At the risk of being demonised and cursed by my fellow church and country people, that’s my two cents verdict on our progress so far.
Now that the Church, or part of it, has decided to partner with the political class on the politicians’ terms, I fear for us. I don’t say this with holy indignation. Nope. I chose this government and the responsibility lies squarely on the nail of my left-hand pinkie; I voted them in.
The government won’t fall. Politics-wise, it will do well. After all, the opposition or what remains of it is in poor shape. One is forced to look elsewhere for hope. Until the opposition does better, Kenyans might be doomed, election repeats and server openings or whatnot.
But the administration will fail in fulfilling the hopes, aspirations and dreams of those who voted it in. Or worst accepted the will of the people and gave it the benefit of doubt.
This administration was based on the premise that the child of a nobody can rise and lead this nation. And that since s/he has been through it all, is familiar with what ails the country and is able to fix it. A true personification that no matter where you are from, your dreams are valid.
Measured against that, this government is laying the foundation to fail. The fundamentals show that nothing has changed and so the results won’t change either.
For instance, the behaviour of the powers that be: whether KRA, police and even the Judiciary. Nothing is different now from say March last year. Only the tables have turned but the dance is still the same: being close to power helps, be it in court cases or tax issues or even security.
Another area is budget allocations. We can sing of financial prudence and austerity measures, but if the presidency is guarded by 100 guards and chased by 30 vehicles, and so forth, then there is no difference. That’s what we have always seen, so if that hasn’t changed, it’s naive to expect that there are things being cut.
Conflict of interest continues to this very day. Those in leadership before used their positions to ensure they benefited at the expense of the country. This continues today only that the players are different. There is no evidence that knowing people somehow does not give you an advantage instead of plain old hard work.
There is also too much politicking. Just like Jubilee would engage in politics while pleading for others to give it time to work, so now the trend continues. Jubilee did not fool anyone at that time, and even now no one is getting fooled.
One would hope that the challenges our country faces—drought, unemployment, food insecurity—deserve 100 per cent of our efforts but alas. Our leaders pay lip service to these or as the Supreme Court aptly captured it, offer hot air.
Self-preservation looms large in this government. We might as well be preparing for 2027. In all appointments, be they cabinet, boards and CAS, it seems the aim is to reward political loyalists in the hopes that when the villagers grumble, they will be told 'but your person is at the eating table'.
Merit comes a close second, if at all. This will blind the government, however well-intentioned the appointments might be, when it comes to making tough decisions on issues such as a bloated workforce, duplicated roles of parastatals, multiple licence requirements and so forth.
Remember the KPLC meter bill full of levies? Also, there is the more ominous effect: all those are appointed to protect vested interests and so the list of untouchables is as long as from here to Lodwar.
The silencing of opposition or alternate voices does not augur well for growth. In religious circles, criticising this ‘God-given leadership' is quietly frowned upon. Even on social media, anyone who dares ask deep questions is labelled an opposition mole.
All may seem right and harmless right now, but remember at the height of its power one could not dare speak a bad word against BBI for instance. Look where that got the powers that be then.
It's only six months, but if the administration does not change course, five years from now, we will not have progressed a single step.
