By Albert Nyakundi Amenya aka The Banana Peddler
Yesterday I wrote about how Uhuru Kenyatta has failed as President since he took over as President in 2013. Consequently, the President’s sycophants hurled missiles of oral stones at me. As a scribbler, I am an incurable optimist and an unrepentant author of a prosperous Kenya. There is no gainsaying I am also a staunched admirer of President Kenyatta because of his incorruptibility. My only problem with this President is his inability to punish the children of corruption to serve as deterrents.
Chinua Achebe in his book ‘The Trouble with Nigeria’, asserts that “Nigerians are corrupt because the system they live under today makes corruption easy and profitable.” He opines that Nigerians will cease to be “corrupt when corruption is made difficult and unattractive. The same applies back at home in Kenya.
In unearthing the billions of money stolen from the taxpayers, this administration has scored a strong D–. His efforts at taming corrupt individuals some of whom sponsored his campaigns, are yielding no results. This President has not made it a matter of urgency to deliver on the promises he made to Kenyans. Instead, he manipulates and influences the judiciary to abort justice. His is an administration encumbered by the corrupt elites. His body language does not show any sign of disembarrassing Kenyans of corruption. He is weak, unfair and inconsistent in his approach at dealing with these agents of corruption.
Nauseatingly, Mr. Kenyatta’s body language on national crisis is always below expectations. His silence and helplessness each time our billions are stolen is discouragingly disappointing. As a beloved leader, he should show quick and unblemished concern by suspending the constitution and arresting and jailing, or even hanging those big thieves that steal with temerity that which belong to the taxpayer.
One of the reasons why the gods have abandoned this President is because he does not respect his deputy William Ruto. He forgets that it is only through William that he can be able to successfully bridge and connect all the dots of national cohesion. The contrary will remain an exercise in futility.
This President has never been transactional in trying to clean the Augean of mess in unearthing the colossal rape of our nation. He lacks the vision and mission to end corruption in this beleaguered country. It is clear that his mission is not to exterminate corruption. Someone must tell the President that the Kenyans who voted for him are impatient and agitated. They are upset and angry with his cabinet’s idiotic performance. Kenyans are frustrated with the state of the nation. The fundamental of the Kenyan economy is weak.
I am more constructively critical to identify his failures and encourage him in his avowed mission to rid this nation of corruption. I have said time and again that President Uhuru must be acquainted with his own inadequacies and the shoddiness of Cabinet Secretaries in his administration. As things stand now, his efforts do not commensurate with the expectations of the impatient of compatriots of this nation. Understandably, what has been destroyed under his watch in the last six years cannot be undone in his remaining four years unless with the herculean tasks of great men and women of goodwill like William Ruto.
Most of Uhuru’s Cabinet Secretaries have exhibited signs of incompetence. They seem confused of their constitutional responsibilities, duties and the critical positions they currently occupy. Most of them are shamelessly discreet with the manner in which they explain the business of government. Government, we are told is the strongest institution in any society. Therefore, in any given society, government is a serious business. Good intent only is not enough for good policy. It requires open-mindedness, sustained ideas, transparency, constant stock-taking, effective communication, selflessness and delivery of services.
In a nutshell, the position of Cabinet Secretary is politically sacrosanct to showcase achievements, progress, failures and the obstacles of a government but the current Cabinet Secretaries have been found wanting. A good example is the Cabinet Secretary for Tourism Najib Balala who categorically asked Kenyans who wanted an explanation of how their rhinos died mysteriously, to go to hell. To buttress his foolishness, he said he swore allegiance to the President and not the people of Kenya.
As protocol demands, Cabinet Secretaries and the Deputy President should always be on the same page with the President in terms of information sharing and dissemination. But in this wicked administration, there are a lot of inconsistencies, contradictory messages, misunderstandings, cagey and miscommunications among the executive. That is why I opine that President Kenyatta should surround himself with bouncy young and fresh technocrats. He needs men and women with impeccable values and above all, he needs eggheads with unmatched academic credentials to help deliver the dividends of his Big Four Agenda to the people as promised and bring about the hard-earned-change.
For President Uhuru Kenyatta to succeed and build an indelible legacy, he must relook into his anomaly and bring his government closer to the people. Uhuru Kenyatta needs to bring his government to the door-steps of the common Mwananchi. His failures, successes and hardships his administration has caused people under his watch must be explained to the common Banana Peddler on the streets of Kisii, the barbers in Kibera, Mama mboga at Mwiki, Bodaboda riders in Kakamega, Muratina drinkers in Nyeri and Omena sellers in Kisumu. No matter how good intentions of the President, the populace must be involved and be well informed in the business of government. Any move made by the President must impact positively or solve the earthly problems of the plebeians.
In order to succeed, President Kenyatta has a lot to grapple with. He should be extra assertive and permanently get rid of incompetent hands in his corruption infested administration. Kenyans are demanding for their hard-earned democracy and change. Our nation is equipped with untapped human capital. We need vibrant, articulate and active technocrats who will make real the dream of his Big Four Agenda. It must reach Uhuru that Kenyans are very impatient and they have every right in the world to be. They need to be communicated with the transparent daily business of government. Kenyan business environment should be made business friendly and conducive. That way, eke out hidden potentials, increase production and attract global trade and investment.
As he enters his final term, President Kenyatta should sieve his government. He should do stocktaking of his Cabinet Secretaries, carefully audit the balance sheet of his government and make necessary corrections even if it means sacrificing my incompetent allies for the good of the nation. That is the only way his Big Four Agenda dream will be achieved and make better the lives of his disgruntled and impatient people. Otherwise, he will go down in the books of history as one of the most incompetent President in Kenya who guarded his corrupt friends as they looted the nation red.
albertamenya@yahoo.com
(The writer sells bananas on the streets of Kisii town and is the Secretary General of the Tanga Tanga Movement)
Leave a Reply