E-Clips:- Business Pictorial - Fight Against Graft Bound To Fail

With due respect to President Kibaki, referring to his driver as kumbafu (stupid) in a televised broadcast was uncalled for. This was in Lari constituency last Saturday and the event was a tree-planting campaign. In my view, this was probably a slip of the tongue.

However, the things that slip from our tongues are those we have suppressed inside. In his subconscious mind therefore, he probably believes what he said. But the important thing is not what he believes.

What is critical here is that he exposed some prejudice by giving the "kumbafu label" to his driver. And this is where Mr Isaiah Kabira, the Director of Presidential Press Unit (PPU) let him down. Instead of rolling up his sleeves and getting down to work, this man sits behind his boss looking like a minister! Mr Kabira, you are doing badly.

I further submit that the president is surrounded by political "green horns". They told him that the Sulumeti consensus would fly at Bomas. But this scheme fell flat on the face. Now they have told him that the John Koech consensus is the one. That unlike the Sulumeti one, it has a turbo engine and enhanced features.

This is yet another lie and in my view, it will also fail. What will make it worse is the fact that NAK is still in the Bomas threatening and bullying mood. Just this week, Justice Minister Hon Kiraitu Murungi threatened that we could go to civil war if a consensus is not reached. What this means is that NAK is preparing for the worst.

And at this point we should ask Mr Kiraitu a question: How come no one has been arrested for distributing the anti-Kikuyu leaflets in the Rift Valley? Is it government incompetence or does Mr Kiraitu know something we do not? I suggest that we serve the following notice on this man: if you are thinking civil war, leave us out of it!

And now to the behaviour of Royal Media and its radio stations. In my view, the conduct of this company should be treated as a matter of national security. Jamming the radio signals of another station or installing communication equipment illegally only happens in situations of war.

But having committed such a "treasonable" act, this company went unpunished. In fact, I was shocked when two cabinet ministers met the proprietor of the company and "forgave" him for these acts.

The message here was very clear. One, some investors are "more equal than others". Two, some people are above the law. And this is why the "owners" of the Rift Valley leaflets are still at large. Similarly, instead of punishing the proprietors of Royal Media, they were entertained to a meeting with two cabinet ministers present.

In my view, this is a form of corruption. Worse still, such actions have the makings of civil strife. In the Rwandese genocide for instance, a local cartoonist reminded us that "rogue" radio stations were used to propagate Hutu extremist messages. That in fact, Interahamwe militia used Radio "Mille Collines" to fuel ethnic animosity.

The special treatment accorded to Royal Media is downright nepotism. But this is not the only practice of nepotism by the Narc government. The fight against corruption is another. For starters, this crusade targets the "small fish". In fact, Narcs war on corruption compares to the story of Alibaba and the Forty Thieves. And the principle here is simple: to catch Alibaba and let the Forty Thieves go.

This is what happened to the Permanent Secretaries fired this week. I am not convinced that they were the principle architects of the Sh2.7 billion Passport scandal. But they had to take the fall so that the Forty Thieves can escape! Similarly, some senior cabinet ministers have been named in corruption deals.

Yet to date, they continue to thrive in cabinet and national affairs. In my view therefore firing a few Permanent Secretaries is nothing but tokenism. The fact of the matter is that Narc has not only re-invented corruption, they have now "colonised" it.

If Narc cannot fight corruption, they must liberalise it. In the alternative, the government should do away with Mr John Githongo position. I have two reasons for taking this position. One, if we are accusing the government of corruption, it is foolish to charge the same government with the responsibility of fighting the vice. This must be done by an independent body.

The appointment of a director for the new anti-corruption commission must therefore be done with speed by Parliament. Once this is accomplished, Mr Githongos position should be scrapped. And this brings me to the second reason. For this position to be effective, it must have integrity. Unfortunately, this is now in question given the re-invention of corruption.

Here is my argument: the holder of this office is a political appointee. And by extension, he is beholden to those who appointed him. If these people and their cronies are implicated in corruption, is he able to go for them? I doubt it. This is probably why Mr Githongo is currently fishing in shallow waters and catching the "small fish".

This should also explain why corruption investigations on the "big fish" will never see the light of day! This is why we need an independent anti-corruption body established by parliament and not bankrolled by the politicians.

Turning now to president Kibaki, his task in the fight against corruption and in the constitutional review process is mammoth. This is why he should heed the words of Jethro to his son-in-law Moses as recorded in the Holy Bible. Jethro advised Moses as follows: " What you are doing is not good. You will wear yourselves out, for the thing you are involved in is too heavy for you; you are not able to perform it alone".

There are two things for the president here. One, he cannot do the constitutional review alone. He has to genuinely engage with LDP and Kanu, otherwise it will wear him down. And while at it, he must abandon the sub-optimal schemes being executed by some of his men.

The second thing Jethro advised Moses to do is to look for experts. The president should drop the amateurs around him and engage experienced people. This is the only way to lighten the load he currently has and to take the country forward.

And now a question for Hon Raila Odinga: Are you still in town? By the way, what did president Kibaki tell you when you went for the consensus meetings at State House? We are curious about your silence!