How well does your member of the county assembly, Parliament, senator, governor, and woman representative know your problems?
After
2002, Kenyans had high hopes and optimism for the future. The State at
that time appeared to represent the aspirations of the people.
People
stood with the government in many policy pronouncements such as the
famous “Michuki laws” that aimed at bringing order to public transport.
Citizens helped to arrest corrupt public officials. The civic values of
the moment obliged those in public offices to behave.
Perhaps this could be the reason Kenya witnessed phenomenal infrastructural growth during the Kibaki regime.
Then
political squabbles took centre stage and government officials went
back to their bad old ways as tribalism and corruption thrived. The
ghost of tribalism and nepotism seems to have strangled the Kenyan
spirit.
We now stand at a juncture where Kenya is
desperately in need of a transformative leadership. A leadership that is
in touch with the daily toils of those at the bottom of society.
The
political leadership, both at the national and county levels, seems to
be out of touch with the aspirations of most Kenyans. Their performance
in legislation and execution seems incapable of effectively responding
to the problems of the downtrodden such as better living standards and
employment for the youth.
Of what value is time spent
legislating on titles for those in political office, or order of
importance of public officials, or who can fly the national flag? Of
what value are laws on what kind of clothes to wear? Instead of elected
leaders focusing on economic inequalities, the resources of the State
seem to be a preserve of just a few.
There is growing
zealotry along political lines and today most of our political parties
primarily represent ethnic struggles. What is the social basis of the
interest these political parties represent?
Some
criminal gangs seem to be using religion and places of worship to not
only steal but mobilise religious strife. Zealots are intent on
recreating an imperial state.
The hope Kenyans had in
devolution has been subverted and consumed by the insidious vices of
nepotism, corruption, and politics of marginalisation.
The
devolved system of governance is weak in addressing the problem of
unemployment, rural and informal settlement poverty, and investments in
skills development.
BLACKMAILING
The
MCAs are busy blackmailing county authorities to throw away millions of
shillings on purposeless foreign tours. The political leadership is
paralysed by cartels plundering public resources and in every major
public project there are claims of corruption and disregard for due
process.
We seem trapped in the misfortunes of the
past. A lot of national energies and resources are being wasted on
witchhunts and blame game, for example the ongoing land politics and
insecurity.
Political intolerance is crippling the
stability and civil liberties of the people to the extent that some of
us are actively endorsing authoritarian rule, emboldening the government
to push through laws that might curtail civil liberties.
In
normal societies, governments are supposed to promote initiatives that
help people to develop self-reliance, to have enough opportunities to
actualise their life goals and not be dependent on the State.
With
these challenges of deep-seated social divisions, political
intolerance, and a non-responsive political class, what options do
Kenyans have to improve their lot? What should the people do? Our
political parties are ethnic-based.
The zoning of
electoral districts along ethnic blocs has helped buttress predatory and
dictatorial attitudes that could be responsible for low public
participation in public affairs.
Like a one-party
state, single-party counties could easily violate individual liberties,
especially those of minority voices, to have equal say in
decision-making.
The political culture of regionalism
is an obstacle to our nation’s integration. With the current political
intolerance and authoritarian attitudes, it is difficult for political
parties to ensure better service delivery, transparency, participation,
and accountability. The challenge for counties is how to help reduce
ethnic cleavages.
Mr Chiliswa is the programmes coordinator, Jesuit Hakimani Centre. (zchiliswa@yahoo.com
No comments :
Post a Comment