How MPs took country for ride on tax vote

The conditions for divorce in this country include adultery, fraud, cruelty and absconding of duties. I regret to inform you that our parliamentarians have met all of these requirements and we as a nation need to consider a divorce from them.

The fraud that happened at the floor of Parliament in the loud acclamation of nay, and the subsequent failure of all of them to log into the system and do a headcount was an obvious show that they were not genuine. The shout was a nod to the masses who, unaware of the House Standing Orders, would assume the MPs stood with them. But the truth is that they did all that only to appear to care when they didn’t, not in the least.

You see if your MP cared at all, he would volunteer a pay cut for all MPs, MCAs, Governors, Senators. He would have said that this nation’s representation structures need an overhaul. That we can’t have six people representing us and producing lacklustre bills and boring debates on the floor of the house.

Doublespeak

They should have said that MPs who a year later had not spoken in the House needed to be retired for incompetence. They should have said like any good husband, that if there are costs to be cut in the home it must start with them, but they kept their salary, the driver , the PA, the advisors and the mileage that makes each of them an expensive waste of time and dime.

After this fraud, they then displayed their absconding ways. They stood outside the house when our matter was on the floor. They were away without leave and left our battlefront open. They ran like cowards from the front line, only to later speak bravely about a war they ran away from on our screens.

One would know that a game was afoot when each parliamentarian fought to speak to the media gathered, but did not bother to do much on the floor of the house. These are the men and women who pour water on their faces to pretend they worked hard, all in an effort to hide the fact they have absconded from their duties.

The result of this absconding is the very real reality that Kenya has increased taxes without any ideas on how to stimulate growth. There is no idea on how to attract foreign investment nor to stimulate our SMEs to grow. There are no new laws to strengthen the fight against corruption, they do not name the corrupt, no successful parliamentary investigations into any matter under the sun and the list goes on and on.

The reason being that our MPs were sadly and horribly absent in mind, body and spirit. They do not think about such things, they do not do anything about it and neither do they feel anything about these issues.

This laziness is brought about by the fact that even though they pretend to love us, the public, their hearts belong to another lover. They spend every waking moment thinking of her, and even when they are meant to attend to intimate matters that are important to us, they pay lip service and soon run away back to the arms of their lover.

They don’t really care

That adulterous lover is called greed. Ms Greed has our MPs by the cojones. They can’t think, move or act without her say so. That is why Sh10,000 can make your MP call the devil a saint. When you think they care, they don’t; when you think they will act, they won’t. Because dear Kenyan these MP are cheating on you, and you don’t need the ‘cheaters’ crew to find out, just open your eyes.

What is cruel about all this, is the fact that they watch with glee in their eyes as Kenya is raped and pillaged by the corrupt. They watch, enjoying and with greedy eyes waiting for their turn. If they will not plunder themselves they will form a committee to interrogate the thief and in that way share in the loot.

That said, we must ask ourselves did we play a role in producing this unholy parliament. And my answer is yes we did. You see, what did we expect? You see we voted for the most vulgar, tribal and corrupt among us to go to Parliament because their skillset was graded on the ability to hate a Luo, a Kikuyu, a Kamba, a Kalenjin...

As such those whom we chose, can’t act outside their nature, and they won’t. The most they can do is play sycophant. Granted, there are a few exceptions - but not enough to make things any better.

It’s our mistake

Truth be told the only politician who was candid with Kenyans was President Uhuru Kenyatta, we may not like the fact that he said we need more taxes, but the truth is we do need more taxes. Why do we need the taxes? Because we, the voters have watched corruption skyrocket and done nothing.

We voted for an expensive Constitution and expected money to fall from the sky and then even worse, wateched helplessly as corruption was devolved. As they transfer billions to their sons and daughters, Kenyans be painfully aware of these truths; no one loves you, your husband left you and your pain is their gain.

For as long as your anger is only on social media, your voting still based on the hate of a tribe and a person, status quo will remain. If you need someone to blame buy a mirror and look into it.

Mr Bichachi is a Communication Consultant. [email protected]