President William Ruto is facing a dilemma over the performance of his Cabinet Secretaries.
At her recent interview by the Telegraph newspaper in London, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva made several comments that now puts the actions of the Kenyan government into question in relation to the controversial Finance Bill 2024.
She expressed concern that world leaders were not ‘paying enough attention’ to the global economy and trade wars between the superpowers were leading to ‘fragmentation’. She said that, when people are deprived of opportunities to better their lives, they will be out on the streets protesting. Kenya has been in the throes of protests for the same reasons. Her view on debt is that countries can spend but must ‘keep receipts’. Failure to keep receipts and lack of transparency around debt is what heightened suspicions in the first place and the government is now picking up the pieces.
The recent protests in Kenya were due to anger towards the Kenyan government, Chinese government, the World Bank and the IMF. The latter have not been responsible lenders as far as Kenyans were concerned. The country kept being topped up with loans from IMF despite lack of proof as to how the loans were spent by the government.
Concerns over corruption and wastage of loans and revenue was something Kenyans felt that the IMF and the World Bank ignored. Kenyans do not believe they should be burdened with higher taxes to pay off loans that were swindled by those in government. These are valid concerns. However, taking out our anger on the IMF and the World Bank does not address the calibre of corrupt people we have running the country.
Murder cases
The current regime started on the wrong foot when it appointed people with integrity and credibility issues to the Cabinet and other high offices. Many MPs who got tickets from Kenya Kwanza had corruption and murder cases pending in court that were prematurely dropped to give them the chance to vie for political posts in 2022. Politicians given lifelines despite lacking credibility would not side with the voters but their rescuers, be that a political party or the President.
Therefore, many MPs who voted Yes to the controversial Finance Bill 2024 despite the protests and deaths of many young people that followed, were doing so to appease the powers that be. This cannot be democratic in any way, shape or form. Guiding and coercing MPs on how to vote in the manner acceptable to the Executive and not the voters are something that has become procedural in our Parliament when it shouldn’t be.
National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula is clearly in the post to facilitate the Executive’s bidding in Parliament. He could not foresee the violence his speed of rushing through unwanted Finance Bill was causing. He could not also foresee how that violence would become a security matter for Parliament itself. He was so focused to please that he had no moment to read the ugly mood and anger that engulfed the streets across the country. He failed not just the country but Parliament itself by failing to protect it from being breached by protesters and bringing it into disrepute. There was no need to rush MPs to vote for a problematic Finance Bill. He should have postponed it to avert the disaster that ensued.
Embezzled loans
Kenyans may appear angry about the embezzled loans from IMF and revenue that has become cash cow for those in government at the expense of the taxpayers, but they are in fact angry with the entire leadership of the country for poor governance. The Cabinet that is nothing but sycophantic, economic advisors who misadvised the President, and MPs who voted Yes for a cruel Finance Bill have made the work of the current government untenable. Yes MPs cannot function in the climate of fear as they and their properties are now costing extra money to protect as their voters have turned against them.
There is no trust anymore between the citizens and the government that failed them and the only proper thing for the President to do is to disband the Cabinet and Parliament and start afresh with a competent and people-centric government. He must give Kenyans another chance to choose local leaders who will work for them and not against them by calling for a snap election. This is not only good to instil confidence in Kenyans but foreign investors and the international community.
Our Cabinet and MPs have lost credibility not just in Kenya but across the world. We need a government that will protect the citizens and be transparent regarding financial issues and foreign debt, which has been one of the bones of contention.
There should be no more space for sycophantic officials. It is what blind-sided the President. Let us go back to the ballot box and start afresh with a better government in place.
Ms Guyo is a legal researcher, [email protected], @kdiguyo
