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A few days ago, I came across a video clip of a Tanzanian councillor lobbying for development in her ward during a tour by President John Pombe Magufuli.
Besides her articulation, precision and impeccable grasp of local issues, there was a detectable reverence for the President, though disappointed over failed promises and stalled projects.
In Kenya, “politics is a game of interests” has been taken to a whole new level, where agitation for development is predicated on the political bottom line — “What’s in it for me?”
Some legislators (MCAs, MPs and senators) have voiced their strong opposition to development projects not because the project is not viable, but their financial and personal interests have not been served.
We have seen legislators castigate the President for rolling out development projects in “opposition-leaning regions”, in what would pass as the most preposterous argument.
Development should never be a zero-sum game, where a region has to lose for the other to gain! The power tussle at the county level is even worse.
The Taita-Taveta County Assembly recently impeached Governor Granton Samboja over reported differences in the 2019/2020 budgetary allocations.
Luckily for him, the High Court has suspended the decision pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Samboja had been collecting signatures in a bid to have the county government dissolved and fresh county elections held.
Samboja’s case is not unique. In Makueni in 2014, Prof Kivutha Kibwana — then in his first term as governor — had to institute the process of disbanding the county government (which was eventually halted by the President).
In Embu, the proverbial “governor with nine lives”, Martin Wambora, has survived several impeachment bids and even got re-elected!
Sadly, beneath these scuffles is hunger and greed — for money and power.
A typical exemplification of this is the move by the Mandera County Assembly in April to slash the county government’s budget in order to increase their Ward Fund allocation from Sh400 million to Sh650 million.
Mombasa’s Hassan Joho, Dr Alfred Mutua of Machakos and a host of other governors have also had run-ins with county assemblies over related issues.
It is worse when MPs or senators eyeing the governor’s seat engage in power battles at the expense of development.
In the run-up to the 2017 General Election, some senators used the Senate Public Accounts Committee to fight governors for political expediency.
In Kiambu, some MPs ganged up against then-Governor William Kabogo, criticising his development projects and opposing his policies.
A similar script seems to be playing out in Kirinyaga, where a handful of MCAs and MPs led by Mwea MP Kabinga Wachira and Woman Representative Purity Ngirici appear to have waged war against Governor Anne Waiguru over the Sh15 billion Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri) project.
Waiguru says she has delayed the release of the title deed for the 100-acre land pending a deal between the county and the national governments guaranteeing the residents jobs and business opportunities.
The legislators, though, want the immediate and unconditional release of the title document.
If the people’s interests are supreme, why would one oppose a deal that safeguards the locals? And why would Taita-Taveta MCAs impeach Samboja over reconcilable differences?
The answer is simple: interests, hypocrisy and selfishness have become the holy grail of our body politic.
That is why MPs would voice their support for Punguza Mizigo as a solution to the high wage bill and then allocate themselves a Sh384,000 each per month as night allowance.
MCAs will publicly criticise governors over alleged slow implementation of projects and then hold the county hostage by demanding incentives as a condition to pass the budget.
Kenyans are tired of this hypocrisy. Come 2022, they will kick out all these greedy saboteurs and vote in genuine, transparent and selfless leaders.
Mr Wafula is a political communication strategist; benjaminwaf; @BenjaminWafula
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