Coast's way foward in Shirikisho

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In politics, the primary goal each and every politician strives for is survival. I therefore find it very disingenuous for any politician to accuse another’s strategy as being an act of political survival as if they themselves are not doing the same very thing. All those politicians who decamp from one party to another are among other things seeking political survival. Period.

For instance, President George W Bush’s Republican Party U.S senators have for a long time rallied behind his Iraq policy. The Iraq strategy has become very unpopular in the nation and the senators are now seen to be distancing themselves from the president’s failed Iraq policy, as they are very much aware that they soon will have to face the electorate in their re-election bids. Talk of political survival. Plain and simple.

In the local scene -- all government friendly legislators have congregated in NARC Kenya, presumably the party President Mwai Kibaki will use as his ticket to seek re-election. This is simply an act of political survival. It is hypocritical for anyone to accuse the group of Coast legislators led by the Transport Minister Chirau Mwakwere political move of joining Shirikisho as an act of political survival as if it is unique.

Mwakwere and Tourism & Wildlife Minister Morris Dzoro were both ‘given’ senior national party posts in NARC Kenya and could have remained in that party and all could have been well and good for them. They already had secured political survival kit by being in NARC Kenya. But for the interest of the Coast people they thought otherwise. They rightly came to a conclusion that it was high time for the Coastal region to have its own political party in order to be better positioned to bargain in national affairs on equal footing with other regions.

Since independence, and apart from independence politicians such as the late Ronald Ngala, truth be told, Coast has never produced such courageous leaders who dared and took a bold and equally intrepid political step, like the one last Sunday. Traditionally Coast politicians are known to have been happy to play very safe by gladly accepting to play second fiddle to their up-country counterparts. In this day and age Mvita MP Najib Balala and former Mombasa Mayor Taib A. Taib continue to play second fiddle to their up-country counterparts, by acting as poodles.

It is comprehensible for up-country politicians, particularly those from NARC Kenya, to castigate Mwakwere’s group of decamping from “their” party. Although not a loss to President Mwai Kibaki but it was indeed a big loss for NARC Kenya. But for Coast legislators and their cronies to do the same clearly indicates how some of the Coast politicians have a long way to go to grow up and mature in an open democratic arena’s competitive politics.

It is rhetoric for politicians such as the youthful Garsen MP Dunson Mungatana and his Lamu West counterpart Fahim Twaha to knowing pretend (or be naïve to believe) that they are only interested in joining national parties and are above tribal and or regional politics. Come to think of it the level of political immaturity displayed by these politicians is below being naïve.

Apart from KANU there isn’t and there will not be another ‘national party’ in a true sense in the foreseeable future. The era of one or two ‘national party’ politics is long gone. It is time for small parties, regional, sectarian and to some extent tribal ones to co-exist where they get the chance to unite with like minded ones to form separate grand coalitions. Perfect example is the dormant ruling NARC and ODM Kenya (with KANU as a member).
Mwakwere was on the mark when he noted: "There is no problem with Coast people having a party of their own and using it as a bargaining tool …since independence, Coast people have been used as tissue paper by political parties but time is rife for us to have a say in Kenyan politics by having our own political party".
Instead of being showered with praises by their Coast political colleagues for being daring because they snatched the chance that has availed itself to finally be represented at national level with their own political outfit, they are being criticized for their bold move. I would hope that the Coastals will now be awakened and will not be like the Palestinians who never miss the opportunity to miss the opportunity.

The bottom line here is that, if there was any time in the history of the Coast politics for the politicians, elected or otherwise, need to unite for the sake of their province and people like in other regions, then that time is now. This window of opportunity will take many years to avail itself again.

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There was a joke that went around sometimes back when the Tanzanian founding President Mwalimu Julius Kabarange Nyerere was alive. It was said that Mwalimu Nyerere use to tell his compatriots that there was no need for them to spend all their hard money to travel to Europe, as ‘Ulaya’ is just north of their border – meaning Nairobi. Comparing to Dar es Salaam, our then city in the sun was ‘Little Europe’, perhaps still is.

Last week I was in Pakistan for week long visit where I toured their well planed and clean capital city of Islamabad. I also had the chance to visit the country’s second largest city of Lahore and Rawalpindi. Although I reside in the United States where infrastructural development is beyond comprehension, I was amazed how ‘developed’ Pakistani is but still a developing country. Their roads are great. Their highways like those in United Kingdomare are known as Motorways and have ‘three lanes’ each way. Our one lane Mombasa –Nairobi highway is a joke compared to their motorways. The motorway stretches for hundreds of miles. I must say their motorway (at least the one I traveled) seem better than those in United Kingdom that I have been on. And I must add that it was as good as the United States’ Interstate Highways, minus the hundreds of vehicles in America. Without a doubt the US has the very best highways in the world -- with four lanes each way.

Manning their motorways and or highways the Pakistani has what they call the Highway Police. This police corps appeared uncorrupted and did not stop any vehicle that traveled within the set speed limits, ours included.

I did not observe a single pot hole from Islamabad to Lahore, a 370 km journey. And interestingly we did not see any accident on the road but saw cleaners cleaning the highway. I asked my minders why are Highway Police uncorrupted, the answer was that they were well remunerated, and that, they directly benefit from the traffic ticket fines. The fines are divided into three portions -- one third to the federal government, one third to the Motorway maintenance department and one third distributed among the police corps. No need for them to ask for kitu kidogo.

If India is considered the sleeping giant then Pakistani with a population of 140 million is the next big thing. I understand that Kenya is doing a lot of business with Pakistani. I believe they are one of the largest consumers of our tea. Our High Commission is very much visible in the country of under the stewardship of Her Excellency Mrs. Mishi Masika Mwatsahu and her team of dedicated mission staff. I had a chance to visit our embassy and was welcomed and treated very well by the staff unlike in other Kenyan missions abroad. I even had the chance to personally meet the High Commissioner who was very courteous and made me feel at home.

Kenyans policy makers should look into this ‘next big thing’ and copy them as much as they can as opposed to always look up to Europe and North America for solutions. Instead of traveling to Europe and North America, Pakistani might the solutions our policy makes could be seeking as they will see what home grown development means. I found it very interesting that Pakistani despite being a military regime has a powerful political ruling party, a functioning federal legislature, and federal government. In addition as federal republic there are functioning and powerful provincial governments.

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Perhaps President Bush might see the light and have the courage to change course in his Iraq policy. Two senior Republican senators, members of the influential Senate Foreign Relations Committee are calling for an exist strategy in Iraq, asked the president to look for a way out. Sen. Richard Lugar of Indiana is the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

David Gergen, who has advised both Republican and Democratic presidents recently pointed out that ‘when Dick Lugar comes out against your foreign policy, it means your dam is breaking, and it means we're far more likely as a country to move from Plan A to Plan B this fall, when it comes to Iraq."

The other one is Sen. George Voinovich, from Ohio, who is already jumping straight to what he calls Plan "E" for "Exit." With no support of both the American people and the Congress Bush is prolonging what

It must remembered that, it Voinovich’s lone vote in the Foreign Relations Committee cost John Bolton’s confirmation as the US ambassador to the United Nations where Bush was forced to bulldoze him (Bolton) with a recess, albeit temporary appointment.

The ranking remember of the Foreign Relations Committee Lugar is one of Republican senators who was opposed Ronald Reagan’s “Constructive Engagement policy” with the then white South Africa apartheid regime.


omarahmedali@gmail.com

A new fresh face to head national security needed

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The security situation in the country is appalling. It is an embarrassment and humiliating for those of us who are out here independently defending the country’s public image. I have written about this topic before and since then several innocent Kenyans have lost their lives and so are some of the security personnel who are supposed to protect the public. Without beating about the bush, the security situation in Kenya has reached more than the alarming level, and continues to worsen with every passing minute, hour and day.
Kenyans have become a scared lot – for the first time in our history Kenyans do not feel safe in their own homes let alone outside their houses. The insecurity situation used to be restricted to the urban centers, but now it has spread to even rural settings. And mind you I am not talking of the so-called Mungiki killers.
Now that the president himself has commented on this matter, I have this suggestion to the head of state and the policy makers. It is high time that the country establish a full cabinet portfolio with specific assignment of security and public safety. If for instance there is no money to set a brand new ministry then there is a compelling need to take the current two ministries, State for Provincial Administration & National Security and that of Local Government to come up with two brand new ministries. The two new ministries would be, Ministry of Public Safety & Security and the other Ministry of Provincial Administration & Local Government. This way, the provincial administration and the local government which go hand in hand and can be supervised on behalf of the executive by one individual. If that is not possible, then here is another suggestion for the president and his key advisers to ponder.
Take all security affairs from the OP Provincial Administration and National Security and establish the new OP Public Safety and Security, the same way Housing ministry’s functions were taken out of then Lands and Housing ministry to create an independent Ministry of Housing.
Once established this new security portfolio, some sort of Homeland security, should absorb all of the country’s law enforcement agencies, i.e. the regular Constabulary Police, the General Service Unit, the CID, Anti-Stock Theft Squad, and the Administration Police. And this will also absorb the correctional services (prisons department) from the VP Home Affairs docket. Any department or departments that are ‘security allied and or related’ other than the armed forces should fall under this new docket.
I know I am perhaps singing to the choir, but apart from the public cries for their safety, lest we forget, Kenya is privileged to be the headquarters of two UN agencies, Habitat and United Nations Environment Program (UNEP). We are the only country in the third world, let alone Africa to enjoy such a prestige. Nairobi is perhaps the capital city with the most number of accredited diplomats in Africa, hence the home of one of the largest diplomatic community in the world. Then there is the all important Tourism industry which is still the backbone of our economy. All these need protection and security to preserve, let alone securing the peace for our own citizens that should be the government’s number one priority.
Boldly speaking, would the establishment of this proposed ministry change the security situation overnight? The answer is definitely no, but it will be the first step in the right direction in securing the peaceful environment that President Kibaki assured Kenyans in his latest Madaraka Day speech.
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Who is folloing who here?

"The Limitations of Actions Act only applies in civil but not criminal matters. The Goldenberg scandal is a criminal issue." Says attorney James Mwamu. Mr. Mwamu was reacting to Justice Aaron Ringera’s assertion that more than Sh60 billions stolen through the Goldenberg scandal may never be recovered and that Kenyans should forget about the loot.
While addressing the press, the retired Justice Ringera the head of the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) notes, "In Kenyan law there is the Limitation of Actions Act, which does not allow for the recovery of such monies and property after six years from the date of the commission of the offence."
I am no lawyer, but according to Mwamu, who is the Chair of Western Kenya Law Society, there is no statute of limitations (Limitation of Actions Act) in criminal matters but only in civil matters. The Goldenberg scandal was a criminal act and as such Ringera and his team not only have the obligation but also the leeway to pursue these criminals wherever they are and wherever they may be.

The Goldenberg financial scandal created billionaires and millionaires in the country overnight at the expense of the Kenya taxpaying public and the country’s economy. The moneybags individuals are now laughing and smoking expensive Cuban cigars knowing that they are now free to enjoy their loot.
Who is fooling whom here? Where is the Sh70 billion that was supposedly recovered by the firm, Kroll and Associates who were paid more than Sh11 million in fees? Hold on, what was all that about when in September last year, the illustrious Ringera boasted that his team had court warrants allowing them to seize accounts and recover the proceeds of the stolen loot stashed in 78 bank accounts.
This is a matter of public concern, Members of Parliament should take up the matter and amend the law {Cap 22 4 (d)} if need be in order for KACC to continue with their pursuit in this matter.

I will not make any inference here as to what has transpired in the high circles and in the corridors of power that yielded Ringera to make such a public statement. But if Ringera drops this pursuit, (as it appears he already has) it indirectly convey to the future looters that, as long as one covers their tracks well, say for six years while looting our state coffers, you will be able to steal and enjoy your loot in broad daylight. What happened in the Goldenberg scandal is stuff you see in movies fictionalizing a backward third world country and not real life happenings as was the case in Kenya.

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Zoellick the right person for WB

Finally the World Bank has a new president. In naming Robert B. Zoellick as the new World Bank chief, one can boldly assert that the appointing authority, United States President George Bush, got it right this time around. I never thought I could say it, kudos to Bush for this appointment. Ambassador Zoellick is the best replacement that they could ever have for the disgraced Paul Dundes Wolfowitz.

First and foremost Ambassador Wolfowizt had no finance background whatsoever to become an effective and respected leader at the institution. Secondly with the Iraq war baggage still following him after he was hounded out of the Defense Department he must have thought, “ to hell with it”, I will reward those who supported me (him) in the Iraq war. True to his colors, Wolfowitz’z senior five appointments he made during his nearly two-year tenure, three were what one would call ‘political appointees’ of right-wing governments that provided strong backing for U.S. policy in Iraq. Some sort of Quid Pro Quo. The appointments included former Jordanian Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher, who was named senior vice president for external affairs in early 2007.

Ambassador Muasher was Jordan's diplomat in Washington in the lead up to the Iraq War and reportedly helped ensure his country's cooperation during the 2003 invasion. Wolfowitz also secured posts for former Salvadoran Finance Minister Juan Jose Daboub, who was chief of staff to former President Francisco Flores Perez at the time when El Salvador, sent Salvadoran combat troops to Iraq more than any other developing country. The former Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio, who was an outspoken proponent of the Iraq War during the administration of former Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who sent 1,500 troops to Iraq despite widespread opposition to the war in Spain. Wolfowizt was the wrong choice, period.

The United States was almost loosing its creditability as the appointing authority in the World Bank after Bush named a partisan political appointee to run it. Wolfotwizt did not disappoint his masters when started to behave as if he was running a US federal agency under President Bush and the Republican Party as opposed to an international world body.


Ambassador Zoellick, a career diplomat, has his work cut out for him. This columnist has no doubt that the former diplomat is the right person for the right job at the right moment in history. Until this appointment the US credibility was at stake and it needed someone of Zoellick’s stature and background if it had a chance of being salvaged.

His curriculum vitae is very impressive in any measuring standards. I can boldly say he has the prerequisite experience critically needed for this high profile position. He has extensive, both local (United States) and international work experience. He has served as the 13th US Trade Representative, a cabinet rank position in the US federal government, equivalent of a trade minister in any other country. His last position in the government was a brief stint as the Deputy Secretary of State. Zoellick also served at the US Department of the Treasury in various positions, including Counselor to Secretary of Treasury, Executive Secretary of the Department, and Deputy Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions Policy.

Zoellick has received several awards including the ‘Alexander Hamilton Award’, the US Department of Treasury's highest honor, the Distinguished Service Award, the Department of State's highest honor. The German government awarded him the ‘Knight Commanders Cross’ for his role in developing the U.S. strategy toward German unification.

Zoellick has to get down to work as soon as it is humanly possibly as the world bank has been waiting for him since the resignation of Wolfowizt who used his position at the bank to repay in kind the debts of those who supported his debacle of taking America to the Iraq war, as the main architect of it.
Closer to home, Zoellick has worked with the US Congress to pass the Trade Act of 2002, which included new Trade Promotion Authority, and to expand the AGOA (African Growth & Opportunity Act). He has been to Kenya to attend the Mombasa meeting hosted by our Trade and Industry minister Dr. Mukhisa Kituyi, for the informal trade talks focusing on the stalled Doha round, with agriculture high on the agenda.

omarahmedali@gmail.com

Decentralize party organization

In supporting his party’s grassroots elections, one of the NARC Kenya Vice Chairmen, Kiraitu Murungi noted, “We intend to establish a massive movement with a national face like the (Chinese) Communist Party." The South Imenti legislator further added: "China’s economy is growing faster than that of the United States due to the organized leadership of the party. This is what we are aiming for."

Talk is cheap. But the only reason whey the country lacks organized party leadership is the fact that political parties are not mass movements -- they are not established to be that way. Secondly the individuals involved in setting up and registering political parties are only happy to settle for senior national leadership positions in ‘their’ parties. I call it the Bwana M’kubwa syndrome -- everyone is yearning for senior leadership posts. It explains why NARC Kenya has almost seventy national leadership officials. Not be left behind, ODM Kenya has over thirty national officials apart from the defacto leaders.

Politicians can talk of their wishes to wanting to make their respective political parties national organizations until the cows come home. If they are serious in their rhetoric then they have to give the people the powers to craft the national face for their respective parties. One thing is for sure, to achieve that ‘organized party leadership’ distinction it cannot start from the top down but from the bottom up.

There is a need for fundamental changes to be made in our political system and or landscape. No one can dispute that political parties have refused to democratize and as such it must be done for them. The far-reaching changes dictate that we begin by compelling major political parties to have ‘uniform party structures’. Major political parties could be defined as ‘parliamentary parties’, to avoid having to include ‘briefcase parties’ in this uniformity. One area of this standardization could be the in the presidential nomination exercise. The problems facing ODM Kenya in the nomination aspect would a thing of the past.

Another problem facing major political parties, past and present is that, in their need to balance regional representation (to give their parties a national outlook so they assert) they end up appointing individuals to represent their respective native provinces/regions. The same individuals would probably never been voted in had they faced the “party supporters-cum-members” in any form of election. In essence they end up imposing leadership on the people.

The current system, where parties start from the top, the national office, down to second tier, the branch level down to Constituency level and onto the bottom tiers location and sub-location levels is very outdated. In addition, positions such as Secretary General, Organizing Secretary, and secretaries for ‘these and those affairs’ are old fashioned party posts. Modern political parties do not have such positions unless of course one is looking up to the communist parties for party management guidance.

There is no denying that we are a tribal and sectarian society and there is a need to accept this fact in order to move forward politically. A perfect example is the recent Magarini by-election which has confirmed that ‘all politics is local’. With the support of the Coast provinces’ NARC Kenya leadership, the immediate former MP Harrison Kombe of Shirikisho Party comfortably recaptured his parliamentary seat. It did not matter that ODM Kenya bigwigs (all of whom are not wenyeji of Coast province) camped in the constituency during the final weeks of the campaigns. Their presence was of no consequence to the electorate’s decision.

In accepting this important reality check the best way forward would be to have political parties with national following be compelled ( in the new uniform system) to establish eight provincial offices. This way the side effect of the system will be to flush out from the system briefcase parties because they will be made redundant.

The ‘eight regional offices’ will have boundaries alongside those of the eight administrative provinces for easy identification and to avoid any administrative district desiring to be paired with another regional office et al.

Once established, the ‘Regional Party Offices’ or RPO should have strong and powerful Executive Committees as the top party organ. The committees’ membership slots must be divided equally to all the respective provinces’ constituencies. Each executive committee should have the same number of officials equal to the number of the constituencies in the respective province plus five. The executive committees will be bestowed with the duties and responsibilities of running and managing the affairs of the party in their respective provinces.

This way individuals from Rift Valley, Nyanza, Central and Coast provinces will concentrate with party affairs in their respective regions, and so on. In the United States, the world’s oldest democracy, each state has their own states’ parties’ offices for the Republican and Democratic parties. Even fringe parties such as Reform Party have the same uniform arrangement.

Hierarchically, right under the RPO Executive Committee, could be the Constituency Party offices (CPO) managed by a Constituency Coordinating Committee, or COC. The officials for this committee should be equal to the number of civic wards in their respective constituencies plus five. Below the COC the Civic Wards’ level offices would appropriate where it should be managed by what could known as the ‘Local Committee’ of not more than ten officials. This will make every region, every constituency and every civic ward participate in the activities and the running of the respective parties.

Above the RPO would be the National Committee that should have less than ten officials to run the office. There will be no need for secretary generals, organizing secretaries or any of those outdated positions. Most of the parties functions would be handled at regional level by the parties respective RPOs.

All the officials of the RPO Executive Committees and COC should make up their respective parties’ National Leadership Council membership.

The parties Local Committees officials together with the NLC members plus the parties’ sitting Members of Parliament and Civic Councillors should make up the Party’s National Convention membership where all presidential nominations could be selected from. There will be no confusion whatsoever as to which list of members is valid and so on. If done this way, the parties would be more organized and orderly eliminating the conflict of Kalonzo Musyoka wanting this style and Odinga interested in that style of picking their party’s presidential nominee. From the ground up and not top down.

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While speaking at the launch of the Council for Legal Education/Kenya School of Law Strategic Plan at the Nairobi Safari Club, the Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua rightly pointed that the quality of service rendered by the country’s lawyers is sub-standard.

I would inform Madam Karua that no one disputes that assertion. The minister noted: “In particular the quality of education and training provided by the Kenya School of Law has been singled out as being mediocre and sometimes irrelevant.” The minister hit the nail on the mark with this statement.

In most countries, even in commonwealth nations such as India and others, a Law Degree is a graduate degree or at least second degree. In Kenya it is the first degree where students are not exposed to other areas and or subjects other than those of legal and or law related. They tend to concentrate in studying to pass the exams but not gaining any knowledge that will assist them in their profession and or their daily professional lives.

Kenya’s biggest problem is that we tend to follow and continued to tag along on the British education system even if it does not fit our needs. In some areas the system does not adequately meet our needs and does not fit our unique situations. For instance an individual is respected when he comes home with a British degree even if the college/university he or she went is a mediocre one. We tend always to think overseas education is far superior to our local one.

Many would say I may be biased when I talk and praise the United States education system. But the fact remains that the US university education remains superior to any other by far. The country should look into it and copy in an effort to improve our very own system. For instance, our government is a blend of the American presidential system and the British parliamentary one. We could and should do the same in other areas such as education.

In the United States one can major in Sciences, Arts or even in Music at their undergraduate level and has access to attend law school and obtain a law degree and become a lawyer. Of course one must meet the schools’ requirements and must have done well and passed the Law School Admission Test (LSAT) as prerequisite for admission.

Now with the introduction of Parallel degrees programs the university education standards are bound to nose dive. I strongly believe that such programs are, to put it mildly, mainly money making ventures for the schools.

My bold suggestion to Justice Emmanuel O’Kubasu-chaired Council for the Legal Education, make Law Degree to be a graduate degree and not an undergraduate one as is the case right now. Prospective lawyers must first obtain their first degrees in any field of study (and or concentration) before they pursue legal profession.
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It is without a doubt that seatbelts save lives. In the United States, hard data show that 63 percent of people killed in accidents are not wearing seat belts. An estimated 10,000 lives are saved each year by the use of seatbelts during motorcar accidents. The data goes on to indicate, ‘If 90 percent of Americans buckle up (wear seatbelts), it will prevent more than 5,500 deaths and 132,000 injuries annually.” The fact remains that seat belts are the most effective safety devices in vehicles today.
I bring these hard facts because I was taken aback when I read one commentary (MAKOKHA”S MEMOS) in one of the local dailies complaining about the strict seatbelt enforcement in the country. The illustrious Makhoha notes: “In this day and age, Kenyans are still being hauled off to court to answer charges of failing to wear a seatbelt while travelling in a motorcar, contrary to the Traffic Act, Cap 47.”
The comments go further and he thinks he is being funny when he added, “Yet everywhere — in the cities, towns and villages — poor souls continue to be ferried from one job to the next on the back of open pick-up trucks, lorries and other contraptions for transporting goods. There are no seats in there, let alone seatbelts. And they are ferried right under the noses of police officers who are keen to wave the traffic on. “
So what even if some ‘poor souls’ (as he puts it) break the same very law by riding on the back of the pick-up trucks where there are so seatbelts. These poor souls have no alternative but to be transported the same way goods are being ferried. The form of transportation is wrong, against the law and very dangerous to human lives but there is no choice.
It was a commentary by a supposedly educated and urbane Kenyan, let alone the fact that the writer is a respected journalist or columnist. Instead of Mr. Makohas being proud for the traffic law enforcement he believes it is wrong, ‘in this day and age’.
I would boldly point out that the Kshs 100 fine imposed to the ‘wearing seatbelt law breakers’ is too small of a fine and or punishment. It should be Kshs 1,000 for first offenders and a maximum of Kshs 5000 for any repeat offenders.

omarahmedali@gmail.com