We should be patient with new government

On September 9, 2022, Kenyans voted to give Dr William Ruto the mandate to lead Kenya. He has just gotten off the trucks and he has not picked up his speed.

Among Kenyans, there are those who are cheering and jeering. Those who are cheering and those who are jeering need to understand that if Dr Ruto succeeds, they will share in the glory, if he fails, they will have an equal portion of shame. 

I have seen some people display disquiet and hopelessness on the newly-announced pump prices for fuel and the fears of the ripple effect it will have on food and the cost of living. In the words of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, the new government inherited empty coffers. This we can take with a pinch of salt, but we need to be alive to the fact that our public sector leadership spends like the earth is ending tomorrow. 

A Cabinet Secretary will have dozen government cars maintained and fuelled by the exchequer at his disposal. Some of these fuel guzzlers sometimes have their GK numbers replaced with private ones so that they can pass unnoticed as they are used to transact private business. The Principal Secretary will learn these bad manners from his boss and the system continues downwards. This rot has been around for the longest time.

President Ruto must say no to misuse of public resources, which includes manpower, machines and human capital. 

It really doesn't mean that President Uhuru Kenyatta did nothing worth emulating. Our military has some of the best-trained personnel and some of the best equipment that can be used to construct roads, establish new ones and repair the ones in existence. This will help the country bring down the cost of road construction.

With some understanding of the Judiciary, we need to be alive to the fact that we are feeding thousands of inmates who should not be in jail in the first place. 

Why should we have blind men, frail, old men, women, remandees who have been in prison for ages and who can only be a threat to themselves continue to be taken care of by a financially struggling government? Why wouldn’t the CJ expedite the hearing of appeals and make sure that all those who deserve presidential clemency get it as soon as possible? Decongestion of our jails means some money would be saved.

The government should reinvent 4K clubs. 

Why should a school which has many acres of land continue to enjoy government aid? Some of these farms are huge enough to be converted to commercial use. 

Dr Ruto needs to seal all the loopholes and exploit any opportunity which could be used to save a coin while at the same time enhancing production because we, indeed, need to build a prosperous nation.

Joe Mungai, Washington State, USA