IS JUBILEE A. “KUSEMA NA KU-TENDER” GOVERNMENT OVERWHELMED BY CORRUPTION?
Prior to ascending to power, the Jubilee Coalition promised Kenyans that it
would ensure zero tolerance to corruption especially in the management of
public resources including land, funds, facilities etc. This had to be ensured
under the principle of transparency and accountability on the use of public
resources.
However, within less than two years in power, now, the Jubilee government is
openly characterized, almost on daily basis, by grave cases of corruption
involving misappropriation of public funds through unprocedural tendering
contracts, questionable use of funds to procure public services, grabbing of
public land by senior government officials, inflation of costs of public sector
contracts as well as theft, imprudent and unlawful use of public funds as
revealed by the Auditor General Reports and investigations by the Ethics and
Anti- corruption Commission (EACC). Scandals such as hiring vehicles for police
use have also been reported,amongst others.
The public has long waited, to no avail, for meaningful action to be taken
against corrupt officials as prescribed by law. Instead, corrupt practices
continue with impunity as the public gets entertained by endless investigations
and mock trials which actually end nowhere. Rather it appears that the law
penalizes petty thefts committed by ordinary people but not mega thefts
committed by the big fish. This has become the order of the day in Kenya under
the Jubilee Government where even Court orders and summons are openly defied by
high ranking government officials.
It is instructive to recall that the Jubilee Coalition promised a lot of
development related programs in its 2013 campaign manifesto. Such programs
included, standard gauge railway (SGR), Laptops for pupils, irrigation
projects, etc. but none of these pledges has taken off amicably. Most of them
are facing legal challenges in law Courts due to internal competing interests
and corruption which has underlined their procurement.
Interestingly, in an effort to divert public attention, the Jubilee
Government has now embarked on diversionary tactics aimed at hiding the corrupt
face of the national government. There is much talk against the management of
resources by county government under the leadership of governors and less talk
of misuse of public resources by the national government headed by the
President and his Deputy. This is the case despite the fact that much of the
financial scams as revealed by oversight institutions lies with the national
government which still retains 85% of the revenue relative to 47 county
governments which share a meager 15% of the government revenue between them.
Instead of directing the Anti Corruption and Law Enforcement Agencies to focus
on misuse of funds and other resources at both the National and County
Governments, the ruling executive has tended to focus more on financial abuses
by the latter governments
Tellingly, the public watchdogs outside government
control such as NGOs and the media have either been manipulated or threatened
into silence. The public hardly hears any reports on plunder of public
resources from NGOs or the Mainstream National Media, both of which have been
silenced by restrictive legislative enactments. In particular, the NGOs are
still struggling to oppose the government’s attempts to restrict to a maximum
of 15% the amount of funding they can get from the donors. As regards official
oversight bodies such as Parliament, the duty has shifted to the
unconstitutional one of praising the ruling executive instead of exercising its
watchdog roles over the excesses of the executive.
Despite the ban on public fund raising by state
officers including elected officials, the Jubilee Government has created
further confusion to the public by behaving contrary to the law which is aimed
at curtailing participation of such officials in fundraising for purposes of
preventing corruption. Under the Jubilee Administration, it seems now that the
Deputy President Mr. William Ruto is leading the way in championing the
Harambee spirit contrary to the law. This has left the public wondering whether
the government has resorted to Harambee as the means to development instead of
the official development plans which should be anchored on an appropriate
legislative framework and funded by the National Government.
In conclusion, the country seems to be having no
effective institutional watchdogs in place, both in the private and public
sectors. Indeed, this is really disturbing for it appears that the Jubilee
Government has become over whelmed by corruption, which now writs large in our
society. This is why I insist that this Government is pre-occupied with pursuit
of Economic Rent,thus a “Kusema na Ku-Tender Government”.
Eliud Owalo is a Management Consultant
based in Nairobi.
