Do millionaire CS picks grasp poor people’s cries?

Parliament’s vetting of Cabinet secretary-nominees has raised more questions than answers, gauged from public perceptions of Kenya’s current critical political and economic crisis.

In reactions from across the country and on social media, the people have been more awestruck by the millionaire status of the nominees rather than impressed by their potential ability to solve the myriad challenges facing millions of poor Kenyans.

Indeed, their views have revived the famous words of the late JM Kariuki, who was assassinated in 1975, that “Kenya is a land of 10 millionaires and 10 million beggars”.

Only that today the numbers have changed to something akin to “10,000 millionaires and 50 million poor Kenyans”. The stinging question is do the millionaire CS nominees have genuine empathy with the reality of suffering citizens reeling from entrenched poverty and ravaging social and economic hardships?

The truth is that the majority of Kenyans are angry at the government for failing time and gain since independence to curb the gnawing shame of poverty, disease and illiteracy that the founders of the nation vowed to eradicate 61 years ago.

It is an anger accentuated by the ostentatious public display of opulence demonstrated by many State officials, including some of the nominees, some of whom were recently dismissed from the Cabinet.

Wananchi are questioning whether the vetting can achieve the meaningful purpose of ethics, integrity, transparency, and accountability that the framers of the Constitution intended it to be. Doubts abound.

The Gen Z mass protests captured the public mood when young Kenyans turned their wrath on legislators now vetting nominees for ignoring the people’s cries against the government’s punitive taxation measures.

There is a lingering feeling among the people that the bulk of the millions created by many of the nominees has been weaned off taxes paid by citizens who have not seen any tangible returns from non-existent services the State perennially promises.

Will the millionaire CS nominees wave the magic wand and turn the business acumen they used to acquire wealth into realistic policies to generate at least the poor’s basic needs of food, shelter, medicine, education and jobs for millions of unemployed youths?

Another question kept popping up during the vetting – the whiff of corruption. This is the heavy burden, the “skunk” continuing to stink that hangs heavily around the Kenya Kwanza administration’s neck like an albatross.

This graft dilemma raises another question; whether or not there is conflict of interest in public and State officials, especially those in higher echelons such as the Cabinet. Can they ethically carry out government duties while engaging in private business?

It has been established that “tenderpreneurship” and procurement deals are the biggest source of corruption in government. Former President Uhuru Kenyatta once revealed that Kenya was losing Sh2 billion daily due to corruption.

All eyes are turned on the legislators again with public perceptions that the vetting is a mere cosmetic exercise to rubber stamp the Executive’s political wishes now that Opposition members are being co-opted into the Cabinet.

The final question from the poor: Will the legendary Opposition leader Raila Odinga’s game-changing role in the national political landscape translate into solutions for the myriad challenges facing Kenyans aptly unravelled by Gen Z?

Only time will tell, but time is also running out for answers.

— The writer comments on National Affairs-