BBI:So,what else is new in this report?

So, what else is new in BBI besides PM post?

When the anticipated Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report was finally tendered, it was more of an anti-climax. Most of the proposals it contains are a regurgitation of what is already in the public domain; an indictment of a lethargic government and political elite that have fallen short of public expectations.

According to the report, the BBI panel interviewed 7,000 Kenyans in all 47 counties from a population of over 45 million. Frankly, that is hardly representative. The major challenges that BBI says face Kenyans include extreme poverty and hunger, unemployment, corruption, bad politics and a government that lacks fiscal discipline.

That is not news because Kenyans have endured these on a daily basis for decades, yet there is no surcease in sight. We have been through enough to understand that our shambolic elections are harbingers of trouble; that corruption bogs us down and that devolution needs to be strengthened.

To deny BBI’s good proposals would be dishonest, but from my perspective, they are more of an addendum, and their success is dependent on political goodwill. That means that if we fix our leadership, everything else will fall in place. Not doing so is akin to a mechanic promising to fix your car’s lighting problem, misfiring and wipers that malfunction without a dependable battery. That battery could most likely be the source of all the other problems.

It does not matter that the BBI team recommends that Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) should focus more on stopping crimes. But as long as EACC serves at the mercy of the executive and legislature; as long as it lacks requisite powers to give it more stinging power, it will barely deliver.

Stifles devolution

Where EACC reposes, the presidency, the premiership or the Interior ministry, is immaterial. EACC needs financial and operational independence that includes arrest and prosecutorial powers to succeed. Where EACC has to go through red tape to get suspects to court, justice can be subverted, then the blame games between it and the DPP’s office will continue.

Modalities of distributing the national cake are well covered in the Constitution, but the guidelines have consistently been abused by the executive and legislature. The result has been grandstanding between the national and county governments which, to say the least, stifles devolution.

On the assumption that it will recommend creation of the post of a Prime Minister, some Jubilee leaders vociferously objected to the-yet-to be released BBI report. They voiced their reservations and fretted that the post would be created for the opposition (read Raila Odinga). Such did not fit into their scheme of things for the 2022 succession politics.

Though BBI proposes creation of the PM’s position, it specifies that s/he will be appointed by the president from the party with the majority. For a party like Jubilee that believes in its infallibility, this is a godsend. That is, assuming it will carry the day in the 2022 presidential election. It is inconceivable that Jubilee could produce the president in 2022 but fail to have a superior number of MPs. Our history under multi-party democracy shows that the party that produces the president always gets the majority MPs.

Political structure

With such a given, and if God were to humour Deputy President William Ruto in 2022 by granting him his wish, Ruto, with Moses Kuria as his deputy, could appoint Kipchumba Murkomen or Aden Duale as the prime minister (assuming they get elected). That would leave their nemesis Raila out in the political cold and very stiff.

If, however, there are no major realignments ahead of 2022 and Raila contests and wins the presidency, he could have Anne Waiganjo (supposition) as his deputy and James Orengo as the prime minister. Were that to happen, the stiffs would be in the other camp. Sadly, this proposal embeds the winner-takes-it-all mentality, yet we have all along decried such for polarising the country. 

It remains to be seen how those who vehemently opposed the creation of the PM’s office will react to the proposal. Are they principled enough to stand by their already voiced objection? While BBI proposes that the government should be lean, it recommends the retention of the current bloated political structure, to which will be added the offices of Prime Minister and Minister of State. It simply beats logic.

BBI’s recommendations are nothing new; they mirror those in the 2008 Krieglar and Waki commissions’ reports, as well as the 2013 TJRC report.

Because the proposals do not expressly demand a referendum, it boils down to leaving the whole change process to parliament; a rogue one at that. The point is, don’t expect much; it could turn out to be a mere game of musical chairs.