Leave the MPs and Their Taxes Alone

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Leave the MPs and their taxes alone. I know most of you feel like lynching me for making this profound statement which I dare repeat: Leave them alone!

A storm has been brewing for the past few weeks. Championed by the civil rights groups, catalysed by the media, now the average Kenyan voter has just awoken from long slumber.

While I appreciate this collective fighting spirit, I must say, though, that it is misdirected. It seems to me that Kenyans will most easily look for a common enemy to fight rather than have a common friend to embrace. In less than a month we have moved from John McCain, to “the Waki Report” and now to the MPs salary. In each quest, we have fought a losing battle – even for McCain, only the myopic Kenyan would think that he lost.

I know as much as Obama does, that on the 21st of January he will take oath of office which will include the protection of American citizenry, of which McCain is. He will not swear to protect Kenyans from their thieving ruling elite. In this case therefore, McCain will have a president – one in whom Kenyans have confidence – and would most willingly import to replace the now senile megalomaniacs. Kenyans, on the other hand, will still have to do with the same failed old “duly elected, duly sworn baba Jimmy.” – the supposed alpha and omega to their problems. They will still have to do with the pre-independence chiefs turned post-independence thieves.

Back to our MPs and their taxes. I say that it is a waste of time shouting on the streets as we have threatened to on December the 12th. In the first place, this is not even a secondary contract that the electorate made with the MPs. The last political contest that was fought with more money than ideas was not devoid of promises. These are the promises upon which we are to hold our MPs accountable. Once we are done with the promises, we can move to other subsidiary fights. To me the MPs’ tax omission is just a peccadillo and is not worth spending our energy.

Secondly, the MPs untaxed salary is not illegal. It is within the constitution and requires a legislative amendment for it to be active. Methinks , consolidating Kenyans to march on the streets will not force the MPs to pass a legislation that they consider harmful to their well being. I see no political expediency in the move. After all, Kenyans are forgetful; they will get another enemy to rally around shortly. Alternatively, they may set up a special task force to look into the matter just to fool us, and before we know it, it will be a forgotten matter. Our MPs can do whatever they want and get away with it: look at the alacrity with which Khalwale et al drove out Kimunya from the treasury. Where did that zeal go? Simple, it is of no political worth. Thus the march is an exercise in futility – a waste of energy and time.

Thirdly, even if they were to pay taxes, not even half of your problems will be solved. If the MPs pay taxes we would save just a few hundred million shillings. There are other plausible ways of addressing our problems than crying for the few pence. And that brings me to my fourth argument.

I think this campaign for the MPs taxation is not the mwananchi’s idea. This must be a somebody’s battle, maybe even a smokescreen. Come April 2009, the peace accord will be one year old and the promised “new constitution” will not be there. Could somebody be diverting the attention of Kenyans on less important issues? Remember, the majority of Kenya’s woes can be solved by enacting a brand new reasonable law. Part of the reason why you we fought ourselves at the dawn of the year was poor legislation. It is this poor legislation that has provided inequitable distribution of resources. The same law has left a large room for corruption, and the same patched old law has given the MPs power to make decisions concerning their salaries and sometimes yours and mine.

My take is that we need to spend our energy on something meaningful …say, fighting for a new constitution. A new constitution that will change everything, including the MPs’ salary and taxation plan. It will be a better and a cheaper way to bring the so desired changes rather than go for the same tactics they use on us: peace meal changes. Now they have lied to you that a temporary ECK is a good idea, yet they refused the same before last year’s election. Now that there is no impending election, the ECK is urgent! Friends, can’t you smell the rat?

I contend that the MPs are sacred lambs in this campaign. This onslaught cannot work, just like the Adventist’s doctrine of the substitutionary atonement. The campaign is a smokescreen. It is meant to distract us from kill the real culprit..flawed election, bad governance, archaic laws and false peace.

I understand the frustrations of my beloved countrymen. I understand the hunger and consequent anger it brings. But I also know that our ugali is not in this tax alone. The larger part of this national cake lies elsewhere and this is what they won’t let you see…or didn’t they say let the sleeping dog lie? Wisdom demands that we choose our battles carefully. It is Chinua Achebe who said “since men have learnt to shoot without missing, birds have learned to fly without perching. We may go to the street but our stone will not catch them – they already know it is coming. I am not a pessimist but this battle is already lost – be wise, choose your battles and live to fight a meaningful war some other day.

So when Atwoli stirs our anger and calls upon us to demonstrate on Jamhuri day he is deceiving us. We would rather look for a better place to vent our frustrations.

Lest we forget. We are responsible for part of our problem today. We had a chance to change things for good but we traded it with tribalism. We were fools enough to have voted most of the corrupt individuals in. Some of them have lawsuites that have taken years yet they are your ministers. With that key to power who would be the fool not to use it to defend his interests? Why are the Kituyis, Tujus, Kibwanas, and Murungarus not ministers? because some sensible people spoke.

Do not be deceived. We only reap what we have sown. It must have been Aristocles (Plato) who said the price intelligent people pay for not participating in politics is being governed by fools. That is what we have. We cast our votes to the most ineligible and now we are crying to the same as if we expected anything different.

My take, a rather radical one, and seemingly insane is to declare every individual who has previously held a political office ineligible for running come 2012 or whenever the next general election comes. That way we shall weed out all the bad seeds and separate them from the good. That day of harvest is near. We can have a new beginning with a brand new set of leaders who do not have blood in their hands, who do not have a dirty behind to cover.

Yes, MPs should pay taxes, I agree but our timing is wrong and so is our strategy. Kenyans can come together when they have a common enemy. I know we will come together. But that day is not today. That battle is not this – save your breadth kenyans, this is not our fight. We can fight another day…

In 2012 we will have a brand new set of legislators that pay taxes. We will make it a mandatory requirement for every aspiring candidate. It will be so because “Yes we can!”