The Politics of Tribe

Tribe has been at the heart our politics right from day one of self-government. Tribal loyalties have ensured that objective debate is nigh impossible as most political arguments inevitably turn tribal. This state of affairs has proved to be a safe haven for political 'villains' and a sure get out of jail free card for many a deviant politician.

The politics of tribe reared its ugly head in the last elections and brought our beloved country to the brink. At this time when the country was at the precipice, there emerged a consensus that tribe is truly our archilles heel (as if we didn't know it before). It is truly incredible that such a catastrophic turn of events was necessary to lead us to this 'realization'.

In light of the goings on in the political arena, little seems to have changed, the realization was only momentary and we are back to politics as usual, and unfortunately in Kenya that means the politics of tribe.
Instead of focusing on the immediate problems facing the country, 2012 chatter seems to interest politicians more than anything else. Everyone seems to be positioning themselves for a slice of political glory and tribal arithmetics are always the key factor in these machinations.

The IDP's have not even been resettled and politicians have the nerve to talk about elections. There should be a law against such mindless self-indulgence in the face of wide-spread suffering of a populace that just wanted to participate in peaceful elections.

Now, what's the point of this rant? It was really triggered by the justification offered by the Planning Minister on why Kenyans need to state their tribes in the forthcoming census. He stated that “ the census is aimed at helping the government in planning for realization of Vision 2030” .

I am no expert on this matter but I think tribe is irrelevant to planning and realising Vision 2030 objectives. The developmental needs of a Luo, Luhya, Kikuyu, Kalenjin etc are identical as far as I'm concerned (not a particularly ground breaking thought). I don't think different tribes have disparate developmental needs.

I would love to hear a more substantive justification for the need for tribal statistics because the cursory one provided by the minister does not wash. In any case I don't think there is any justification for tribal statistics in light of the position that our country finds itself in.

I admit that it may be interesting for purely statistical purposes to know the tribal constitution of the population but this can only be done in an atmosphere of political maturity where tribe is a non-issue.

Until such maturity is attained, tribe should be off struck off from the census questions!

A Good Idea is Great But ..........

CDF - an idea after my own heart

Who can fault the idea? Take taxpayer's money; take central government bureacracy out of the equation; spend the money on projects that are considered a priority by the constituents. What's not to like?

But the implementation side of the equation is the weak link. Some might argue that with time we will get it right. But how many millions (or billions) do we have to lose in this learning process.

The little I have heard about the CDF audit procedures inspires little confidence. Though it might sound like a great idea to have MP's at the heart of the CDF, (accountability etc etc) it is a big flaw until such a time as the politics of our MP's matures to justify such responsibility. Unless we rethink the role of an MP in the CDF and inject some professionalism in the management of the fund, we will not realise the true potential of this novel idea.

If the situation goes unchecked, and with increased budgetary allocation, scandals of the past might pale in comparison. A novel idea is in danger of becoming yet another black hole and a pillar of political patronage.

Infrastructure, infrastructure, infrastructure

I recall writing an article arguing that this is the policy prescription needed in Kenya. I've therefore been excited to see that the current government has put infrastructure at the core of its development agenda.

I also had the opportunity to experience this policy firsthand in my last trip to Jamhuri. As I turned onto that dreaded bit of road where tarmac was extinct and the potholes had long become gulleys, I was pleasantly surprised when I found myself cruising at 70kph. At first I thought it was down to the brand new shock absorbers that had been fitted that morning but after a while the penny dropped and alas the road had regained some of its long lost glory.

This is a tale repeated on different roads in the country and since I am not a 'see no good' observer of our politics, I was greatly encouraged by these developments.

But this is Kenya, there is always a but. The roads in my rural area had been retarmacked to a standard that was far below most other roads in the country. The key question becomes, was the same amount of money paid to the contractor? As far as I could gather, the contractor received no less than the contractors retarmacking other roads.
If this is so then another good idea has been lost in implementation and if the matter is not addressed we will end up with massive infrastructure expenditure with little infrastructure to show for it.

Welfare

What's wrong with cushioning the very poor in society to lift their standard of life? Can't fault the gist of the idea but.....

Can this work in a country where a majority of the population could probably be defined as poor?
Can the country afford it?
How do you implement such a massive programme in a country with such poor systems, procedures and controls?
This has the hallmarks of a massive embezzlement written all over it and yet if the PM gets his way it looks set to be implemented.

Oh well, another good idea that will yield a disappointing outcome.

What can I say....

The danger of good ideas implemented through flawed frameworks is potent. Since we have had such a dearth of good ideas, we are overly excited by the proposition of a good idea and overlook the crucial implementation element. Unless we catch onto this and fast, we will be mourning yet another decade of missed opportunities.

The lesson is simple, without good and robust procedures, systems and checks; good policy ideas are more dangerous than bad ones since we can object to the latter from the outset but with the former, we are only wiser after the horse has bolted.