Time to cut the greed, deliver on poll promises
A group of voters queue while waiting to vote early in the morning at a polling station during Kenya's general election at St. Stephen School in the informal settlement of Mathare in Nairobi, Kenya, on August 9, 2022.
What you need to know:
- The politicians’ unhealthy obsession with materialism and abuse of legislative powers has made them be held with contempt by ordinary citizens.
- Kenyans are waiting with bated breath for a paradigm shift in governance. Nothing less.
- There is nothing worse than a corrupt politician. Corruption is cancer in our society. It impedes development.
Martin Luther King Jr said: “We are prone to judge success by the index of our salaries or the size of our automobiles, rather than the quality of our service and relationship to humanity.”
We live in a world of competition in all spheres of our lives.
The August 9 general election, in which Deputy President William Ruto was declared the President-elect, ushered in a new regime of political leaders.
But if the outgoing crop of politicians is nothing to go by, it is undeniable that political leaders have a tendency to go to the extreme as regards material possessions.
Other than the political competition, normal during the electioneering period, kleptomaniac acquisition of wealth has made our political leaders prioritise material possession over service delivery to the people who voted for them.
The quality of service in most regions is wanting.
Abuse of power
The politicians’ unhealthy obsession with materialism and abuse of legislative powers has made them be held with contempt by ordinary citizens.
Their clamour for higher pay and perks, coupled with flamboyant and whimsical lifestyles—such as gourmet eating, lavish clothing, expensive furnishings, driving fuel-guzzlers and global trotting in pursuit of junkets—have them a thorn in the flesh to Kenyans.
Even worse, they are seen as sell-outs.
There is nothing worse than a corrupt politician. Corruption is cancer in our society. It impedes development.
No wonder, Parliament has become an appendage of the Executive. No wonder, its members were given walking papers during the just-concluded general election.
Kenya is endowed with ample resources. With their equitable use and allocation, economic growth can easily be realised. But that can only happen by internalising transparency and accountability in the public and private sectors.
Kenyans are waiting with bated breath for a paradigm shift in governance. Nothing less.
Mr Muthama is a business and strategic management lecturer at JKUAT, consultant and author. [email protected].
