Commentary by Leo Odera Omolo In Kisumu City
The move made by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto by voluntarily offering 20 per cent of their monthly salary reduction in order to relieve the country out of overburdening huge wage bill is a good gesture should be appreciate by all Kenyans of goodwill.
However, it must be taken into account that the President at a personal level is not feeling the heat of the current skyrocketing inflationary situation, which has pushed the prices of the basic commodities beyond the reach of many Kenyan families.
As the sojourner of the of prestigious State House, the President and his family are enjoying free supply of rations free medical facilities and free education of his siblings, all the bills footed by the state unlike thousands of the ordinary Kenyans who can now hardly afford to put their food on the table.
Nevertheless, it is my passionate appeal to him, to consider the options of abolishing so many money guzzling commissions, though all this would require political will. This would require the backing of both the Senate and Parliament.
The government should draft and introduce radical surgery involving a major constitutional amendment abolishing nomination seats in parliament and the national assembly as well as the luxury of nominated MCAs. With the present 290 parliamentary electoral constituencies, 47 Senate representatives and 47 women and as such the electorate in this country are well represented in all important legislative organs. In this context the only essential groups that need special representation and perhaps a few nominations are those people with physical disabilities. The huge wage bill which Kenya is currently under the obligation to meet the payment is the civil servants
It is also time the for the new constitution had explicitly abolished under the devolution processes.
It is worth for Kenyans to remember that during his election campaign for his re-election to his second term, the former President Mwai Kibaki made a big political blunder by dishing out the “political districts”, the erratic move which had seen New administrative districts recklessly being created in some areas which were previously administered by the locations administrative chiefs being promoted made district. Some of the Kibaki districts should be scrapped and revert to their former areas of jurisdiction. The creation of the new districts had inflated the pay bill for civil servants by nearly 35 per cent.
As a resident of Nyanza Province I can offer the example of old Migori district in the greater Southern Nyanza. Migori, which is now a County has new eight districts. There used to be only four, which include Kuria, Rongo and Migori. But today there are eight administrative district, which included, Rongo, Awendo, Uriri, Suna East, Suna West and Nyaike plus the two Kuria East and Kuria West. In all these new districts there are D.Cs, Dos and Chiefs and their assistants. What a crazy kind administrative arrangement is this?
Members of the Provincial Administration are redundant and idle and should either be redeployed into other government Ministries or be sent home with immediate effect.
His EXCELLENCY President Kenyatta should make a bold step and brig the Administration Police and the regular police under one command of the Inspector General of Police instead of maintaining the APs as different entity and yet they are supposed to be offering the same service.
At the same time the government should cut down unnecessary seminars, workshops and conferences at all levels of the national government and the counties. Uncalled for foreign trips, which of late have become a burden to Kenya taxpayers should be discouraged. And also non-performing Cabinet Secretaries, particularly those whose ministries are reportedly bedeviled with corruptions should be axed immediately.
Cabinet Secretaries should attend the meetings of both Senate and Parliament and be always available to answer the members questions. A certain category of public servants working for the Counties should be on secondment from the national government allowing the Counties to recruit only the lower cadres of workers for their purpose of maintaining efficiency in service delivery by the county governments. I am sure President Kenyatta meant well for the down trodden Kenya and he should also instruct his aides to be mindful of other Kenyans who are wallowing in abject poverty.
Ends
Signed by Leo Odera Omolo.
About the author: He.Is a retired veteran journalist who comments occasionally on topical issues.