Business Daily (Nairobi)
16 April 2008
editorial
The Official Opposition is viewed as the caucus tasked with keeping the government in check. The Official Opposition is also generally viewed as the alternative government.
As Kenyans by now know so well, the least trustworthy fellows are our politicians. Recent history has shown us that they are a ravenous lot, adept at self preservation more than anything else.
A grand coalition should not be used as an excuse to deny Kenyans the right to have a public watchdog within Parliament.
That is why calls by a section of MP's who were not named into the grand coalition Cabinet should be listened to.
The greatest fear right now is actually that the grand coalition Cabinet might metamorphose into a grand theft as lessons from single party days have shown.
Our politicians need checks and balances. Fellow politicians who are not at the centre of the action have shown that they can help keep their peers on check.
With a grand coalition, Kenyans are not looking for a 'Yes' parliament but a place where debates can be scrutinized and opposed for the betterment of society. Kenya cannot afford to have a Parliament that does not have even a similarity of opposition.
We cannot trust our politicians to operate without opposition since those are the early seeds of sycophancy and kleptocracy.
An Official Opposition should not be seen as going against the spirit of the National Accord Act, but should rather be seen as the only way to keep our greedy politicians on queue and away from the cookie jar.
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