PARTISANSHIP FORCES MINISTRY OF FINANCE TO NEW HEIGHTS OF FECKLESSNESS.

The departure from partisan politics is obligatory if this country has to steadily march towards its developmental goals. Indeed, impartiality is what we all demand for from all public servants. Unfortunately, in Kenya today, the propensity for public officers and especially cabinet ministers to engage in electioneering governance with a view to bolstering their political popularity and that of the political parties they are affiliated to ahead of the 2012 general election, is, sadly very high. They mistakenly think that theirs is a calling to self perpetuate themselves rather than in impartially serving Kenyans from all walks of life.

The Ministry of Finance in particular stands out as a splendid example of how partisanship underdetermines the country’s efforts to socio-economic development. Events in the last one year alone are indicative of a ministry whose actions and inactions point to an increasing disconnect between the language of politics and the actual problems bedeviling this country.

This is why for instance a year after the cabinet’s decision to revive the stalled Pan Paper Mills in Webuye Town , the minister for finance literally sat on the funds for over a year oblivious of the festering problems of the residents of Webuye, yet he was part and parcel of the cabinet meeting that arrived at that noble decision. Moreover, he never raised any objection with regard to the unavailability of finances.

In fact was it not for President Kibaki`s belated intervention, it is unlikely that these funds would have been ever released. One wonders whether the residents of Webuye are supposed to be all song and dance while profusely thanking the Finance Minister and the President for their philanthropic gesture when in fact it is their right as tax payers and citizens of this country to benefit from such public funds.

In another related incident, the minister sat pensively in parliament and supported parliament’s amendment to the Mau Task Force report that had already been endorsed by the cabinet. This unfortunate amendment sort to kowtow the government into compensating all title deed holders irrespective of whether such title deeds were fraudulently acquired or not. Not even once did he caution parliament of the enormous financial implications that would arise out of such a populist legislation. Later own the finance minister backtracked after belatedly sensing political backlash occasioned by the titleless Mau evictees. He realized the political wisdom in compensating the latter rather than the executive Mau squatters.

It behooves the intelligence of the conscientious public that a minister can, for political reasons, deliberately veto cabinet decisions or ensure that such decisions are steeped in messy ambiguities and discomforting contradictions so as not to be implemented. The net effect of such tampering is the crippling of noble ideas whose dividends would have had enormous triple down effect to the country’s fragile economy.

Not even during the Moi Era did the public get too cynical of the operations of the ministry of finance. This Ministry has never failed to disappoint. It tends to be sluggish in its work and supine in its conclusions. By its indulgent standards, the ministry has reached new heights (or is it lows) of fecklessness.

TOME FRANCIS,
BUMULA,
http://twitter.com/tomefrancis