Monday, January 30, 2006
Do We Still Trust Our Government?
During the 2002 national elections the NARC coalition pleaded with Kenyans to entrust them with the mandate of leading the country to greater glory. Over three million Kenyans responded by trusting that once the NARC was elected things would change for the better. At the beginning of 2003, Kenyans were the most optimistic people in the world.
Trust is defined as confidence in and reliance on good qualities, especially fairness, truth, honor, or ability. Do Kenyans see good qualities in their government in the handling of the Anglo Leasing saga? No. Do they see fairness? No. Do they hear the truth from the government? No. Does the government fail on the trust test? Yes. Trust is the principle currency of any government. No government should allow the people’s trust to be eroded. If a government loses the trust of its people, it loses its moral authority to govern.
The revelations by Githongo on Anglo Leasing, cannot be wished away as LDP agenda as the empty rhetoric of Kanyingi and Kamanda seem to suggest. Kenyans trusted the government to fulfill its promise of zero tolerance of corruption. Yet a cabal of ministers saw it fit to propagate corrupt deals and expect to get away with it. If the government cannot make the individual ministers answer for their actions then the whole government cannot escape a charge of complicity in defrauding Kenyans of their trust.
The Anglo Leasing saga and the events surrounding it has eroded the trust the people of Kenya had on their government. The loud silence coming from State House is reminiscent of the see no evil hear no evil adage. You cannot sit back and wish away a festering cancerous growth on your foot after diagnosis. You must submit to chemotherapy, if it doesn’t work amputation, otherwise it will spread to the whole body and you will die. The organs that are not tainted with this cancerous blood should be protected and preserved. The putrid ones should be surgically removed.
The head surgeon however, does not feel confident to perform the operation. He has all the tools and the patient is ready on the operating table. Can we trust him with the surgeon’s knife?
Trust is defined as confidence in and reliance on good qualities, especially fairness, truth, honor, or ability. Do Kenyans see good qualities in their government in the handling of the Anglo Leasing saga? No. Do they see fairness? No. Do they hear the truth from the government? No. Does the government fail on the trust test? Yes. Trust is the principle currency of any government. No government should allow the people’s trust to be eroded. If a government loses the trust of its people, it loses its moral authority to govern.
The revelations by Githongo on Anglo Leasing, cannot be wished away as LDP agenda as the empty rhetoric of Kanyingi and Kamanda seem to suggest. Kenyans trusted the government to fulfill its promise of zero tolerance of corruption. Yet a cabal of ministers saw it fit to propagate corrupt deals and expect to get away with it. If the government cannot make the individual ministers answer for their actions then the whole government cannot escape a charge of complicity in defrauding Kenyans of their trust.
The Anglo Leasing saga and the events surrounding it has eroded the trust the people of Kenya had on their government. The loud silence coming from State House is reminiscent of the see no evil hear no evil adage. You cannot sit back and wish away a festering cancerous growth on your foot after diagnosis. You must submit to chemotherapy, if it doesn’t work amputation, otherwise it will spread to the whole body and you will die. The organs that are not tainted with this cancerous blood should be protected and preserved. The putrid ones should be surgically removed.
The head surgeon however, does not feel confident to perform the operation. He has all the tools and the patient is ready on the operating table. Can we trust him with the surgeon’s knife?
