I am beginning to suspect that our failure to launch is not a technical problem, it is political. A bitter pill that we should all swallow is that Politicians do not care about you. They never have and never will. It took the Europeans well over 2 centuries to wrestle power away from their elites and distribute it amongst the entire populace and thus set themselves on the path to prosperity. So getting rid of politics and politicians seems like a viable shortcut. However, the only alternative to politics is war and however bad our politics might be, it is infinitely preferable to war. You just have to look at our next-door neighbours, Somalia, Sudan and Ethiopia to see this.
Our current political system is set up such that it attracts the worst of us. I, therefore, propose that we reconcile these opposing desires by intertwining public interest with that of politicians. Get their skin in the game because over time they have managed to insulate themselves from the drudgery and struggles of the average Kenyan. How should we do this?
-
All politicians and public servants should receive their medical insurance only from SHIF/SHA. No private insurance. They should also be restricted to public hospitals unless it is an emergency. This will ensure that our public hospitals are well equipped and well stocked with drugs and the staff will never go on strike.
-
Everyone who receives a paycheck from the exchequer along with their children and spouses should only attend public school. If they want to attend a private school, they can resign. Again we will see an almost magical improvement in the service delivery of public schools as well as the motivation of teachers. As for elected official, their children must attend schools within their constituency.
-
No car grants and soft mortgages from the treasury for any politician or civil servant. They can join SACCOs and line up at the bank like the rest of us. Suddenly, the CRB will begin to function as it was intended, a pricer of risk and loans. Greedy banks will be reigned in and the insane import taxation on vehicles and overpriced real estate will suddenly be uncomfortable for legislators.
-
Pensions for MPs will be after 20 years of continuous service. This will be provided strictly through NSSF, not a private pension fund. Suddenly, NSSF will no longer be broke and pensions will be processed immediately.
- The salaries of politicians should be pegged to the GDP per capita or a multiple of the minimum wage/ average wage in Kenya as reported by independent institutions like the World Bank, just like CEOs get a performance bonus. Our politicians will be forced to make prudent financial decisions. Using a multiple of say 10, if we use the GDP per capita here, this works out to roughly 196,000 per month. Using the average monthly income it works out to about 201,230 shillings per month. For governors and MCAs, we can use numbers from their respective counties.
-
Fuel allowances should be the current AA rate, not set by parliament. This is chiefly for humility’s sake, just to make sure that they stay in touch with the prices that affect our everyday lives.#
-
End per diems for elected officials. Their travel and accommodation logistics can be arranged and paid for by parliament or the county assembly. If they spend on food, they must claim the expenses via receipts just like the rest of us.
-
Campaign finances. There should be a hard ceiling on how much can be raised and spent on campaigns. Get volunteers who believe in your cause to campaign for you. Also, campaign finance should be audited and made public and any violation should attract punitive measures like loss of a seat and disbarment from participation in elective politics or holding any public office.
-
Every year, a list of companies owned by elected and top officials, their spouses, siblings and children over 25 years old to be published along with their audited accounts. And no, they cannot do business with the government. This will force them to expand the private sector to get any business.
-
AHP should be ring-fenced and used to develop or improve infrastructure to support housing development, such as access to water, inlet roads, sewerage, and last-mile power. (I have a problem with this, though. I will be paying KPLC for power every month; why should I finance their capital outlay?). The government has no business building houses; if it can’t house police officers, then how can we expect it to build houses for us?
-
Information. National budgets are grand and easily escape the scrutiny of Wanjiku. Budget allocations and expenditures for public institutions/centres, such as local clinics, schools, etc., should be posted publicly on the institution’s notice boards website, and at the local administrative offices (chief, DO, etc.).
-
All government contracts and agreements must be made public before ascension and must require parliamentary approval otherwise they are illegal, will not be honoured and the signees will be held personally liable. I’m thinking of SGR, Adani and other such contracts.
-
Half of all government vehicles must be locally manufactured.
-
CDF must go.
-
County governments will be financed at a multiple of their revenue. For example, if a county raises 200 million a year, then it gets a 4 multiple to 1 billion. This nonsense of giving counties 17 billion instead of their own 100 million that they then proceed to loot and mismanage has got to end.
-
Senators, MPs, governors, MCAs and CSs, Supreme Court judges and their spouse’s tax returns will be made public.
-
Protective detail will only be for the president, deputy president, speakers of parliament, CJ and DCJ. The rest can tough it out with us. I bet police service delivery will improve greatly.
-
EACC and IPOA should be given teeth - prosecutorial powers.
-
We must develop an overarching vision that will be executed in phases by the various governments that come into power to ensure continuity. Vision 2030 started well but we seem to have abandoned it.
-
The rules and laws of demonstrations should apply to political rallies.
-
Anyone with an active criminal court case should not be allowed to run for any public office or be appointed to any public office - this may be prone to abuse but I think the benefits outweigh the risks.
-
Civic education. This should take place in schools. Every child should be educated on our entire constitution and its history.
-
Any law, rule, regulation or policy that seeks to control the media, social media or free speech should be okayed by the executive (cabinet), ⅔ majority (of the total, not of the quorum) in parliament and the assemblies of all counties before it is accepted.
- Agriculture should be a compulsory subject in every school in Kenya, even those working on international curriculums.
These measures seem punitive and invasive because they are. The intention is twofold:
-
Sieve out the bad apples who cannot take the scrutiny. Caesar’s wife should be beyond suspicion.
-
If some manage to squeeze through, make sure that life will be unpleasant for them.