We are suffering from a serious bout of the old constitution hangover. Clearly, old habits are hard to die, and nothing has rung this statement more true than the recent cabinet reshuffle by Uhuru Kenyatta and the general restructuring of his government.
You see, under the old constitution, cabinet ministers and their assistants were elected politicians appointed by the president. The appointment was seen as prestigious because it was an indicator of one’s influence/closeness to the president and also a chance to lead and influence ministries and the deals/fruits that come with the position. This additional responsibility came with a lot of respect and clout. It made the original role of the holder as a ‘mere’ legislator seem insignificant in lieu of the ‘benefits’ of the new added position. Politically speaking, those were “the good ol’ days” because in addition to serving as a minister, one also still kept his old job of MP and therefore would actually earn two salaries and numerous allowances. Talk of killing two birds with one stone. Again even when one was fired from cabinet, he still reverted back to his old job of being an MP.
Under the new constitution however cabinet secretaries/ministers cannot be serving politicians. Once appointed, one has to upon acceptance forfeit his position as a legislator so that a by-election is held and a new MP or Senator elected. The cabinet appointee proceeds to his job as a CS which is an employed position. His boss is the president and he can be fired, demoted, transferred or hired at his masters will. He reports to the president and is responsible for the ministry as it’s CEO. The buck stops with him at the ministry. The clout and influence is still there nonetheless but so is the political responsibility though one is not a politician but rather a senior civil servant. So like in the case of Waiguru one is still expected to take political responsibility when things go wrong.
Which now begs the question, which is better, being an appointed Cabinet Secretay or being an elected Member of Legislature? In my opinion, being a politician is mostly a sign that one is at the top of the Maslow’s hierarchy of needs triangle. It’s all about achieving self actualization. This is usually a person who has achieved all the other needs of his life to satisfaction be it monetary, security etc. And so the next objective is usually to achieve public recognition and respect and to influence general direction of the people’s destiny. You see, the only difficult thing about being an MP for example is being elected. But once elected it is the easiest job in the world even for the laziest of human beings. Essentially a legislator has no boss except after a whooping five years, runs his diary, asks the questions with no obligation to answer any as he runs nothing, earns millions for just sitting pretty, gets to travel internationally in ‘official learning trips’ and does not even need to do his job consecutively which attending parliamentary sessions which is actually what he was elected to do. Moreover he works three days a week for only a few hours if any. Indeed, over 70% of elected legislators finish their term without ever sponsoring a single bill of parliament.
It therefore baffles me as to why would anyone wish and accept to change from being an elected legislator to being an appointed cabinet secretary. A CS is basically a senior employed civil servant. His job is an everyday eight to five job with a lot of questions to answer from all quarters and a salary to protect from the sack. It has also become a very dangerous job since the spotlight on corruption is shinning all the more brighter meaning that every move you make is being watched and you are expected to take political responsibility by stepping aside for any fuck ups that happen in your ministry. It is a high pressure job unlike the relaxed job of an MP/Senator. When I see Charles Keter, Dan Kazungu or even a fool like Nkaisery smiling that they’ve got a cabinet position I simply know that these guys are suffering from a serious bout of old constitution hangover. They are jumping from a bed with a beautiful naked and wiling woman into a pan of hot oil. Total nonsense. If you ask Waiguru, or Ngilu for that matter, they will tell you the stress that comes with the responsibility of being a CS today is simply not worth the money if you can make money by simply sitting idle as a politician. I can also predict one thing: that Waiguru will one day run for political office.
The sooner people realize that we are operating under a new dispensation the better, or else they will continue suffering fools Ngilu style.