including election rigging, skewed hiring of senior state officials, deliberate imbalances in staffing in public departments, tribalism in the Executive among others are ills that if we push for strict adherence to the laws and resolutions of the House touching on these vices we will end the raging bitterness in the country.

Going alongside these are failure by government to implement key reports like the Justice Johann Kriegler report on Electoral Reforms, the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Committee report.

I am sure we will also focus on resolutions by other House committees which over the years have investigated serious cases of fraud. Unfortunately most of their recommendations have not been implemented at all while those indicted have been merely suspended, transferred or even promoted to the chagrin of Kenyans.

Matters from Parliament that have been neglected are many. Pushing for their handling won’t be a walk in the pack. But we will strive to engage everybody to give this committee the necessary teeth to bite. I therefore see 2018 opening a new chapter in the pursuit of Justice and fairness, two national principles around which our decades old political gerrymandering around them has caused us pain and regrets. It will be important for wananchi to support us and protect the constitutional provisions anchoring this project.

- The writer is a Nominated MP