Wananchi want dynasties.

Jubilee Implosion A big Boost To Governance

By KEN OPALO | May 16th, 2020 at 01:15:20 GMT +0300

When politicians are happy with each other, be afraid.

Contestation is a core feature, not a bug, of politics.

Politicians hold each other accountable when they disagree.

It is only under such conditions that they are likely to demand transparency and pander to the public’s concerns.

But when they agree, they often collude to steal from the public.

Consider the example of the Standard Gauge Railway.

What if the debate had gone something like this: Government: We want to build a brand-new railway line.

Opposition: Why do that instead of building a road network that will serve farmers and actually increase productivity?

The opposition would, of course, be motivated by selfish concerns.

Either way, the point is that the debate would bring to the table the need for government policy to meet Kenyans where they live and work, and would force the government to justify its actions.

Perhaps then, we might have had a more rational debate about priority infrastructure investments.

We may have avoided the sky-high debt that we now have, in addition to a financially unviable railway line.

Why did this not happen in early 2013? Because we have a rudderless opposition and significant Jubilee dominance to allow budgets without input from the opposition.

Within Jubilee, there was full agreement on wasteful infrastructure investments that were really about making money for a few connected people.

The railway, Galana-Kulalu, phantom dams and roads, one-laptop-per-child, the last mile electricity connectivity scarcely went through any scrutiny because of intra-Jubilee consensus.

As our public debt climbs to more than 60 percent of GDP, we are reminded of the tremendous fiscal harm that the Jubilee consensus wrought on the economy.

It will take us several years to grow our way out, and streamline public finance management systems.

It is for that reason that we should all welcome the slow-motion implosion of the Jubilee Party.

As President Uhuru Kenyatta battles his Deputy William Ruto, seemingly irreparable differences have emerged.

Notably, Kenyatta’s faction is now a minority in both Houses of Parliament.

Ruto’s allies are believed to comprise more than half of the 171 Jubilee legislatures in the National Assembly, and a plurality of Senators.

Moving forward, to get anything past the president must negotiate with non-Jubilee legislators.

Coalition agreements with different parties notwithstanding, Kenyatta will now have to negotiate with MPs to get his agenda through Bunge.

No longer will he just convene a Jubilee Parliamentary Group (PG) meeting and whip legislators into voting for his preferred outcomes.

For perspective, the share of executive bills passed saw a significant decline during the grand coalition government.

Back then, Kibaki’s Party of National Unity (PNU) was a minority party, similar to the current status of Uhuru’s Jubilee faction.

All this should provide an opening for legislative strengthening.

Executive machinations to control leadership positions in Parliament are an affront to the principle of separation of powers.

We live in a presidential system -- Parliament is a separate and co-equal branch of government.

If MPs want to preserve their autonomy, they must rework their standing orders to limit extra-parliamentary control of their leadership.

As things stand, party leaders appoint speakers and the entire legislative leadership.

Bunge should take this power back.

And what better time than now when Jubilee’s “tyranny of numbers” is eroding?

I don't agree, webe ni ure ure - we were told over and over. Let opposition relax, there would have been shouts now that they are sabotaging non existence 'jubilee's development plans and efforts'.

Really liked Jimmy defending Lusaka on the floor against Murkomen and team, let Jubilee work in peace until 2022.

Yada, yada, yada. sha ji jing hou, why hasn’t the same strategy been used to eliminate corruption in this country?

You be the judge.

Finally, my unsolicited advice is to Wanjiku; those who do not read the news are ill-informed, and those who read the news are misinformed.

This political orchestration is a club. And you are not a member. So let the unfolding political drama entertain you as would any reality TV show without catching feelings. You are being played.

It is easier to fool someone than to convince someone they are being fooled – Mark Twain