From time immemorial, a member of parliament has been a very important figure in Kenyan Society. MPs have traditionally been gods to be worshipped the way they worship celebrities in the US. Every general election, thousands of men and women ran from this seat that attracts a lot of power and of course money. They promise to build roads, schools, hospitals etc. With my little education I know that an MP cannot build the said infrastructure because their work is to represent, legislate and oversight. After the 5 years however, MPs have been judged by the projects and infrastructure that they have initiated but since this is not their work, many fall short of the citizenry’s expectations and many do not make it back to parliament.
However, I think things are changing. Nowadays, when a road has many potholes, the residents march to the governor’s office. It’s the governor and his MCAs who are now responsible for development at the local level and many Kenyans seem to understand this. It’s a while since I heard people complaining on TV that they have not seen their MP. The MP has now become a backup option for Kenyans. I therefore think it is a good time to be an MP. You get paid all this money, file ridiculous mileage claims, you get to live in Nairobi and only go to the constituency on weekends.
The best way to survive as an MP in my opinion, is to create enmity with the governor under whose jurisdiction your constituency falls. That way, when shit happens i.e potholes, landslides, lack of development you can always hold a rally at your constituency and point a finger at the county government. Tell the people that the county government has sidelined the constituency :D:D:D
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