I'm back to one of my favorite phrases:'WE USE THE WRONG CRITERIA TO JUDGE MPs.'(Councilors too)
We ask ourselves,what is he doing with his money to help the constituents?What will he/she do for us(with his money)
Our main criteria is on how many times the MP has been seen in the constituency doing harambees, constructing new infrastructure and paying school fees for needy children.
We happily voted the new constitution for selfish reasons:we now have more hands to feed us!Sasa mtakula ya 7 candidates!
An MPs duty is to represent your interests in bunge which has 2 main roles:
1.Law making and amendments
2.Oversight on the executive arm of the government through such avenues like budget approval and parliamentary oversight commitees.
I'm yet to hear of a constituency in Kenya which has voted out its MP due to his failure on the above 2 reasons.It's always haonekani huku,hatuoni ile maendeleo amefanya..na kadhalika
I'm not saying an MP should not be accountable for development.Infact, he is in a good position to petition the executive while in parliament to give his constituents their share of the national cake in roads,hospitals etc.He is also in a good position to lobby NGOs and donors to direct their efforts in his area.BUT THIS IS NOT HIS MAIN DUTY!
How will this mentality work in the new constitution?Who between the kanjura,rep to county govt, member of national assembly,senator,governor or the woman representative to the national assembly will you hold into account for doing a harambee in local schools?
No wonder we have the moneyed sitting pretty in bunge coz they have the chums.They're voted out in one election coz of going against euphoria but romp back with a landslide later on e.g Njenga Karume's comeback in 1997
If I was in Juja,between Kabogo and Thuo, I'd go for Thuo
What a wicked man I am!The things I want to do,I don't do.The things I don't want to do I find myself doing