Some lied on the oath, but county chiefs must do better 

New, returning and retained governors in the 45 counties that voted on August 9 last Thursday swore to God that they would serve their people honestly and diligently, without fear or favour.

They complemented this with an oath of integrity, binding them to do the right things that could stand the scrutiny of conscience, law and fairness.

But even as they did this, many knew they were lying to God and to man.

They lied because they did not seek those positions to serve their people.

Except for lucky ones like Siaya Governor James Orengo who spent next to nothing, many lied because they know the first order of business will be to recover the hundreds of millions of shillings they might have spent on legitimate and illegitimate expenses during the party primaries and the proper campaigns.

Such is the reality of politics in Kenya that very few people offer themselves for leadership because they see it as a calling to serve.

Politics has become a business where the opportunity to control public resources is fought over with the intensity of a lion chasing prey and once caught, protecting it from other predators.

With corruption now a default setting, one must activate it when knocking on a public office door for business, the billions that county governments receive every year are such an irresistible lure even those that had a bite the first time round cannot resist the urge to return for seconds.

Ominously for those poor counties, that second bite could be substantially larger than the first!

So, even as they invoked God, some knew that the first order of business will be their interests.

Expect them to have no sense of guilt because they have learnt from some of the best.

Some of the pioneer governors devolved corruption to the counties with the zeal of dolphins invited to play.

Stealing taxpayers' money

A few of the governors are in court facing serious charges of stealing taxpayers’ money.

Those not in court have bought freedom using the stolen loot. Our investigators are not immune to inducements, more so when it comes in form of real cash counted in millions.

Those that have got away have built palace-like abodes, invested in real estate and can live extremely comfortable lifestyles on interest earned by savings.

Others lied on Thursday because they know that a key priority will be to repay debts that they owe supporters.

Campaigns are often collaborative projects in which many people support a candidate with their eyes on a specific prize – mostly getting business from the county.

While some do execute on contracts that they are given, many deliver air.

Governors end up paying for zero services and they can’t enforce compliance because they are often complicit in the conspiracy to steal.

But to be fair, we know there are those that will do well.

Prof Anyang’ Nyongo should do fine in Kisumu and continue with the good work done in the CBD being extended to the rest of the sub-counties.

So should Kilonzo Junior in Makueni, Wavinya Ndeti in Machakos, Jonathan Bii in Uasin Gishu and Joshua Irungu in Laikipia, to name a few. Kakamega too (when they get one) should do well.

These governors are inheriting generally sound foundations so they should really not fail unless they choose to.

Johnson Sakaja has a decent base to give life to his slogan and make Nairobi work again.

As residents, we need continuity of the work done by the Nairobi Metropolitan Services and a serious refocus on some basics.

Getting the city to work means unclogging the drainage system and getting our street lights back.

He should work with urban roads authority to build and repair roads, collect garbage, keep our children in school and rehabilitate the densely populated areas. It can be done.

Trans Nzoia is deceptively easy. Anything Governor George Natembeya does will be a plus.

But the challenges are massive because it is a county that devolution forgot. He must manage expectations.

In Kisii, Bwana Simba Arati has started by making the right noises and moves – rejecting the budget earmarked for his inauguration was very clever but he needs to do a lot more than excite the public through populist moves.

Mine is a scattered and random list but the fact is that whether they lied or not, each resident in all the 47 counties deserves the full suite of services they pay tax for.

May all the governors, whatever their motivation during their swearing-in, find it in them to at least leave their county a better place than they found it. Even thieves should have some honour.

The writer, a former Editor-in-Chief of Nation Media Group, is now consulting. [email protected]; @TMshindi