The glee by some legislators across the political divide over the current political disarray in ODM is understandable. Many PNU legislators and sympathizers think that they have hit a brilliant insight. Convinced that the political fall-out between the PM and the Agriculture Minister is quite unmanageable they think it is time to arm twist ODM not only in the legislative agenda but also in spiting the PM by amending the constitution through unsavory deals to mandate the president to appoint the leader of the Government Business in the House.
Among those hopeful of exploiting this golden opportunity is the vice president Kalonzo Musyoka. He has in fact just stopped short of declaring himself the de facto Chairperson of the House Business Committee as well as the leader of Government Business in the House. This follows the omission of the name of the PM from the powerful House Business Committee (HBC).
The Vice President has taken this move to mean that the PM has begun to trim his (PM`s) political ambitions. This explains why the Vice President has lately been ranting that he still has a letter from President Kibaki appointing him (albeit without consultation as is stipulated in the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008) to that position. The Vice President must not be hasty in popping the champagne bottle. This is because this kind of reasoning has extremely wide margins of error.
To begin with, I am sure that the Vice President as well as his minders know that making such a move would be seen by many across the political divide as an irrefutable way of ensuring that government business is paralyzed by partisanship something parliament and the larger public presently abhors.
Secondly, since the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008 is part and parcel of the constitution, it requires that any amendment to any provision therein must meet a two thirds threshold. PNU knows very well that even with the support of the renegade ODM legislators, it cannot presently marshal this kind of support.
Thirdly, the vice president together with his ilk should realize that the PM may have just made a tactical retreat. ODM is indeed capable of pulling a fast one on the vice president. I will not be surprised if many of those legislators pursuing bipartisanship move a motion in parliament to amend the constitution to specifically mandate Parliament to elect the leader of Government Business. Such a motion is likely to receive overwhelming support from legislators across the political divide.
In the event that Kalonzo is to face a neutral ODM contestant like honorable Dr. Sally Kosgei or Joyce Laboso, Kalonzo`s chances of actualizing his lofty dream would be blown to smithereens. This is because of parliament’s increasing desire to see gender parity triumph coupled with the fact that his presidential ambitions have so far, rubbed many (including those in PNU) the wrong way. Many may want to use that opportunity to spite him. He will simply eat a humble pie.
In my considered opinion, instead of further paralyzing Government Business, the Legislators must embrace bipartisanship and allow the speaker of the national Assembly to continue to chair HBC as well as be the leader of Government Business in the House.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
Friday, February 26, 2010
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
PRESIDENT KIBAKI`S SPEECH IS A TESTAMENT TO THE ABSENCE OF BIPARTISANSHIP IN GRAFT WAR.
Quite conspicuous in an otherwise bipartisanship speech by President Kibaki during the official opening of the fourth session of the tenth parliament was the statement “We must not politicize or personalize the fight against corruption.” It is this statement that has had experts differ sharply as to the precise meaning of these words.
Much as I may want to believe that the President was rebuking those implicated in graft for seeking protection in their ethnic turfs in order to avoid taking political responsibility for their acts of commission and omission, I am also cognizant of the fact that this statement may in itself be a direct admission by the president of his drooling inability to tackle the snowballing corruption in the country. His much touted hands- off approach that had him hitherto heavily criticized may have apparently become a safe haven to his erstwhile political foes now turned bosom allies.
But perhaps a more convincing explanation would be that the president deliberately directed flak at the Prime Minister that was carefully designed to keep him off balance. This would not be strange. It is an undeniable fact that president Kibaki has never gotten over the 2007 sour grapes. It would therefore not be improbable were he to make it his sole preoccupation to torpedo the PM`s 2012 presidential ambitions knowing too well that revenge is a dish best served cold.
Why for instance, would a president whose seven years presidency has been punctuated by stunning inaction and dead silence in fighting graft suddenly find the voice to denounce the PM`s suspension of the Ministers implicated in graft followed hot on the heels with a fiery speech in parliament whose unmistakable intention was to lambast the PM? This could only be a testament to the fact that the President is least interested in converting his rhetoric on graft into action and that his sole obsession is to render the PM kaput politically. He would therefore not hesitate to pursue partisan interests in the guise of bipartisanship if only to spite the PM.
In order to forestall the PM`s ambitions, the president’s wild card, is apparently the triple “K” alliance that has the potential to offer a formidable challenge to the PM. On the face of it, this loaded statement could thus be nothing more than the ranting of a president whose intention is to protect this brood irrespective of whether it may be composed of those who are vile or corrupt to the core.
What could make it even more appealing to the President is the fact that some among this brood are more than willing to be used as stepping stones to the coveted presidency as long as they are assured that their muck will be evenly sheltered from the prying eyes of the public. Perhaps that could be the reason why the President wishes that the fight against graft remains as obscure as possible. It could also explain the rapturous foot thumping by a section of the legislators following the president’s unfortunate statement.
But as they glide and grin in this muck, perhaps the overriding question in the minds of many, is at what cost to the nation are those nursing such machinations willing to go in milking this country dry? I am sure that the President is not oblivious to the fact that it is this elephant in his government that is responsible for the suffering of the sea of humanity in this country. It is because of this that I beseech the president to let the will of the nation triumph.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
Much as I may want to believe that the President was rebuking those implicated in graft for seeking protection in their ethnic turfs in order to avoid taking political responsibility for their acts of commission and omission, I am also cognizant of the fact that this statement may in itself be a direct admission by the president of his drooling inability to tackle the snowballing corruption in the country. His much touted hands- off approach that had him hitherto heavily criticized may have apparently become a safe haven to his erstwhile political foes now turned bosom allies.
But perhaps a more convincing explanation would be that the president deliberately directed flak at the Prime Minister that was carefully designed to keep him off balance. This would not be strange. It is an undeniable fact that president Kibaki has never gotten over the 2007 sour grapes. It would therefore not be improbable were he to make it his sole preoccupation to torpedo the PM`s 2012 presidential ambitions knowing too well that revenge is a dish best served cold.
Why for instance, would a president whose seven years presidency has been punctuated by stunning inaction and dead silence in fighting graft suddenly find the voice to denounce the PM`s suspension of the Ministers implicated in graft followed hot on the heels with a fiery speech in parliament whose unmistakable intention was to lambast the PM? This could only be a testament to the fact that the President is least interested in converting his rhetoric on graft into action and that his sole obsession is to render the PM kaput politically. He would therefore not hesitate to pursue partisan interests in the guise of bipartisanship if only to spite the PM.
In order to forestall the PM`s ambitions, the president’s wild card, is apparently the triple “K” alliance that has the potential to offer a formidable challenge to the PM. On the face of it, this loaded statement could thus be nothing more than the ranting of a president whose intention is to protect this brood irrespective of whether it may be composed of those who are vile or corrupt to the core.
What could make it even more appealing to the President is the fact that some among this brood are more than willing to be used as stepping stones to the coveted presidency as long as they are assured that their muck will be evenly sheltered from the prying eyes of the public. Perhaps that could be the reason why the President wishes that the fight against graft remains as obscure as possible. It could also explain the rapturous foot thumping by a section of the legislators following the president’s unfortunate statement.
But as they glide and grin in this muck, perhaps the overriding question in the minds of many, is at what cost to the nation are those nursing such machinations willing to go in milking this country dry? I am sure that the President is not oblivious to the fact that it is this elephant in his government that is responsible for the suffering of the sea of humanity in this country. It is because of this that I beseech the president to let the will of the nation triumph.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
Monday, February 22, 2010
HACKNEYED POLITICIANS ARE LOOSENING OUR CITIZENSHIP TIES AND UNDERMINING OUR PATRIOTISM.
Dear Sir/Madam,
Is it possible for one to profess love for one’s country and in the same vein hate its citizens with unlimited passion? Absurd as it may sound yet this is the paradox that is increasingly defining the relationship between the electorate and the many diabolical politicians. They are so stone cold to the fact the contempt with which they hold this country is threatening to loosen the ties of citizenship and greatly undermine our patriotism.
Hackneyed politicians are furiously and callously driving the country to a precipice. Sample this; honorable Zakayo Cheruiyot, is overheard in a political rally spewing incendiary remarks to the effect that “the Kalenjins will assist the police in apprehending those who will throw stones.” He only stops short of stating why and when this “turbulence” will take place. Yet the Government has not found it necessary to question him over his “prophetic message.”
In another related incident, honorable George Thuo alongside a section of the central Kenya legislators are overheard trashing the prospective meeting between the Prime Minister and President Mwai Kibaki. With such theatrics, the public is left wondering as to who exactly stands to gain if the high political temperatures are sustained in this country.
Curiously, the same legislators have been heard elsewhere opining that those currently fighting graft are engaged in a diversionary tactics to scuttle the constitution making process even though there isn’t any iota of evidence to remotely suggest an interconnectedness between the fight against corruption and the constitution making process.
As the above scenarios play out, the country is now being subjected to the conjecture that conspiracy theories to discredit targeted political personalities and political parties have started being manufactured. I have a hunch that the public will be fed to more and more of this political conspiracies.
From the above incidents, one does not need to be a professor of politics to be able to tell that unconscionable politicians are deliberately orchestrating a political disorientation. This political disorientation is a perfect smokescreen for this cabal to throw a protective ring around those implicated in graft. Secondly, they hope to use it as a reason enough to disembark from the Grand Coalition Government (GCG) and hope that President Kibaki will have the carte blanche to invite renegade ODM Legislators to form a Government of National Unity (GNU).
Such reasoning is childish because the GCG is not about an individual as these Legislators seem to think. GCG was conveniently put in place to accommodate the disenchantment of a larger part of the electorate arising out of a flawed electoral process. That is why the National Accord and Reconciliation Act succinctly states that no side of the two political parties (ODM and PNU) can realistically govern without the other. Neither can PNU nor ODM undergo a mutation to become an acceptable ruling party outside the GCG. It therefore follows that any attempt at prematurely disembarking from this political structure must inevitably give rise to a general election failure to which another politically instigated blood letting will be ushered in. This is the chilling reality that must be accepted by these conniving politicians.
Political leaders must therefore come to their senses and begin to appreciate the fact that the citizenship of this country needs and craves for better leadership. Such leadership cannot be demonstrated through their criss- crossing the country to hold political rallies with a view to spreading vile disinformation with overwhelming rhetorical force nor in manufacturing targeted political conspiracies.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
Is it possible for one to profess love for one’s country and in the same vein hate its citizens with unlimited passion? Absurd as it may sound yet this is the paradox that is increasingly defining the relationship between the electorate and the many diabolical politicians. They are so stone cold to the fact the contempt with which they hold this country is threatening to loosen the ties of citizenship and greatly undermine our patriotism.
Hackneyed politicians are furiously and callously driving the country to a precipice. Sample this; honorable Zakayo Cheruiyot, is overheard in a political rally spewing incendiary remarks to the effect that “the Kalenjins will assist the police in apprehending those who will throw stones.” He only stops short of stating why and when this “turbulence” will take place. Yet the Government has not found it necessary to question him over his “prophetic message.”
In another related incident, honorable George Thuo alongside a section of the central Kenya legislators are overheard trashing the prospective meeting between the Prime Minister and President Mwai Kibaki. With such theatrics, the public is left wondering as to who exactly stands to gain if the high political temperatures are sustained in this country.
Curiously, the same legislators have been heard elsewhere opining that those currently fighting graft are engaged in a diversionary tactics to scuttle the constitution making process even though there isn’t any iota of evidence to remotely suggest an interconnectedness between the fight against corruption and the constitution making process.
As the above scenarios play out, the country is now being subjected to the conjecture that conspiracy theories to discredit targeted political personalities and political parties have started being manufactured. I have a hunch that the public will be fed to more and more of this political conspiracies.
From the above incidents, one does not need to be a professor of politics to be able to tell that unconscionable politicians are deliberately orchestrating a political disorientation. This political disorientation is a perfect smokescreen for this cabal to throw a protective ring around those implicated in graft. Secondly, they hope to use it as a reason enough to disembark from the Grand Coalition Government (GCG) and hope that President Kibaki will have the carte blanche to invite renegade ODM Legislators to form a Government of National Unity (GNU).
Such reasoning is childish because the GCG is not about an individual as these Legislators seem to think. GCG was conveniently put in place to accommodate the disenchantment of a larger part of the electorate arising out of a flawed electoral process. That is why the National Accord and Reconciliation Act succinctly states that no side of the two political parties (ODM and PNU) can realistically govern without the other. Neither can PNU nor ODM undergo a mutation to become an acceptable ruling party outside the GCG. It therefore follows that any attempt at prematurely disembarking from this political structure must inevitably give rise to a general election failure to which another politically instigated blood letting will be ushered in. This is the chilling reality that must be accepted by these conniving politicians.
Political leaders must therefore come to their senses and begin to appreciate the fact that the citizenship of this country needs and craves for better leadership. Such leadership cannot be demonstrated through their criss- crossing the country to hold political rallies with a view to spreading vile disinformation with overwhelming rhetorical force nor in manufacturing targeted political conspiracies.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
Friday, February 19, 2010
WAR AGAINST GRAFT IS NOT DIVERSIONARY.
Dear Sir/Madam,
The PM`s directive to suspend Ministers implicated in graft and the resultant, dickering and dithering across the political divide has revealed a stunning inability of the Grand Coalition Government in combating graft in the country. It is crystal clear that politicians are bent on misrepresenting facts to score political points. With this in mind, political responsibility so to speak; has become a phantasm. Instead, politically motivated flak and unfounded fear mongering have officially become the main planks on the political platform.
Take for instance, those who are currently harping on the ill conceived notion that any efforts at fighting graft at this point in time, is a diversionary tactic aimed at stalling the constitution making process. Such incendiary remarks must be treated with the contempt they deserve. It would be absurd for anyone to imagine that the country must take a sabbatical leave from justice, law and order to allow the constitution making process to reach its logical conclusion. If this thinking was allowed to take precedence then it would mean that the country turns a blind eye to all forms of crime at all the levels in the society. It would be akin to saying that in the spirit of constitution making; we open all the gates of our prison and let out all criminals.
Still others have found it extremely difficult to make an official pronouncement over their personal or party position with regard to the fight against corruption perhaps with a view to eschewing the resultant short term political consequences were they to boldly denounce the influential corrupt. At such surreal moments, it is even more astounding to hear some political analysts and mavericks consider such admissions of cowardice as evidence of political astuteness. This kind of intellectual dishonesty is unfortunate and only serves to put our country in the imminent danger of becoming a failed state.
Many have also opined that none among our current crop of leaders has the moral authority to fight graft. Like Ronald Reagan who believed that the great American recession was too big to take care of itself, so are many our leaders today. They think that graft is too big for anyone to stand on its way. Unfortunately, we would be willing victims of their political chicanery were we to allow them to coerce us into accepting that this fight is insurmountable. It is not. We must not therefore allow them to suck us into their overwhelming diatribe.
Instead, we must insist that politicians across the political divide and especially the President and the Prime Minister, must strengthen the bond of trust between themselves and the Kenyan people by having the courage to tell hard truths and make hard decisions beneficial to Kenyans from all walks of life irrespective of the short term political consequences.
The mark of true leadership does not entail the ability to hurl accusations and counter accusations at each other with overwhelming rhetoric, rather, it lies in the ability to articulate clear goals and consistently hold to such goals without fear nor favor. We must never allow our leader to fall short of these two requirements. The means to our socio-political and economic success is clearly in our ability to forever pursue sustainable solutions to fighting graft.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
The PM`s directive to suspend Ministers implicated in graft and the resultant, dickering and dithering across the political divide has revealed a stunning inability of the Grand Coalition Government in combating graft in the country. It is crystal clear that politicians are bent on misrepresenting facts to score political points. With this in mind, political responsibility so to speak; has become a phantasm. Instead, politically motivated flak and unfounded fear mongering have officially become the main planks on the political platform.
Take for instance, those who are currently harping on the ill conceived notion that any efforts at fighting graft at this point in time, is a diversionary tactic aimed at stalling the constitution making process. Such incendiary remarks must be treated with the contempt they deserve. It would be absurd for anyone to imagine that the country must take a sabbatical leave from justice, law and order to allow the constitution making process to reach its logical conclusion. If this thinking was allowed to take precedence then it would mean that the country turns a blind eye to all forms of crime at all the levels in the society. It would be akin to saying that in the spirit of constitution making; we open all the gates of our prison and let out all criminals.
Still others have found it extremely difficult to make an official pronouncement over their personal or party position with regard to the fight against corruption perhaps with a view to eschewing the resultant short term political consequences were they to boldly denounce the influential corrupt. At such surreal moments, it is even more astounding to hear some political analysts and mavericks consider such admissions of cowardice as evidence of political astuteness. This kind of intellectual dishonesty is unfortunate and only serves to put our country in the imminent danger of becoming a failed state.
Many have also opined that none among our current crop of leaders has the moral authority to fight graft. Like Ronald Reagan who believed that the great American recession was too big to take care of itself, so are many our leaders today. They think that graft is too big for anyone to stand on its way. Unfortunately, we would be willing victims of their political chicanery were we to allow them to coerce us into accepting that this fight is insurmountable. It is not. We must not therefore allow them to suck us into their overwhelming diatribe.
Instead, we must insist that politicians across the political divide and especially the President and the Prime Minister, must strengthen the bond of trust between themselves and the Kenyan people by having the courage to tell hard truths and make hard decisions beneficial to Kenyans from all walks of life irrespective of the short term political consequences.
The mark of true leadership does not entail the ability to hurl accusations and counter accusations at each other with overwhelming rhetoric, rather, it lies in the ability to articulate clear goals and consistently hold to such goals without fear nor favor. We must never allow our leader to fall short of these two requirements. The means to our socio-political and economic success is clearly in our ability to forever pursue sustainable solutions to fighting graft.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
WAR AGAINST GRAFT IS NOT DIVERSIONARY.
Dear Sir/Madam,
The PM`s directive to suspend Ministers implicated in graft and the resultant, dickering and dithering across the political divide has revealed a stunning inability of the Grand Coalition Government in combating graft in the country. It is crystal clear that politicians are bent on misrepresenting facts to score political points. With this in mind, political responsibility so to speak; has become a phantasm. Instead, politically motivated flak and unfounded fear mongering have officially become the main planks on the political platform.
Take for instance, those who are currently harping on the ill conceived notion that any efforts at fighting graft at this point in time, is a diversionary tactic aimed at stalling the constitution making process. Such incendiary remarks must be treated with the contempt they deserve. It would be absurd for anyone to imagine that the country must take a sabbatical leave from justice, law and order to allow the constitution making process to reach its logical conclusion. If this thinking was allowed to take precedence then it would mean that the country turns a blind eye to all forms of crime at all the levels in the society. It would be akin to saying that in the spirit of constitution making; we open all the gates of our prison and let out all criminals.
Still others have found it extremely difficult to make an official pronouncement over their personal or party position with regard to the fight against corruption perhaps with a view to eschewing the resultant short term political consequences were they to boldly denounce the influential corrupt. At such surreal moments, it is even more astounding to hear some political analysts and mavericks consider such admissions of cowardice as evidence of political astuteness. This kind of intellectual dishonesty is unfortunate and only serves to put our country in the imminent danger of becoming a failed state.
Many have also opined that none among our current crop of leaders has the moral authority to fight graft. Like Ronald Reagan who believed that the great American recession was too big to take care of itself, so are many our leaders today. They think that graft is too big for anyone to stand on its way. Unfortunately, we would be willing victims of their political chicanery were we to allow them to coerce us into accepting that this fight is insurmountable. It is not. We must not therefore allow them to suck us into their overwhelming diatribe.
Instead, we must insist that politicians across the political divide and especially the President and the Prime Minister, must strengthen the bond of trust between themselves and the Kenyan people by having the courage to tell hard truths and make hard decisions beneficial to Kenyans from all walks of life irrespective of the short term political consequences.
The mark of true leadership does not entail the ability to hurl accusations and counter accusations at each other with overwhelming rhetoric, rather, it lies in the ability to articulate clear goals and consistently hold to such goals without fear nor favor. We must never allow our leader to fall short of these two requirements. The means to our socio-political and economic success is clearly in our ability to forever pursue sustainable solutions to fighting graft.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
The PM`s directive to suspend Ministers implicated in graft and the resultant, dickering and dithering across the political divide has revealed a stunning inability of the Grand Coalition Government in combating graft in the country. It is crystal clear that politicians are bent on misrepresenting facts to score political points. With this in mind, political responsibility so to speak; has become a phantasm. Instead, politically motivated flak and unfounded fear mongering have officially become the main planks on the political platform.
Take for instance, those who are currently harping on the ill conceived notion that any efforts at fighting graft at this point in time, is a diversionary tactic aimed at stalling the constitution making process. Such incendiary remarks must be treated with the contempt they deserve. It would be absurd for anyone to imagine that the country must take a sabbatical leave from justice, law and order to allow the constitution making process to reach its logical conclusion. If this thinking was allowed to take precedence then it would mean that the country turns a blind eye to all forms of crime at all the levels in the society. It would be akin to saying that in the spirit of constitution making; we open all the gates of our prison and let out all criminals.
Still others have found it extremely difficult to make an official pronouncement over their personal or party position with regard to the fight against corruption perhaps with a view to eschewing the resultant short term political consequences were they to boldly denounce the influential corrupt. At such surreal moments, it is even more astounding to hear some political analysts and mavericks consider such admissions of cowardice as evidence of political astuteness. This kind of intellectual dishonesty is unfortunate and only serves to put our country in the imminent danger of becoming a failed state.
Many have also opined that none among our current crop of leaders has the moral authority to fight graft. Like Ronald Reagan who believed that the great American recession was too big to take care of itself, so are many our leaders today. They think that graft is too big for anyone to stand on its way. Unfortunately, we would be willing victims of their political chicanery were we to allow them to coerce us into accepting that this fight is insurmountable. It is not. We must not therefore allow them to suck us into their overwhelming diatribe.
Instead, we must insist that politicians across the political divide and especially the President and the Prime Minister, must strengthen the bond of trust between themselves and the Kenyan people by having the courage to tell hard truths and make hard decisions beneficial to Kenyans from all walks of life irrespective of the short term political consequences.
The mark of true leadership does not entail the ability to hurl accusations and counter accusations at each other with overwhelming rhetoric, rather, it lies in the ability to articulate clear goals and consistently hold to such goals without fear nor favor. We must never allow our leader to fall short of these two requirements. The means to our socio-political and economic success is clearly in our ability to forever pursue sustainable solutions to fighting graft.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
Sunday, February 14, 2010
ONGERI MUST KNOW THAT ABSURD ISSUANCE OF EDUCATION FUNDS IS CORRUPTION.
Dear Sir/Madam,
It seems to me that honorable Ongeri is illiberal or downright condescending or that perhaps he is both. That is why he still finds it difficult to clearly comprehend the enormity of his acts of commission and omission. Speaking during a political rally in Kisii, Ongeri roused the crowd with a high dose of ethnic populism and in the process brazenly admitted that he had engaged in absurd issuance of education funds in his constituency. Interestingly, the jolly old professor is still somewhat puzzled that the public thinks of him as being corrupt!
For starters, Ongeri must acquaint himself with the definition of the term corruption. I guess I have to be sufficiently philanthropic as to provide one for his sake. According to the World Bank, corruption is “the abuse of power for personal gain or for the benefit of a group to which one owes allegiance. It is motivated by greed and by the desire to retain or increase one`s power.”
From the foregoing, I firmly believe that Ongeri is now in a vantage point to clearly understand the folly of his actions and that he will therefore not continue misread the signs on the wall. I expect him to swallow the last shred of his pride and to honorably tender his resignation with immediate effect. In the event that he elects to continue ignoring the mounting pressure from the public, the president and the Prime Minister must sack him in the best interest of the public.
I must also hasten to tell him that by his very own admission, his public ratings have taken a severe hit so much so that even his own constituents will find it difficult to spare him the agony of going down the path of political incineration.
It should pain his conscience that he has incessantly lied to the public and to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education. We now know that there is a great mountain between what his heart knows and what his tongue has been saying. What we still do not know is perhaps the avalanche of truth that he is still withholding from the public domain.
It is does not cease to amaze the public that there are still some Cabinet Ministers who continue to think that dishonesty serves a higher truth. It irritates the intelligence of many that such impropriety has to come from a man who claims to be pious. It is even worse when the same person is also a holder of the title “professor.”
Ongeri must know that the unrelenting brushfire that has so far taken toll on Permanent Secretaries and other top civil servants in the Ministries of Education, Agriculture and Special Programmes has not subsided. He must know that the menacing flames are still soaring high.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
It seems to me that honorable Ongeri is illiberal or downright condescending or that perhaps he is both. That is why he still finds it difficult to clearly comprehend the enormity of his acts of commission and omission. Speaking during a political rally in Kisii, Ongeri roused the crowd with a high dose of ethnic populism and in the process brazenly admitted that he had engaged in absurd issuance of education funds in his constituency. Interestingly, the jolly old professor is still somewhat puzzled that the public thinks of him as being corrupt!
For starters, Ongeri must acquaint himself with the definition of the term corruption. I guess I have to be sufficiently philanthropic as to provide one for his sake. According to the World Bank, corruption is “the abuse of power for personal gain or for the benefit of a group to which one owes allegiance. It is motivated by greed and by the desire to retain or increase one`s power.”
From the foregoing, I firmly believe that Ongeri is now in a vantage point to clearly understand the folly of his actions and that he will therefore not continue misread the signs on the wall. I expect him to swallow the last shred of his pride and to honorably tender his resignation with immediate effect. In the event that he elects to continue ignoring the mounting pressure from the public, the president and the Prime Minister must sack him in the best interest of the public.
I must also hasten to tell him that by his very own admission, his public ratings have taken a severe hit so much so that even his own constituents will find it difficult to spare him the agony of going down the path of political incineration.
It should pain his conscience that he has incessantly lied to the public and to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Education. We now know that there is a great mountain between what his heart knows and what his tongue has been saying. What we still do not know is perhaps the avalanche of truth that he is still withholding from the public domain.
It is does not cease to amaze the public that there are still some Cabinet Ministers who continue to think that dishonesty serves a higher truth. It irritates the intelligence of many that such impropriety has to come from a man who claims to be pious. It is even worse when the same person is also a holder of the title “professor.”
Ongeri must know that the unrelenting brushfire that has so far taken toll on Permanent Secretaries and other top civil servants in the Ministries of Education, Agriculture and Special Programmes has not subsided. He must know that the menacing flames are still soaring high.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
Thursday, February 11, 2010
WHERE CORRUPTION AND HUBRIS ARE THE MANTRA, NATIONHOOD IS DEFEATED.
Dear Sir/Madam,
There is an Igbo saying that states that a rock behind the sea does not hear rainfall even if it rains cats and dogs. This is because such a rock is always wet to notice the rain. Like this rock, some of our political leaders are absolutely drenched in corruption. No matter the torrential outpouring of complaints from the public about their corrupt engagements, such political leaders are tone deaf because their moral fibres have been numbed by the seemingly attractive and lucrative corruption.
In the wake of the successive scandals we have heard them unleash cryptic utterances in their defense. Their obliquities and intrigues have always left the public more confounded. Amid all these, serious bribery silently takes place. Many legislators across the political divide have been hired to form a protective ring round the architects of these calamitous scandals. In fact, with Parliament`s recess coming to an end in less than two weeks time, I have a hunch that some unforeseen forces are already on the prowl for legislators who will help kill the anticipated censure motion against honorable Ongeri.
As cynically chilling as it appears, yet it is not unexpected because where partisanship and ethnicity are the mantra, hubris defeats caution. Any keen observer would not fail to discern what this arrogance is all about. Politicians across the political divide are preoccupied with amassing huge finances in readiness for 2012. Many are using the incessant and discordant fiddling in the Grand Coalition Government as a smokescreen for them to pilfer from the public coffers. It is even said that an unnamed presidential aspirant touting about “generational change” has been heard brazenly bragging that he has already “amassed” over eight billion shillings just for 2012!
In such circumstances condemning corruption becomes terribly frightening and unpopular even among the few honest politicians. They would rather see their profiles in cowardice grow than for them to fight this insidious evil. But they have a valid reason for cowering. This is because; corrupt politicians and their political hirelings will besmirch and plot the downfall of anyone who stands in their corrupt way. Power politics and corruption have truly become the diplomatic names for the law of the jungle. I am therefore not surprised that some politicians mainly from PNU have already cheekily called for the resignation of the PM for his alleged failure in supervising and coordinating activities in the Grand Coalition Government.
But wait a minute; are these not the same politicians who have time and again formed impenetrable walls round those implicated in almost all the scandals in this country? It would be naïve of the public to expect politicians from a political party whose main plank of their political platform is to tear the PM into smithereens to support his course of action. It is ironical that in their populist formula they conveniently forget the President`s inaction in the fight against graft. It is time that they told the public why they are obsessed with directing the flak at the PM yet the President`s silence on corruption has been loud enough to be heard in all the four corners of this country!
They seem to conveniently forget that under the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008, the ultimate political responsibility rests with the two principals. They have the power to dismiss any errant public officials below them. The public therefore expects these politicians to unflinchingly support the two principals in the coalition government in the fight against graft.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
There is an Igbo saying that states that a rock behind the sea does not hear rainfall even if it rains cats and dogs. This is because such a rock is always wet to notice the rain. Like this rock, some of our political leaders are absolutely drenched in corruption. No matter the torrential outpouring of complaints from the public about their corrupt engagements, such political leaders are tone deaf because their moral fibres have been numbed by the seemingly attractive and lucrative corruption.
In the wake of the successive scandals we have heard them unleash cryptic utterances in their defense. Their obliquities and intrigues have always left the public more confounded. Amid all these, serious bribery silently takes place. Many legislators across the political divide have been hired to form a protective ring round the architects of these calamitous scandals. In fact, with Parliament`s recess coming to an end in less than two weeks time, I have a hunch that some unforeseen forces are already on the prowl for legislators who will help kill the anticipated censure motion against honorable Ongeri.
As cynically chilling as it appears, yet it is not unexpected because where partisanship and ethnicity are the mantra, hubris defeats caution. Any keen observer would not fail to discern what this arrogance is all about. Politicians across the political divide are preoccupied with amassing huge finances in readiness for 2012. Many are using the incessant and discordant fiddling in the Grand Coalition Government as a smokescreen for them to pilfer from the public coffers. It is even said that an unnamed presidential aspirant touting about “generational change” has been heard brazenly bragging that he has already “amassed” over eight billion shillings just for 2012!
In such circumstances condemning corruption becomes terribly frightening and unpopular even among the few honest politicians. They would rather see their profiles in cowardice grow than for them to fight this insidious evil. But they have a valid reason for cowering. This is because; corrupt politicians and their political hirelings will besmirch and plot the downfall of anyone who stands in their corrupt way. Power politics and corruption have truly become the diplomatic names for the law of the jungle. I am therefore not surprised that some politicians mainly from PNU have already cheekily called for the resignation of the PM for his alleged failure in supervising and coordinating activities in the Grand Coalition Government.
But wait a minute; are these not the same politicians who have time and again formed impenetrable walls round those implicated in almost all the scandals in this country? It would be naïve of the public to expect politicians from a political party whose main plank of their political platform is to tear the PM into smithereens to support his course of action. It is ironical that in their populist formula they conveniently forget the President`s inaction in the fight against graft. It is time that they told the public why they are obsessed with directing the flak at the PM yet the President`s silence on corruption has been loud enough to be heard in all the four corners of this country!
They seem to conveniently forget that under the National Accord and Reconciliation Act 2008, the ultimate political responsibility rests with the two principals. They have the power to dismiss any errant public officials below them. The public therefore expects these politicians to unflinchingly support the two principals in the coalition government in the fight against graft.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA.
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
Saturday, February 6, 2010
ONGERI`S REBUTTAL OF THE PM IS A DESPERATE ATTEMPT AT SANCTIFYING HIS OWN GROSS ERRORS.
Buried deep in Ongeri`s rebuttal against the PM`s call for his resignation was the phrase “evil scheme to bring me down by my political nemesis”. Taken literally, Ongeri thinks that the snowballing corruption in his ministry is hot air. To him, it is just an orchestrated fight to oust him from his comfort zone. It also means that Kenyans are too benighted and are thus uncomprehending or deliberately misinformed.
I dare say that there is no need for any right thinking person to take seriously Ongeri`s rhetoric for in so doing we shall only be sanctifying the depths of his errors and imagine (as he has done) that there are hidden motives in the PM`s call for his resignation. Contrary to what Ongeri believes, “this evil scheme” played under his very nose, threatens to bring down not him, but the future of millions of the Kenyan children and the future of the country as a whole. The fact that he was so inept not to have detected it early enough is the reason the public is demanding for his resignation.
What is worrying though is the sad realization that some among our current legislators like honorable Walter Nyambati have taken this cue and are already accusing the PM of ethnicizing the fight against the rot in the public service. Does Nyambati imagine that the children of the Abagusii will be exempted from the suffering brought about by the Minister`s lackadaisical attitude to management of public resources? This to me is an unfortunate legislative condescension that we need to purge from this country because it is a tradition that has for generations impoverished the Kenyan economy, society and the functions of government. We must more than ever before say no to this apocalyptic tendencies.
It must be understood that the fight against corruption transcends personal as well as ethnic boundaries. If this sobering message does not compel our legislators and the cabinet to set aside their quarrels long enough to address the problems facing the nation, then they deserve the contempt in which many Kenyans hold them.
It is against this backdrop that I expect them to fully support the PM`s call for Professors Ongeri`s and Mutahi`s resignation for proper investigations to take place. One thing that must be clear to all is that the office sanctifies its holder thus there is not even the remotest possibility of thorough investigations being carried out while the two are in office.
I therefore specifically call upon those who have expressed their ambitions for becoming the CEO of this country to condemn the scams in Government. Like the PM they should show the public that they have the penchant for promoting the country`s good. The PM has on several occasions risked his political career by running into burning buildings and trying to put out fires that are decimating this country.
Whether he is framed by his conniving political nemesis does not matter because the electorate now than ever before is looking for someone who has demonstrated capability to fix that which is crucial to the well being of the country.
I wish that in the same vein the President dispenses with his perennial gentility and cracks the whip on recalcitrant public officers.
I do not know whether the president`s loud silence in the FPE saga is a "measure of leniency" towards the people under whose watchfulness the pilfering took place. One thing I know is that his reverberating silence is totally inconsistent with the zero policy tolerance on corruption and only serves to amplify his naiveté. This silence falls far short of what is needed to restore to our children the bright future prospects as our legacy. The sad truth is that until the President takes a lead role in this fight the fight against corruption in the various sectors, the country will continue to pay the price.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
I dare say that there is no need for any right thinking person to take seriously Ongeri`s rhetoric for in so doing we shall only be sanctifying the depths of his errors and imagine (as he has done) that there are hidden motives in the PM`s call for his resignation. Contrary to what Ongeri believes, “this evil scheme” played under his very nose, threatens to bring down not him, but the future of millions of the Kenyan children and the future of the country as a whole. The fact that he was so inept not to have detected it early enough is the reason the public is demanding for his resignation.
What is worrying though is the sad realization that some among our current legislators like honorable Walter Nyambati have taken this cue and are already accusing the PM of ethnicizing the fight against the rot in the public service. Does Nyambati imagine that the children of the Abagusii will be exempted from the suffering brought about by the Minister`s lackadaisical attitude to management of public resources? This to me is an unfortunate legislative condescension that we need to purge from this country because it is a tradition that has for generations impoverished the Kenyan economy, society and the functions of government. We must more than ever before say no to this apocalyptic tendencies.
It must be understood that the fight against corruption transcends personal as well as ethnic boundaries. If this sobering message does not compel our legislators and the cabinet to set aside their quarrels long enough to address the problems facing the nation, then they deserve the contempt in which many Kenyans hold them.
It is against this backdrop that I expect them to fully support the PM`s call for Professors Ongeri`s and Mutahi`s resignation for proper investigations to take place. One thing that must be clear to all is that the office sanctifies its holder thus there is not even the remotest possibility of thorough investigations being carried out while the two are in office.
I therefore specifically call upon those who have expressed their ambitions for becoming the CEO of this country to condemn the scams in Government. Like the PM they should show the public that they have the penchant for promoting the country`s good. The PM has on several occasions risked his political career by running into burning buildings and trying to put out fires that are decimating this country.
Whether he is framed by his conniving political nemesis does not matter because the electorate now than ever before is looking for someone who has demonstrated capability to fix that which is crucial to the well being of the country.
I wish that in the same vein the President dispenses with his perennial gentility and cracks the whip on recalcitrant public officers.
I do not know whether the president`s loud silence in the FPE saga is a "measure of leniency" towards the people under whose watchfulness the pilfering took place. One thing I know is that his reverberating silence is totally inconsistent with the zero policy tolerance on corruption and only serves to amplify his naiveté. This silence falls far short of what is needed to restore to our children the bright future prospects as our legacy. The sad truth is that until the President takes a lead role in this fight the fight against corruption in the various sectors, the country will continue to pay the price.
TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis
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