You need to finally tame corruption Sir!!

Mr. President it is time to whip out the big stick because someone no doubt faceless and part of a gluttonous cartel has just stolen my money. Correction, sir…………..someone has been stealing my money for a very long time.

Going by the report from the auditor general in the dailies recently that shocked me into a stunned silence, I have calculated that my share of the stolen billions is Kshs. 1,675.00. This may not sound like much but multiply that by 40 Million Kenyans and suddenly it becomes an obscene number, Kshs. 67 Billion to be precise! Collectively my immediate family has lost a whopping Kshs. 6,700.00 and your family an even larger amount of Kshs. 8,375.00 enough to take care of supermarket shopping for a week. If I rope in my extended family on both sides, this figure is exponentially raised by the number of people in my extended family and becomes a significant amount.

I am not sure that those that manage the public resources of this country know the irreparable damage they cause when they dip their grubby fingers into the public pot because in the private sector where I work this would be a sure recipe to spill your ‘unga’ with no equivocation. You would be out of the door long before the word sorry has had a chance to form in your mind which is no doubt how your family businesses are managed with honesty and transparency!

Some of those whose dockets have been mentioned have even said that their dockets are clean and the auditor general doesn’t have a clue what he is talking about but pray what benefit would he get from falsifying a report of such momentous proportions, and while at it increase his personal security detail because corruption is about to fight back.

So how shall you smite this demon of corruption that has transformed itself over the years to consign the public sector to a veritable den of crooks at a feeding trough? Will your solemn oath to protect this nation and fight corruption be mere rhetoric? Will you leave us a legacy of continuing corruption during your term in office? We need to hear you on this serious matter and most importantly see solid and incontrovertible action against these enemies of this country.

Your recent action to ask those named in corruption allegations to step aside was a step in the right direction and all of us thought that finally heads would roll. We still wait with bated breath but alas the wheels of justice turn ever so slowly or is it corruption fighting back? With only 26 cases out of the hundreds of names in the list of shame seeing the light of day it looks like corruption is winning and those initially named in the list of shame are still parading around shamelessly broadcasting to all and sundry of their innocence as they continue to flaunt their ill-gotten wealth.

But what is stepping aside a term invented by disgraced public servants & politicians who don’t want to admit that they are guilty of the allegations leveled against them? I say fire these jokers, freeze their bank accounts and have their names, careers and reputations put under intense scrutiny to make them as miserable as the poor people that they are stealing from including their own grandmothers, mothers and daughters. When investigations are done and incontrovertible guilt proven which shall no doubt happen, set up a special court to prosecute these traitors as quickly as possible because resolve alone without action will not result in the much desired changes to the endemic culture of corruption in the public service.......with all due respect to the majority of the hard working civil servants who are free of graft!

Let your big stick whip equally those close to you, those from your community and those of your trusted advisors and lieutenants that may have failed the test of public accountability because ‘kikulacho ki nguoni mwako’! Let there be no sacred cows and let the investigations be conducted openly and transparently and cover a minimum of 20 years because there is no statute of limitations on treason and a majority of those who stole and continue to steal my money are no doubt still around.

Corruption is bound to fight back big time because it is backed by a bottomless war chest of stolen public funds by a few individuals but the majority of Kenyans will be routing for your success and the bright future of this country because truly we are all fed up!!

You need to finally tame this beast before it gobbles us all up!

Austerity or a stroke of genius:

I am not going to say that I was not impressed by the frugality of the new Central Bank of Kenya governor who has refused to accept the perks that go along with the high office that he occupies.

That he has refused the offer of three top of the line executive vehicles, a palatial residence in one of the most sought after suburbs of Nairobi, a plethora of servants at his beck and call, a security detail comprising bodyguards and drivers and a smart phone befitting his position can only mean one thing.......good grief what was the man thinking?

It was bad enough, they said, that the man had no wife, no children and no worldly possessions of any value other than the simple clothes on his back and those in his tin trunk back at his shared accommodation facilities with other like-minded individuals somewhere in Nairobi. Someone even had the gall to offer him a wife as if that would guarantee him to do the job at hand better!

Looking at this issue critically, I can’t help but think that this man is miserly and does not want others to progress at his expense. He is about to commit 20-30 people to the unemployment queue and their immediate and extended families to a life of penury and for what, to save a few million shillings in tax payers’ money! Or is he just a pragmatist now that the Kenya shilling has touched the Kshs. 100.00 mark last seen 4 years ago?

I wonder whether he shall be driving himself to work in his personal vehicle possibly a nondescript 2005 Toyota Corolla even as he mulls over the decline in the value of the Kenya Shilling and agonizes on how to make banks bring down interest rates since they don’t seem to comprehend that there is a direct correlation between interest rates and inflation.

He also risks being stopped and fined by overzealous traffic police officers ever vigilant to arrest those with the serious offence of talking on the phone while driving because being the busy man that he is he is bound to receive important phone calls that he cannot ignore (even if he doesn’t make any) on his latest mobile phone, a Nokia 3310 gifted to him by a grateful South Korean business mogul after the governors predictions in the movement of the Won against the US dollar 15 years ago made the business mogul a handsome return on his investment. After all he is the CBK governor!

But really what is so difficult about travelling in economy class instead of first class? What is so difficult about living a life free from the demands of a wife and kids as many men shall attest to today while quoting the hackneyed saying that the wedding ring is a strong and lifelong handcuff and so you’d better choose your warden wisely? What is so important about being seen in the biggest and longest car on the block or living on a two acre manicured compound surrounded by servants and bodyguards? Aren’t these just ego trips and expensive unnecessary expenses because they are certainly not necessities in my humble opinion. I think the culture we have all eschewed is looking for the jobs with the greatest perks and benefits even when clearly those perks and benefits may not necessarily add value to your life.

I wonder how previous CBK governors manage their lives now that the bodyguards, drivers, servants and big cars paid for by the tax payers are no longer at their disposal? Does it mean that they now have to foot the bill to enjoy all these benefits and perks that they had taken for granted while in their high office?

There is one good example of austerity in one Jose Mujica aka Pepe a former president of Uruguay until early 2015. Mujica, had foregone a state palace in favor of a farmhouse owned by his wife where they grew flowers for sale, he donated 90% of his modest $12,000.00 monthly salary to social projects, flew economy class when required and drove himself in an old Volkswagen Beetle. He was and still is one of the most popular leaders in that country to date partly because of his austerity but I would want to believe more for being a role model to his subjects. It is likely there are also hundreds or even thousands more such cases around the world where leaders deny themselves the perqusities that come with their job roles simply because they may not fit into their chosen lifestyles.

One of my brothers was the Group CEO’s of a public listed company until a year ago and he was in constant fights with his managers about cutting down on costs. He was entitled to 1st class tickets as the CEO and 5 star accommodation whenever he travelled (which was quite frequently) and a new official vehicle complete with a driver but chose instead to fly economy and stay at 2 & 3 star hotels. He often jogged home in the evening telling his driver to take the car home and many times he actually got home way before his driver thanks to the endemic traffic jams in Nairobi.

So it is possible to live a humble life and forego some of the perks and benefits that come with a high paying job and lead by example because which of your juniors shall expect fat perks and 1st class tickets when travelling with the head honcho of the company.

Kudos to governor Njoroge for leading from the front and all the success as he takes on his new responsibilities at the helm of the Kenyan monetary system more so now that the local currency is under immense pressure and has touched an all-time low against all other major international currencies!