Business Daily (Nairobi)
8 May 2008
editorial
The Grand National Coalition government has brought to the fore how much Kenya, and indeed African countries, need to evaluate and reconsider how they can "synthesise" political democracy as we know it, to our unique systems and contexts.
Many have argued that democracy as practised in Africa has failed to work and we should at times revert to no-party systems of governance with checks and balances.
Now Kenya has to contend with the bizarre situation of forming an opposition after a compromise was reached to get the country back from the brink of disaster.
While there is good argument on why we need an alternative voice in Parliament as proposed by Budalang'i MP Ababu Nmwamba, we tend to believe that opposition for the sake of it will not lift this nation towards economic progress.
While in any country the role and importance of an opposition to safeguard against the excess of any sitting government cannot be gain said, it is high time we looked into what ails us, the way forward, and what system of politics will serve this country's interests.
Already, concern has been raised that the current Parliament's watchdog committees such as the Public Investment (PIC) and the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) may not provide effective checks against the Executive as they are dominated by individuals from parties in government and others named in corruption scandals.
These are some of the same individuals who will be sitting on the opposition benches and it would be foolhardy as a nation not to question their motives and the benefits if any.
Under Kenyan laws, the Standing Orders of Parliament require that only a party with not less than 30 MPs can be recognised as the Official Opposition. This is clearly in a quandary as all the major parties are represented in the coalition. This makes the notion of democracy - and the place of the opposition - look absurd in the Kenyan context.
Let it, however, be known that we are not against an opposition in Parliament - far from it - but the notion, spirit and intention must be clearly defined and illustrated and not mere rhetoric out to benefit individual egos.
It is high time we stopped being taken for a ride by politicians out to benefit themselves at our expense, and instead question their intentions.
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