The Nation (Nairobi)
Mukhisa Kituyi
31 October 2009
opinion
Nairobi — Our nation is in urgent need of clear and decisive leadership at the highest level of government to reassure Kenyans as they grapple with a plethora of challenges. Yet at this most critical time, one can discern a pattern of retreat by the Executive.
When government retains form (appearances, mannerisms, symbols) of being in charge but cedes content to other agencies of state or non-state actors, then a virtual government emerges.
From an economy that is misfiring badly to the ambivalent management of the Mau Forest saga; from the brazen operations of organised gangs to the management of executive appointments; from the open confrontations and competition within Cabinet to the attempts at outsourcing reform managers; we are all witness to what the Aga Khan has aptly called "the faltering instruments of government."
In our attempts to get along, we are accepting temporary solutions which, on closer scrutiny, may be seen as compromising our long-term interests. At a time of major anxiety, a people need reassurance from their rulers that all will be well.
They need to see that government is in charge. Yet in reality, we are seeing either the unwillingness or inability of the Executive to define and defend its space. One can perceive the atrophy of the Executive. When the Executive withers, other players step forward to appropriate power, or people turn to other rituals to fulfil their desire of assuredness.
The decline of the authority of government is partly a product of the settlement we reached at the end of our blood-letting last year. The agreement that led to the coalition government included transferring executive appointive powers of key commissions to Parliament.
The implementation of this was just the beginning of the growth of non-legislative power of Parliament. We have seen Parliament become increasingly assertive in the exercise of this new-found executive power. The excited Parliament has also exploited openings created by unpopular decisions by government.
The fate of Mr Justice Aaron Ringera is the best example here. Because the Executive behaved badly in the reappointment of Mr Ringera, we did not mind Parliament re-inventing procedures so long as the appointment would be reversed. But the principle of separation of powers took a direct hit. Today, Parliament can go for anyone they want. If the law does not provide, they will invent a way out.
We have come a long way since the days of Moi's reign. From a president who commented on everything to one who hardly comments on anything; from a regime where every appointment radiated the patronage of the presidency to one where the president mainly certifies and announces appointees of Parliament.
The Kenyan presidency and the Executive in general appear to be eroded by three streams of misfortune - the retreat of nationalism in the face of a resurgent xenophobia; the institutional paralysis occasioned by an unusually structured distributive coalition government; the proliferation of parliamentary power at a time when none of the parties has real control over its MPs.
All these have strangely coincided with the tenure of President Kibaki and have impacted the perceived decline of the Executive. Power hates vacuums. When those in authority are reluctant to lead, very strange actors can start usurping the appearances of being in charge.
Early last year, we told the world that we needed their help to stop us from slaughtering each other. They came to town, modelled some package of exit from our momentary madness and left. While maturity dictates that we pick up the pieces and redeem our nation, we have refused to let go.
We still beg the world to oversee our reforms, reprimand our government and punish criminals in our midst. A collective sense of inadequacy, and voluntary submission to surrogate fathers has gripped us in a way that embarrasses the rest of Africa.
If you observe the weight we give to every opinion of the American ambassador and the coverage of his travels across the country to support what he calls reformers; if you watch the way government, the media and civil society trip each other in an attempt to impress Kofi Annan; if you follow the cacophony with which we are heralding the visit of Ocampo to Nairobi, you will be forgiven for thinking that Obama is the President of Kenya, his Prime Minister is called Kofi Annan, and the Attorney-General is called Ocampo.
How a society that is relatively modern and well educated as our own can submit so meekly to an unprovoked display of political debauchery, can only be appreciated in the context of a people wanting inspiration but finding none at home.
Still, while dissatisfaction with the way our lives have been managed by our leaders is painfully clear and understandable, a collective promiscuity before foreign leaders with a shopping list of what we want them to help us do for ourselves represents the nadir in the decline of our collective self-esteem.
Dr Kituyi, a former minister, is executive director, Kenya Institute of Governance
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2009 The Nation. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com).
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
