Press Statement by H.E. Raila Odinga: MPs’ Pay Demand Amounts to Grand Larceny and Impunity (02.12.2018)

Machakos: Leader of Majority Mark Muendo Press Statement on the Refusal to Release Funds to the Assembly by Governor Alfred Mutua (26.11.2018)

Opinion: It is time for Uhuru Kenyatta to follow the Scouts’ honour!

Well, yesterday the good grace, His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta graced the Kenya Scouts Association Patron’s Day, where he held his speech and talked about ethical behavior. As the Youths are not supposed to break the law and be law abiding citizens. Which is all good in itself. However, his regime isn’t the straight out of the bank, the minty fresh, without any scrupulous, they have their mismanagement and their acts of devious ways. Therefore, the President or the Executive should have been more cautious in my opinion.

He is the kind that breaks the bottle or the jar to take the cookies and after the fact, when parents ask little Kenyatta if he took the cookies. He will retort back to the parent: “I didn’t break it. Scout’s honour!”. We all know the Jubilee have done, there are new scandals every month, there is rising corruption, rising levels of debt and mismanagement to levels never seen before.

What is more striking is his anger against cheating. Because, he wouldn’t be President and the Executive, if there wasn’t for tricking the numbers, cheating the stats and hiding the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Servers, which was connected to a shady international firm Cambridge Analytica and OT Morpho for the BVR Machines. There was just enough tricking the numbers to indicate success in the Fresh Presidential Elections of 26 October 2017. That is common knowledge and the President accepted that cheating and because of lacking documentation, the Courts vindicated his cheating too. Therefore, he is not rascal to tell others not to cheat. When he is the Master of doing so and eating of it too.

Uhuru’s Stern warning:

Uhuru warned that the authorities will not entertain the negative activities that young people are engaging in and “having the sheer guts to publicise the same to all Kenyans.” “We will not and we shall not entertain indiscipline and abuse from our young people…you must learn to respect our elders just like the elders must respect and nurture you.” (…) ““If indeed you are ready to brag about cheating, then we will show you what this nation does to cheats and those who disrespect elders,” the President said” (Odhiambo, 2018).

That is why I had to start with that, that the President cannot handle some boys questioning his administration, his Cabinet Secretaries, says more about the fragile and vein character the President is at this point. That is his attitude and he shows his arrogance. Especially considering how took the Fresh Elections.

Even if he was clean and had done nothing, if there was no questions in his past. Still, the boys are allowed to leak tapes and speak out against their Big-Men. They should be, not like they made a Gay-Flick for the Censorship Authorities to stop from broadcasting. They were just addressing their grievances and being boys.

The President himself has used strong words against the Supreme Court and his opposition in the past. But because he has power. He is allowed to do so, but these boys got none of that. They are just boys who can be prey to the big-men. And they are, when they are arrested for leaking a tape of their words online.

Maybe, the President should remember his rant in Turkana last year. Maybe, the youth learned from that. Maybe not, but as the King Cheater of Kenya, he shouldn’t talk about indiscipline and such. He has shown the Republic that it pays to cheat. Just look up to the President, he does it and he continues winning.

No, forget about that, he didn’t do it, Scouts’ Honour! Peace.

Reference:

Moses Odhiambo – ‘[VIDEO] Uhuru spells trouble for Ambira students in Matiang’i, Amina insult as cops nab three’ 25.11-2018, link: https://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2018/11/25/video-uhuru-spells-trouble-for-ambira-students-in-matiangi-amina_c1855897

Kenya: MPs Greed is now on Overload!

The world has enough for everyone’s need, but not enough for everyone’s greed.” Mahatma Gandhi

We know something is seriously wrong when the Members of Parliaments are wishing more money, as the Jubilee government have already promised more austerity months away. Not only the raising rate of corruption that was between 2013 to June 2018 had grown by 240%. So the MPs knows this and the misuse of the state reserves. While the growing debt in the same era is happening. Even in the same year, as the IMF has told the Government of Kenya to stop spending. The MPs are planning to grow the spending on themselves and their families. As they are not bitten by austerity, the budget deficit or growth of debt. That shows their ignorance of the economy, which they as MPs are supposed to have oversight over.

Here is the news:

All 416 Members of Parliament, Speakers of both houses and the leaders of majority in both chambers will each be provided with a rent-free house, a government vehicle, an expanded medical cover, travel allowances and an expanded constituency outreach operation, if a new Bill becomes law” (…) “Proposals for better terms for legislators — already among the best-paid in the world with a Sh1.2 million salary — are contained in the Parliamentary Service Bill that is set for debate in the National Assembly tomorrow afternoon” (Mwere, 2018).

It is hard to take these men serious, as they have already a giant salary in the Republic. Especially when they are earning 1,2 million salary. While that isn’t enough for the MPs in a country where half of the Republic’s households are earning less than 10,000 shillings per month. That was reported after a survey published in Standard Media in April 2018. Meaning, these households, which is half of the Republic are earning less than 120,000 shillings per year. That without any benefits or other financial support. Therefore, the MPs are far away from the plights of the ordinary man and the ones struggling.

It is clearly not enough, that the IMF, the added taxes and the strains on the economy, in a republic where people are already earning under a tenth of their representatives. You shouldn’t become a businessman or a hustler. You should become a politician in Kenya. As there is where the money is. These people are eating of the dying carcass, of a failing economy, where people are earning little to nothing. Instead of fixing that economy and ensuring people decent wages, they are complaining while they are gaining more wealth. That is what is insane by this.

That the MPs are wishing more services covered, while they have GIANT salaries that the people of the slums only can dream of. That the Shamba Boys of Up-Country never will be able to touch and feel in their life-time. No, these MPs are forgetting their constituents as they are willing to live even more lavish as the economy have been trashed by them. That is their greed. Peace.

Reference:

David Mwere – ‘MPs push for rent-free houses, bigger tea pots, better bar, five-star chefs’ 19.11.2018 link: https://www.nation.co.ke/news/MPs-push-for-better-terms-of-service-in-new-Bill/1056-4858078-20r4fu/index.html

Opinion: Kenyatta’s Legacy will not be the Handshake!

Even if Uhuru Kenyatta wants the handshake with Raila Odinga to be his legacy. I have to confirm, that it most likely will not be. It will one thing that is important and will be vital to his second term, but not what he will be remembered for, because there are enough shady and backwards affairs to overshadow the gentleman’s agreement between Kenyatta and Odinga.

President Uhuru Kenyatta hopes the Building Bridges Initiative will help him leave a legacy of peace when he leaves office in 2022. In an interview with France24 TV, the President said he is banking on his partnerships with Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga and Wiper’s Kalonzo Musyoka to defuse ethnic and political tensions in Kenya” (Valentine Obara – ‘Peace will be my legacy, Uhuru says in interview’ 13.11.2018).

Kenyatta can have his wishes, but they will not follow them automatically. There is a long road ahead, but the ways the first and second term has been. There are enough of other things he will be remembered for, instance the empty pledges of laptops and building stadiums. Which never seem to happen and that is just what people remember that he has promised.

Who knows how many corruption scandals there has been, how many Ministries and Cabinet Secretaries has been implicated and the constant cronyism. The Kenyatta Presidency has rocked these scandals from day one. There haven’t been a month without one and hasn’t seemed to stop either.

The control of the cartels, the corrupt officials and growing family business of Kenyatta and the Deputy President William Ruto. Will be more the legacy, than he shake the hand of Odinga one day.

The Corruption and Grand Corruption will be remembered, the Eurobonds, NYS 1.0 and 2.0, Afya House Scandal, Maize Scandal and Sugar Scandal. All of these are big shot into the public domain, where the state and the operatives has robbed the public, while not delivering needed public services. This has been happening again and again. That is why I can mention the vast amount of cases without thinking. It shouldn’t be that easy.

The effort of the Handshake might be good; it might have stopped the NASA from creating havoc towards the Jubilee. It might have had the ability to silence the critics and secure the mandate after a rigged second election for Kenyatta. The Fresh Presidential Elections was rigged and no doubt about that.

Kenyatta can wish that his legacy is positive, but his indecisiveness towards Grand Corruption, his stalemate with the cartels and his growing debt because of the White Elephant Standard Gauge Railway from Mombasa to Nairobi is more likely. As the Chinese silent takeover and the debt combined with toxicating corrupting should be obvious. Maybe not to him, who wants it to be all smiles and laughs.

When the reality is more dire than that. Peace.

Is it okay for Machakos County: That they get direct grants from the World Bank?

Today, the Governor of Machakos County appointed the County and Budget Forum. However, what was very revealing was what Dr. Alfred Mutua was implying within the documents, not who he appointed to the position. Usually that would be an important piece to look into.

However, today was the day where the Governor revealed directly that the World Bank Development secured 1bn Ksh per year for 6 years to the infrastructure building in the county. This being roads, electricity and other needed government services in the municipalities of Machakos.

Usually these sort of arrangements are done directly with the National Government or the Parliament, as to where the development is happening and where the grants are going. Which project that matter and what is sufficiently holding the standards of the stakeholders and the ones contributing the funding. Nevertheless, here the implication is that the World Bank is directly involved in all county functions from sewage to building roads. That their funding are going to do what the government is supposed to deliver. This being the natural delivery of the state and basic upkeep of the infrastructure. Instead of being tax-payers own money, they are using funds from abroad to do the needed development projects and to get the needed services in the municipalities of Machakos.

We can wonder what does the Jubilee government and Kenyatta think of this? When the Counties themselves are directly making arrangements and funding deals with the World Bank? In a republic filled to the brim of loans and lack of cash-flow, these sort of deals would be appropriate to go through the Central Government before the Local Government. However, that one has not captured the imagination. Because shouldn’t the Central Bank of Kenya or the Cabinet Secretary of Finance Henry Rotich signed it off before the County announced the loans?

That is what is bugging me, or is the counties so liberated from the Central Government now? But wouldn’t the rate of loans and grants be more uncontrolled and have less transparent system, if every Governor has the chance to grab these from Multi-National Financial Institutions and find ways to apply these locally? Even though they know directly what and where things need to be built and what is lacking. Still, they should have a rubberstamp from the CS and the National Treasury and CBK before thinking about it. Because in the mind of the Governor, he just announced it in passing together with the appointments to the different boards in his county. Peace.

Central Bank of Kenya: New Generation Bank Notes (12.10.2018)

Kenya: Taskforce on Building Bridges to Unity – Press Release (12.10.2018)

DPP’s Statement – Re: Investigation into the Fatal Accident at Fort Ternan within Kericho County (11.10.2018)

Kenya: DPP’s Press Statement on the Investigation into murder of Monicah Kimani (09.10.2018)