Where is CORD’s alternative budget?

Kenya: The Budget is an essential policy vehicle for any government. After the Constitution, it is probably the most important instrument of governance.

This crucial tool stabilises the economy, distributes income and allocates scarce fiscal resources to address competing needs.

It is the instrument through which governments make choices about what their real priorities are, and how they are ranked. It is essentially the basic plan for the business of government. 

But how about the Opposition? What is their role in this very critical process of governance? One of the favourite sticks that any incumbent government loves to use to beat up the Opposition with is: “They always whinge and whine but never offer up any solutions!”

We have heard the Jubilee Coalition use this tag against the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) many times since it took over administration of the country.

Real deal

So you would expect a professional, well-researched and thoughtful alternative budget from CORD would have gone a long way towards convincing Kenyans that the Opposition is actually the real deal.

It would have also knocked the legs out from under the accusation that they provide no real solutions to problems facing Kenya. What effective Opposition parties in developed democracies do is provide an alternative budget plan for the country.

Governments are supposed to harness the resources the country has, and manage them in such a way that the optimum benefit comes to the individual members of the society.

The party in Opposition must also have its vision and plans, because being in Opposition means preparing to go into government. Budgeting would, therefore, be one of its responsibilities were it in government today.

The Opposition cannot start planning only when it has come into government. The practice of governance has to be ongoing. That is why political parties outside the government in mature democracies present themselves as a serious contending alternative in the budgeting process.

CORD should have used this opportunity to show Kenyans how different their economic, agricultural, industrial, financial and youth development policies would be if their coalition were in government today.

Party Manifesto

They would have expounded their party manifesto and policies through the finer details of an alternative budget to that of the Government, and shown Kenyans how their lives would be better off today if they were in power. It is what governments-in-waiting do.

In fact, CORD should have submitted their counter-proposals to the plans contained in the Government’s Budget Statement to Parliament and Kenyans in general.

They should have presented details of the changes in taxes and charges they would have levied, and how proposals for the different reforms in their manifesto would be financed.

Its alternative budget would have been of enormous assistance in putting some credible flesh on the bones of its manifesto.

The Opposition would probably argue that it would have its time to scrutinise, criticise and poke holes in the Government’s Budget once it is presented and debated in Parliament. But that is the job of Parliament as a whole; it is not something they can lay any special claim to.

An Opposition is not there simply to scrutinise and criticise. Punching holes is the easiest thing to do for, as they say, any fool can punch a hole. It is about offering concrete alternatives that would have given better results. 

It is not enough for CORD to tell Kenyans that the Budget is not Wanjiku friendly. It may not be, but they should go the next step and say these are the reasons, and that if we were in power, this is what we would have done and how we would change the figures.

In other democracies, shadow ministers or designated persons in the Opposition responsible for finance present a real alternative budget and put it out in the public domain.

The public then debates it just like we would debate the Government Budget. In fact, an alternative budget would help the Opposition when it is debated in Parliament as it would ensure that when the ruling coalition MPs tells the Opposition, “Show me the money!”, the Opposition would be well equipped to do so.

The deliberate failure to produce an alternative may sometimes be a strategy in that it is sometimes less damaging than producing one. There is always the danger that Treasury or those on the Government’s side would rip all your numbers to shreds. But not taking such risks could mean that the government-in-waiting is itself not ready for scrutiny. 

In any case, CORD would, after all, like us to believe that they have what it takes to form an alternative government. So, surely, within its ranks there ought to be sufficient wit and experience to pull together a good alternative budget.

Fair advice

The preparation of an alternative budget is a highly educational exercise for Opposition parties. In fact, it is something that should be made mandatory in case the official Opposition parties are either too lazy or scared to undertake the same.

At the very least an alternative budget would have compelled CORD members and its leadership into thinking seriously about where they want the country to go and how they propose to take it there.

 Of course resources are needed to produce a good budget that can challenge the Government’s. That, however, cannot be an excuse for CORD’s slackness.

The Constitution has mechanisms to ensure the Government provides the official Opposition with sufficient resources to carry out the work of an “effective Opposition”.

Moreover, the Constitution provides for the establishment of a parliamentary budget office that should provide CORD an adequate level of access to sources of information, including those available to the National Treasury Cabinet Secretary and other civil servants.

Moreover, it provides for access to fair advice from parliamentary officials, including parliamentary counsel and draftsmen.

The Opposition should have systematically challenged those in Government with a clear and compelling budget story of their own.

They should not just have used broad brush strokes to outline their alternative narrative, but should have supplied sufficient detail for ordinary Kenyans to be able to imagine themselves into their story. 

If there really is an alternative, for God’s sake, let’s see it!

The writer is a senior vice president at Riyad Bank, Saudi Arabia.

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