UhuRuto must shun blind loyalties, embrace work ethics

By BILLOW KERROW

KENYA: With one year gone and only four left before their term ends, the UhuRuto presidency is yet to settle in, with constant pleas for more time to be allowed to perform amid criticism that the government’s scorecard in its first year was pretty average. It is clear that 2013 proved very challenging for the duo, with the ICC problem dampening their spirits and taking valuable time as the government engaged yet again in global shuttle diplomacy to throw spanners in the works in an aggressive attempt to halt The Hague process. The Hague threat still looms large but it is weakening and hopefully will not blur the duo’s scorecard.

The Hague aside, we had serious challenges of insecurity across the country that are bound to remain, not in the least because UhuRuto prefer to retain the captains of this industry in place, their dismal performances notwithstanding. It appears loyalty, and not performance, is the preference of the duo. And for lack of tact, devolution challenges, industrial action by public servants, parliamentary supremacy wars and operational hiccups clearly subdued the perfomance of the team. For the ordinary man, changes to the VAT Act made life more difficult. Their first budget was business as usual; nothing exciting really. The economy generally took the backseat amidst modest growth.

As we start 2014, there are positive signs they may find their grip. A key long-term project, the standard-guage railway that links East Africa, with a significant impact on the economy, has commenced. The regional integration has also been boosted by the launch this week of the Single Customs Territory that will enhance mobility of goods across the region and hopefully enhance our competitiveness. And we are hopeful too that ‘our friends’ the Chinese will continue giving us more loans to finance infrastructure and energy if our balance sheet allows.

A further positive move is the recent approval of dozens of public-private-partnership projects that include some of the Vision 2030 flagship projects which were pushed to the backbanner in recent years. We need to move fast to get these projects going to avoid the massive buildup of public debt and get our priorities right.

The Cabinet should also review the stalled privatisation of state enterprises in line with the existing policies. Over 300 state corporations and statutory agencies gobble nearly Sh400 billion annually, with only a half of these self-sustaining. However, the recent unexpected appointments of former politicians and retired public servants to dozens of these state corporations reveals a reluctance by the duo to embrace a paradigm shift in management of these institutions. Undoubtedly, some will collapse. Others, like the Lapsset, will be strangled quietly.

With the civil war in South Sudan, the proposed new railway serving the Northern Corridor and murmurs about rebuilding the Mombasa refinery, it is highly unlikely that the Chinese will fund Lapsset. Afterall, we may not be creditworthy given our current massive debt. The project has achieved one mission - displace the poor Lamu residents!

It is clear that in making these appointments, UhuRuto team has placed a premium on loyalty by rewarding those individuals who stood by the them in the elections, and not the electorates. In disregarding the electorates and their elected leaders in these areas, the duo risk even greater political backlash. If the intention was to solidify support, the manner in which the appointments were made is unlikely to endear the residents to Jubilee. As we start the new ear, the team ought to embrace new work ethics and political culture that will relegate blind loyalties and sycophancies to the past.