OPINION MATTERS: THE MORAL POVERTY OF OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM... There is a great deal of sanctimonious outrage in the air about our members of parliament, get it right you cannot vote for a demagogue and expect any merit in the parliament. Legislators are direct product of choices, they are not aliens, they do not drop from another planet, we know them when we get them to parliament, we didn’t ask about their merit capacity and aptitude, we get angry at mps when they demanded for salary increment we call them greedy M-pigs, self seekers, zealous supporters of impunity and other many names, we are all miffed when mps threaten to disband constitutional bodies. But the truth is that it is not their fault; we are to blame. The problem with our political culture as Kenyans is that it not built on to sift quality, integrity or character at parliament level or below. All you need to get into parliament is to print posters and select clan elders to anoint you period! What we lack are honest trustees in the name politicians to manage our resources and fulfil their promises. Owing to scarcity of good leaders, we continue suffering without bitterness and electing the same the same people who continue to plunder our resources mercilessly. What type of legislators do we have? We all remember when South Igembe MP, Mithika Linturi, brought to the floor of the National Assembly a petition to have the Salaries and Remuneration Commission disbanded. Only because they refused to heed Mps demand. In his petition the MP asks for “for the removal of Sarah Serem as the Chairperson of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) and the removal of others as members of the SRC. The reasons the South Igembe MP gives for his petition to remove the SRC chair and the commissioners are alleged: violation of the Constitution, violation of the law, gross misconduct in the performance of their functions; and serious incompetence in the performance of their duties. Was that the real reason? That was never a reason, members of parliament only wanted to revenge, because the commission refused to fleece Kenyans by putting public interest first. All zombies in parliament stood firm to support that motion no single Mp was left behind but that did not happen when teachers refused to attend to our children in Class and opt to be on the street like morons. Teacher’s strike’s an excellent reason to stop and think about the big truth of politics in Kenya. What has the parliament done to solve that problem? Have they threatened to disband any constitutional body? What happened to them, after all teachers too wanted salary increment? Mps are again raining blows on Governors. The Constitution requires all State officers to behave in a manner that brings honour to the nation and dignity to the office. Kenya will prosper if members of parliament stop mistreating other constitutional office holders and seeing them as underdog, they must respect the constitution, reducing governor’s power is killing the devolution. Members of parliament must desist from making the parliament a sacrilege. It is a shame that we continue to maintain the political system that design to exploit us, one that operates on the premise that we lack the capacity to know what is good for ourselves. The system is designed to use and dump us. It s genius in its ability to use us, this is the truth and this is why we are angry about sneaky attacks on Governors. Even if the most laudatory of motivation be assured the fact remains that Governors are president of the counties. Their motorcades and the numbers of staffs who accompany them to public function is not enough excuse that will justify parliament to reduce their powers. This Parliament has in it a few whose services to their constituents and to the nation at large cannot be faulted, but they co-mingle with brawlers, comedians, thieves, warlords and even suspected drug lords and murders. Believing that people who are so consumed with greed will take care of you when you are spending your life working for them, paying them salaries with your tax is, in my opinion, one hell of a stretch of the imagination. By Abdullahi Derrow.
Posted on: Mon, 02 Sep 2013 13:54:38 +0000
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