Stirring up the Hornet's Nest: The Kenya Civil Service

Over the years, the civil service in Kenya has been an item previous regimes have been using as a dangling carrot and bait to prospective voters in order to ascend to power. People vying for various seats; from the lowest in the county assembly to the highest office in the land occupying state house, the campaign slogan had been well rehearsed. Elect me to the office and i promise to protect your interests as a community and employ your people to key government positions.

This was the genesis of a bloated civil service in Kenya that took place the moment the colonial government left our country and the first African leader took over the reigns of power. Successive regimes perfected this act in order to gain and cement loyalty from certain parts of the country. 

Cabinet ministers in charge of various ministries, ensured they lined up their tribesmen/women in those ministries-the lower academic qualifications notwithstanding- from the messenger running errands to the tea girl and directors of various projects. Each ministry therefore came to symbolize the dominance of certain ethnic groups to the utter exclusion of others who supposedly failed to tore the line and in stead voted for the opposition. This trend was also witnessed in terms of the skewed developments that took place in various parts of the country. Some regions received funds for constructing good roads and hospitals while others lack even a single kilometer of tarmacked road or piped water.

This trend gave birth to what is now a hot issue among public servants related to inefficiency in service delivery in the public service and an ever increasing public wage bill with little output to show. This brings to mind the structural adjustment programs popularly known SAPS that were spearheaded by the world bank in Kenya in the early 80's. According to the Central Bureau of Statistics, the SAPs were aimed at restoring efficiency in all sectors of the economy with the end goal of raising economic growth rate. One of the hallmarks of SAPs was to restructure the public service which included taking drastic measures like retrenching people and focus government resources on development. The consequences of SAPs were short term and dire with some economic pundits pegging the runaway inflation, crime rates and unemployment rates experienced during that  time as a byproduct of these measures.

The jubilee government has been at the forefront in sorting out the mess that is the civil service in line with its manifesto of restoring efficiency in government services. This follows a recent pronouncement by the vice president to the effect that the government cannot achieve its development objectives if it continues to spend over 70% of its collected revenues on recurrent expenditure(basically paying salaries) while only the remaining 30% left for development. 

In order to restore efficiency, the government has adopted ICT in its operations which has seen some improvements in the public service. The next step which involves cutting down the public wage bill will either be achieved by reducing salaries or retrenching a huge number of redundant workforce. The latter option would obviously make economic sense though not a panacea to the problems bedeviling the public service.

Hard decisions and choices would have to be made with huge political ramifications to both the president and his deputy considering the fact that a huge number of the public servants hail from communities that traditionally enjoyed power since we gained independence. 

The Modern Day Hero

NELSON 'MADIBA' MANDELA

(1918 - 2013)

Dear Madiba,

Your legacy will remain for generations and generations to come. You've left an indelible mark on many people's lives and we will cherish that forever.

 You've fought the good fight; You've finished the race and You kept the faith.

Rest in peace!

The Lacuna in Nairobi Leadership

Are the nude photos of the Nairobi senator Mike Mbuvi aka "Sonko" together with his female counterpart, friend, ally and even "sister" Nairobi women representative, Rachel Shebesh aka "Manzi wa Nairobi" genuine or they're simply a figment and creation of the sophisticated graphical software programmes like photoshop?
Who posted these photos and what were their motives?
Should we care as a nation and people living in Nairobi, that people occupying such key leadership positions for a city of global reputation - and which as a matter of fact, ought to be setting the pace and trend for other cities in the continent - would be found in such controversial position?
Since coming to the limelight following the 2010 constitution making process, the life of one Mike Sonko has been mired in  controversy after controversy. The folks he presents however, see him as nothing but their hero. A man who would pay their bills and go to any lengths fighting for their rights. From the blings, weird hair-cuts and casual dress code in parliament, Sonko has redefined the new crop of leader of this country should brace for. The free spirits who aren't afraid to express themselves in whatever way or form  they deem fit.
Shebesh on the other hand has been a fiery politician during her days in ODM before decamping to TNA in the months leading to the elections following the euphoria.
The two leaders have been at loggerheads over the recent past both before and after the March 2013 elections before being reconciled by Hon. Kenyatta, the de facto leader of TNA at the time. The recent born of contention has to do with allegations of Shebesh's encounters and communication with the former prime minister and CORD leader Raila Odinga. Grapevine has it that Sonko is accusing Shebesh of spying on behalf of CORD on the deep secrets and strategies of the Jubilee government. While this hasn't been confirmed yet, the allegations are pretty damning and have the effect of complicating her position in the party. In fact, in what appears to be a consequence of this, Ms. Shebesh is said to have resigned from all her positions in parliament on behalf of her party.
As a Kenyan, the goings on within political parties aren't exactly my concern, especially after exercising my suffrage. I pay taxes and i expect results. That's the bottom line! As a matter of fact,  whatever happened or did not happen between the two Nairobi politicians within the confines of their private space or wherever they were when these photos doing rounds were captured is none of my business. It only becomes my business when the photos appear on the screen of my computer, phone or tablet and i have to question whether the people bestowed with the responsibility of steering this city to a prosperous future really have the moral authority to do that.
There have been calls all over in the social media for the two politicians to resign for "acting" in a manner that compromises the stature of both the parliament and the senate. While these two organs aren't exactly the compass or conscience on moral issues, there is consensus out there that as a nation, we ought to have a set of irreducible moral standards that anyone aspiring to be a leader should live up to.
On chapter six of our constitution, on leadership and integrity, a state officer - which i believe Mps and senators are part of - should at all times act in a manner that "brings honor to the nation and dignity to the office and promotes public confidence in the integrity of the office". The constitution is however silent on the moral grounds that would compel any member of parliament or senate to resign. This therefore means that these leaders and others who engage in misconduct while in office will remain there until the next elections are held. By that time, Kenyans will have forgotten the issues and vote the same people back in office.
The cycle continues...