MWANGI: Reducing salaries for top gov’t officials isn’t enough

Kenya’s Salaries and Remuneration Commission is working hard to remain relevant in the face of mounting criticism over its handling of workers: Its reduction of salaries for senior government officers – to take effect after the general election in August – is however hardly sufficient to hoodwink Kenyans into viewing it favourably, nor the Jubilee administration whose interests it advances.

Early in the term of President Uhuru Kenyatta, the salaries team led by its chairperson, Sarah Serem, attempted to tame Kenya’s legislators, reducing their benefits and withdrawing some allowances here and there. The wrath of the MPs was enough for the commission to back down, the chairperson having been threatened with a vote that would send her packing.

Indeed, Members of Parliament in East Africa – and particularly Kenya – have suffered from perennial and criminal greed for quite some time. If on nothing else, matters of the pocket tend to unite the politicians across the political divide.

This has also been evident in their efforts to protect the illegal Constituency Development Fund; despite its perceived benefits, this is an unconstitutional arrangement given the working of the new constitution and the principle of separation of powers enshrined therein. Legislators were never meant to implement decisions, but the MPs will have none of it and have gone to great lengths to protect their control over CDF funds.

While President Kenyatta has come out in support of the SRC recommendations to reduce the burden of salaries by senior public officers in the next government, it remains to be seen whether the new salaries will hold. At this time, all elected officials are out on the campaign trail, and none would be so foolish as to expose their greed openly by opposing the slash in salaries.

Come August, however, and it can be expected that one of the first “extremely urgent” matters of business before both chambers of parliament will be the new salaries. The efforts by SRC can therefore be seen for what they are: Giving too little, too late in trying to salvage the government’s image in the face of fierce opposition as the country heads to the polls.

In fact, while the fat salaries paid out to senior public officials are a form of corruption that should not be condoned, the bleeding of Africa’s resources goes far deeper than salaries. The looting by leaders in positions of power and authority goes into billions of dollars.

And the bleeding comes in many forms: There are the dubious tenders that are invariably inflated to cater for payments to corrupt officials; shoddily-done public works in order to save on materials and obtain a cut for officials while still making a profit; and payments for contracts where no work was ever done, which is as good as outright theft.

There are also far more dangerous decisions that are made on behalf of citizens but with an eye on making quick money rather than taking care of the interests of our countries. This is how Western and Chinese interests have come to overshadow the interests of local populations in matters of land, conservation, minerals, tourism, and related areas. From there, it is only a short step back to colonialism, with black masters overseeing the enslavement of their own kith and kin.

Given this scenario, the question gains added urgency: If efforts such as the disingenuous ones by the Serem team in Kenya to tame legislators are grossly insufficient, what will bring about the kind of change that will benefit the common man in East Africa? How can leaders who take pride in wining and dining with their people’s oppressors be brought back to their senses?

The only way out is vigilance by the people themselves at all times, not just during elections. Victory will take the valiant efforts of educated sons of peasants to reject being used to promote the status quo, or being co-opted into becoming partakers of crumbs at the table of imperialists so as to sell their birthright.

When a new government is sworn into office in Kenya in the next few weeks, it cannot be allowed to take a business-as-usual approach. Throughout East Africa, change will be inevitable if our countries are to avoid the death-trap being laid by irresponsible elites in collaboration with foreigners.