DEVELOPMENT AND KENYAN PARLIAMENTARIANS.

Development can only be established in its true sense and sustainably in Kenya, if and only if, some fundamental changes can be effected in its leadership culture and structure. The retrogressive practice of political self preservation by the members of parliament derails the development agenda, as this shifts the focus from the priority of service provision on the side of leaders to that of focusing all their energy and resources to fighting off political opposition and competition within their respective constituencies, this makes the end goal of effecting a sustainable progress in the country an illusion and only an agenda of political campaigns which is to be discarded once the parliamentary campaigns are over.

The Kenyan members of parliament and high profile office bearers fail to see the bigger picture of their role in development and nation building but instead focus on some immediate and personal interests. This has been the practice for a long time now; it has taken root and got to their minds till they have forgotten their original roles and duties as the agents and drivers of change.

The practice In the Kenyan parliament has been that the member of parliament of a given constituency has no concern for the people of another constituency, however much they require his/her services as a leader; the same practice is often carried to the cabinet where services and resources are channeled in ways that are discriminatory and in underhand processes. These notion and practice has to be changed to achieve the elusive development that Kenyans so much desire. Only when the member of parliament of Kisumu is driven by the plight of the people of Saku constituency in northern Kenya, only when the member of Magarini in coastal Kenya feels the hunger pangs borne by the people of Samburu and Turkana, and only when the member of parliament of Moyale feels the cries of the internally displaced people in Nakuru will we have a unified agenda in Kenya about development and the formulation of policies informed by the needs of the larger Kenyan populace and not those of a small ethnic based, interest driven, selfish and ill motivated drive for self preservation on the side of members of parliament.

The perceptions and feelings of despondency, hopelessness and disbelief in their leaders held by Kenyans is not an unwarranted pejorative informed by ignorance and arrogance and the sheer drive to oppose but rather a practice that is the result of many years of deceptive leadership and trickery substantiated by historical facts of failure. It has been shaped by the lies from those who were supposed to lead them in shunning the very lies they were propagating. The deception of the unfulfilled promise of 500,000 new jobs each year, the lie of a new constitution within 100 days, the misappropriation and embezzlement of their money, the billion shillings typing error, the denial of justice and the fallacy of a thousand political speeches .

My deductions about the members of parliament in Kenya is as follows, as much as I don’t want to be a prophet of doom, the grim reality is that most of our dear members of parliament are nothing less than unproductive, uniformed and mediocre souls and we are better off without them, these are my categorization, they fall into five classes according to what drives and motivates them.

The first category comprises of about 60% of the MP's in parliament, and are those driven by their interests and they don’t think about their constituencies, these are the sort that will only visit their constituencies once a month or twice a year, and they normally claim to dispense their much needed service from their palatial abodes in fancy estates in the city. They are normally very silent when it comes to very important parliamentary debates but they are known to fan party rivalry and they stamp their feet with unmatched vigor to politically sarcastic speeches made in parliament directed to a section of the opposition party or the other. They are the reason we are lagging behind in achieving development, because they have not conceptualized the ideals of development and only think of the same as a campaign strategy.

The second category is those that think about Kenyans but only in the sense of how they can cunningly manipulate them to buy their support in the forthcoming elections, these are the type that canvasses the whole country in holding regular political rallies, those that use every opportunity to address any gathering of potential votes, they won’t shy from turning funeral services into political crusade, they are found in different churches every Sunday and they normally talk about what Kenyans want to be told, they have become masters of these trade, they are easily distinguishable by a critical observer and when it comes to parliamentary debates they are mum. They constitute about 15% of the members of parliament and securing their ticket to parliament is not such a big deal for them, they have money and the ability to hoodwink many Kenyans. Most have served as parliamentarians for more than two parliamentary terms.

The third category is that of about 10% of MP's concerned about their constituencies, they normally have an office in their constituency and are in their constituencies every two weeks to officiate some function or spearhead some Harambee fundraiser for these or that development project, those in these category will go to any length to safeguard the interests of their constituency. They are not many and often face opposition from the parliamentary joy riders.

The fourth category is those driven by nationwide concerns and motivated by the needs of people of Kenya, they are the true nationalists that has seen Kenya move through major political and developmental milestones; helped Kenya make the transition to a multiparty democracy, saw the productive  constitution making process, they head many parliamentary committees and commissions. This category comprises of technocrats, well educated and young individuals, they have not been corrupted by power and you will seldom hear them politicking, they back up all their arguments and actions by very concrete reasons, facts and statistics and they are the reason Kenya is holding together. They move important bills and legislations, they pay their taxes and are way above party politics and are driven by reforms. Unfortunately they are not in the majority but only constitute about 10% of the members of parliament.

There is still a certain 5% of MP's who do not have any category they can be placed under, they are everywhere at all times and the street term for them is “kigeugeu”. 

Since there is no certainty with anything politics and political in the Kenyan parliamentary scene I don’t want to mention the names of MP's and the categories under which they fall. But dear Kenyans please consider the category under which your aspiring MP's falls before casting your vote.

However much they are the cause of unplanned and misdirected policies, we need as Kenyans to stop blaming and always directing the causes of our woes to the members of parliament. It is only ignorant people or those fed with wrong information that is easily manipulable. Know your constitutional rights, the roles of the members of parliament and the workings of the government. And when you are informed you can say no to oppression and exploitation and demand for what is truly yours. 

A PETITION TO HONORABLE MEMBERS

A petition

From the Kenyan matatu touts, the roadside maize roaster, the cobbler, the peasant farmer, the shopkeepers, the teachers, the nurses, the men in uniform, the hustling youth, the underpaid government employee, the forgotten people of northern Kenya and everyone in the struggling social strata of the Kenyan society.

To the honorable members of Kenyan parliament.

Honorable members:

For many years you have been practicing without theory and without principle, in cunning ways you have let our resources flow into plunder. Feeding us with fallacy after fallacy of the workings of the economy, plausibly putting forward economic theories and facts which blinded our very reasoning and thus we entrusted you with our future, with our hopes for a brighter future.

Your deception can be measured by the rising food prices, rising oil prices, misappropriation of our money in bogus contracts and projects that can be referred to as white elephants.   

The little knowledge that we have of political economy tells us that economic growth is not the solution to our problems honorable members and it seems like you don’t understand these simple dynamic.

Being the prime drivers of the economy we have a right to be consulted in drawing the budget but since your interests come first you by passed us in coming up with the said budget but please consider the following.

Henry Hazlitt said something important which we as Kenyans are pointing out to you through this petition, when analyzing economics you “must trace not merely the immediate result but the results in the long run, not merely the primary consequences but the secondary consequences, and not merely the effects on some special group but the effects on everyone”, to this end don’t make economic  mistakes today that will bring misery to the generation of the future, make the product of the 5.6% economic  growth equitable and available to us all and not only a few clique of selfish individuals and till then the recent read trillion shillings economic budget will not mean anything to us.

We understand you like to spend on programs to please your constituents and over the past many years you have been driven by projects which will guarantee you secure votes in the future.

We formally ask these noble duties of you so as to achieve economic progress in the name of development; formulate bills that will effect a legal system that protects privately owned property and enforces contracts in even-handed manner, provide competitive markets, place limits on government regulation, establish an efficient capital market to channel capital into wealth-creating projects, ensure monetary stability, lower the tax rates, ensure free trade and effectively order our priorities.

To give you some empirical and real life examples of our plight today honorable members, the following are some extracts from the everyday Kenyan conversation.

“the price of jogoo,1kg of maize flour, is now more than twice what it cost 5 years ago- uchumi kweli ni mbaya”

“I stopped taking tea in the morning like I used to, however much I would like to, I can’t afford a ¼ kg of sugar”

“ these days going home from work is something I don’t look forward to like I used to, seeing the looks in my kids eyes and knowing I cant give them enough food to my, my husband doesn’t even talk to me these days, his obsession is watching the evening news, he sulks and the look on his face is of a deceived person”.

“am shutting down my shop, I cant continue selling basic foodstuffs to people whom I know cant afford them, I always hear dissatisfaction and slow groans when I announce the new food price”.

These are just some of our cries, honorable members, and you tell us Kenya is headed in the right direction, you might be on the right track since you are not headed to any particular destination.

The uchumi is growing but where is the money going? Yes, to your oversees accounts, that we know waheshimiwa and we need not mention specific cases like the recent  4.2 billion shillings embezzled education fund and the so many other unexposed plunder of our money, We are a forgiving society, we don’t want to dwell in the past, just try hard to end the habit of stealing from  poor Kenyans.

Our petition honorable members implores your humane conscience, If at all you have any, to try to feel our pain and work towards relieving us of these burden which your selfish interests has heaped on our  backs.

Honorable members don’t be ……. “ A canker who cankers the very wood wherein he stays, or the snake who stings and bites those who managed milk for him”

Yours,

suffering Kenyans.