"On a hot, Friday afternoon in early 1999, a frail, old man walked into the NSSF offices of the Presidential Commission on Harmonisation of Terms and Conditions of Service of Public Servants in which I served as a commissioner.
He had arrived a short while earlier by bus from Mombasa, and had walked all the way from River Road bus terminal, carrying a small plastic paper bag full of documents. He introduced himself as the Chief Kadhi. We were taken aback, as we all thought the Chief Kadhi was a senior judge who would jet in and be chauffeur driven, with bodyguards in tow.
His submission to the commission was hand-written. He said he had an old typewriter in his office, one copy typist and a clerk who handles two registries, one for the Chief Kadhi and the other for all the other kadhis. He had no other staff, and had no computer, filing cabinets, official car or other trappings of a modest public office. He acted as both the Chief Kadhi and the Kadhi of Mombasa.
There are 17 kadhis nationwide, in addition to the Chief Kadhi still based in Mombasa. Majority of kadhis are Form Four leavers with little or no formal training in Islamic or secular law, and join the service as third class magistrates equivalents of sh25,000 salary.
The total budget of the Kadhi’s courts for 2009/10 is just about Sh10 million. The Chief Kadhi is at Job Group P, a grade lower than the Chief Magistrate but on the same salary grade as a senior executive secretary at the High Court. Kadhis are in Job Group J, earning just under Sh25,000 per month, and in the same salary grade as junior accountants, librarians and water bailiffs in the Magistrate’s Courts. These are the Kadhi’s courts, which the Churches allege have placed Islam above other religions, and are creating a financial burden on the Government.
The Church does not have the authority to challenge the constitutional rights of other faithful. It cannot blow hot and cold on secular order when it rejects Kadhi’s courts as religious, yet argue against abortion and homosexuality on the same religious grounds. How far can we separate the Church and the State?
Protection of minority rights is not a privilege, and is not subjected to the wishes of the majority. It is also not correct to say that the constitution must of necessity apply equally to all Kenyans as there are several provisions giving special rights and privileges to certain communities, areas, women, and various sectors of the society.
To begrudge the inclusion of the Kadhi’s courts is much ado about nothing.
—The writer chairs the Religious Affairs Committee at Jamia Mosque, Nairobi. Courtesy of Standard Digital.
Saturday, July 7, 2012
Friday, July 6, 2012
Matemo, welcome to the ceasefire in the war on corruption, Billow Kerrow
"Welcome on board Mr Mumo Matemo! Our anti-corruption war is in a ceasefire. The undeclared truce hardly the result of any difficult negotiation between the grand corruption mafia and the citizens but forced by the lack of political will to engage in the batlle.
Any war, including the current one on Al Shabaab, requires commitment at the top and unwavering support by the citizens so that the state machinery is morally inspired and fully resourced to fight to death.
Corruption impoverishes millions and takes many innocent lives through theft of public resources meant for essential service delivery, development projects, maize for the poor, drugs for the sick, school funds, etc
However, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is not a Kenya Defence Force type powerhouse raring to go to war but an Amisom type outfit that the Government prefers should keep peace in the anti-corruption battle ground.
Previous heads of this ‘peacekeeping’ force were hounded out of office for either not keeping the peace, or worse still, for keeping it!
It will not even be a ‘Mumo’ wrestling match that rankles folks; we all love it but only if we or our friends are not in or near the ring. As the Yankees say, you are damned if you do it, and damned if you don’t!
The anti-graft war is at a crossroads. The top leaders lack the political will to enforce the mythical zero tolerance. The political class abhors the war that they feel targets them, just when they need resources to oil their campaigns. The ordinary citizens are fatigued by a fruitless war that only cages petty thieves.
The donors are grudgingly content with refund of their stolen funds. The civil society barks less often, convinced that the political reforms would enhance accountability.
Commitment and motivation at EACC is at its lowest ebb as staff await their fate in the pending vetting. And above all, the EACC Act significantly weakened the mandate and powers of the institution.
Just as Mr Matemo and his two commissioners were nominated, Transparency International ranked Kenya as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, at position 154 out of 182 countries. Not surprisingly and as usual, we are in the same super league as Zimbabwe and other nearly ‘failed’ states.
It is a coveted position that we have held on to in recent years. Thanks to the rhetorical ‘commitment’ to the graft war by the Coalition Government, we are stuck in a rat race. The more we fight corruption, the less the impact it seems, and the higher the prevalence and bribery rates.
On the same day, the Chief Justice shocked the nation by his exposure of the shoddy construction work at Milimani Law Courts. The building cost billions to repair but was falling apart barely a year into its occupation.
Parliament was conducting an inquiry to unravel the rot in the Lands Ministry that precipitated the Syokimau demolitions in which Kenyans may have lost billions to fraudsters. Earlier, the PM stunned MPs with his casual admission that the Government now simply refunds donors if their money is misappropriated; the figure is now nearly Sh3 billion this year alone!
The private sector is not spared too. The Price Waterhouse Coopers just released a gloomy report that placed Kenya at the top of the world with the highest level of economic crimes, particularly in procurement fraud and theft of money and other assets.
Among the corporate entities in 78 countries in the study, 61 per cent of the 91 companies surveyed in Kenya were victims of the vice, including blue chip companies listed on Nairobi Securities Exchange.
Hopefully, Matemo and his team will take the baton from us next week to lead a war that the nation is reluctant to fight. But nonetheless, the Constitution deems it a war and he must lead our cowardly nation to what has become a war of wits.
The writer is a former MP for Mandera Central and political economist." Courtesy of Standard Digital.
Any war, including the current one on Al Shabaab, requires commitment at the top and unwavering support by the citizens so that the state machinery is morally inspired and fully resourced to fight to death.
Corruption impoverishes millions and takes many innocent lives through theft of public resources meant for essential service delivery, development projects, maize for the poor, drugs for the sick, school funds, etc
However, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is not a Kenya Defence Force type powerhouse raring to go to war but an Amisom type outfit that the Government prefers should keep peace in the anti-corruption battle ground.
Previous heads of this ‘peacekeeping’ force were hounded out of office for either not keeping the peace, or worse still, for keeping it!
It will not even be a ‘Mumo’ wrestling match that rankles folks; we all love it but only if we or our friends are not in or near the ring. As the Yankees say, you are damned if you do it, and damned if you don’t!
The anti-graft war is at a crossroads. The top leaders lack the political will to enforce the mythical zero tolerance. The political class abhors the war that they feel targets them, just when they need resources to oil their campaigns. The ordinary citizens are fatigued by a fruitless war that only cages petty thieves.
The donors are grudgingly content with refund of their stolen funds. The civil society barks less often, convinced that the political reforms would enhance accountability.
Commitment and motivation at EACC is at its lowest ebb as staff await their fate in the pending vetting. And above all, the EACC Act significantly weakened the mandate and powers of the institution.
Just as Mr Matemo and his two commissioners were nominated, Transparency International ranked Kenya as one of the most corrupt countries in the world, at position 154 out of 182 countries. Not surprisingly and as usual, we are in the same super league as Zimbabwe and other nearly ‘failed’ states.
It is a coveted position that we have held on to in recent years. Thanks to the rhetorical ‘commitment’ to the graft war by the Coalition Government, we are stuck in a rat race. The more we fight corruption, the less the impact it seems, and the higher the prevalence and bribery rates.
On the same day, the Chief Justice shocked the nation by his exposure of the shoddy construction work at Milimani Law Courts. The building cost billions to repair but was falling apart barely a year into its occupation.
Parliament was conducting an inquiry to unravel the rot in the Lands Ministry that precipitated the Syokimau demolitions in which Kenyans may have lost billions to fraudsters. Earlier, the PM stunned MPs with his casual admission that the Government now simply refunds donors if their money is misappropriated; the figure is now nearly Sh3 billion this year alone!
The private sector is not spared too. The Price Waterhouse Coopers just released a gloomy report that placed Kenya at the top of the world with the highest level of economic crimes, particularly in procurement fraud and theft of money and other assets.
Among the corporate entities in 78 countries in the study, 61 per cent of the 91 companies surveyed in Kenya were victims of the vice, including blue chip companies listed on Nairobi Securities Exchange.
Hopefully, Matemo and his team will take the baton from us next week to lead a war that the nation is reluctant to fight. But nonetheless, the Constitution deems it a war and he must lead our cowardly nation to what has become a war of wits.
The writer is a former MP for Mandera Central and political economist." Courtesy of Standard Digital.
Thursday, July 5, 2012
Could the billions mentioned in our budget be a mere mirage?, Billow Kerrow
"Days when budgets were synonymous with austerity are long gone. Ours cannot be about budget airline, or budget hotel that invoke minding your pocket. Treasury’s budget has of late been about big time spending, like taking a five-star airline, living in a seven-star hotel; we are literary living large, well beyond our means. The Finance Minister no longer burns the midnight oil scratching his head to raise revenue to cover financing gaps; just borrow the deficit. And national priorities such as are set out by the Planning Ministry don’t matter anymore. Treasury determines where to put our money.
The 2012/2013 Budget is no different. It is big. It’s ambitious as ever. Government will spend nearly Sh1.5 trillion, well above the Sh780 billion in taxes it expects to raise. Last year, it spent about Sh1.2 trillion. Well, the Minister will borrow, and beg, the deficit. By 2014, he projects that our public debt will be Sh2 trillion. Our poverty levels going anywhere, but down. Unemployment is choking our youth. Free Primary Education is crumbling as teachers complain of lack of resources. Our health centres too are largely understaffed. Despite the billions, the rural folk unlike their urban elites don’t feel much change. True, we are building roads. Kids still flock to schools. But the drudgery of life for the ordinary person hasn’t changed an awful lot.
It’s largely about trivialising our national priorities, and extravagance and wastage in public service. In this budget, defense and national security services received a whooping Sh150 billion, which is 10 per cent of the total budgeted expenditure, one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Much of it will be spent in secret, away from public scrutiny, in a nation where high graft is glorified.
Food security though remains on the back banner. Contrary to the Africa Union recommendation that States spend above 10 per cent of the budget to boost agriculture, we are just above 5 per cent at Sh53 billion. We will import basic commodities as usual, and watch thousands of our able-bodied men; women and children starve and then plead with donors to help. Nothing much will change here. Poor, jobless and hungry folks in the country are a more serious security issue than Al Shabaab in Somalia.
The macroeconomic indicators don’t look pretty either. Our GPD growth prospects are less rosy than what the minister predicts. The high inflation, rising interest rates and depreciating shilling will not boost growth. Nonetheless, the minister must look good in an election year. And so the hard questions don’t get addressed.
Our exports remain very depressed, at 23 per cent of the GDP, or just over Sh500 billion. On the hand, the imports are double that, at over Sh1.3 trillion. It is hard to see how Prof Njuguna Ndungu will keep the shilling steady in such a situation. To worsen the situation, huge public spending will fuel inflation. Our expenditure as a percentage of the GDP is above 33 per cent when revenues are only 23 per cent.
Treasury might blame the new institutions and devolution for the huge spending plans but that may not be so. Counties will receive only 10 per cent of the expenditure. Even the roads will receive only Sh123 billion. Well, much of the spending will be the conspicuous consumption in the public service.
And in part, it is public policies that are lacking in priorities and necessity that swallow funds that may be put to better use. It is the reason the crucial FPE will receive only Sh8.3 billion, and our schools will continue learning with a shortfall of 50,000 teachers. Government will continue to do many mundane activities that private sector should have done or financed, whilst some critical flagships in Vision 2030 remain far behind schedule. Well, we toast to it, and forget it ever was a short while later.
The writer is a former MP for Mandera Central and political economist." Courtesy of Standard Digital.
The 2012/2013 Budget is no different. It is big. It’s ambitious as ever. Government will spend nearly Sh1.5 trillion, well above the Sh780 billion in taxes it expects to raise. Last year, it spent about Sh1.2 trillion. Well, the Minister will borrow, and beg, the deficit. By 2014, he projects that our public debt will be Sh2 trillion. Our poverty levels going anywhere, but down. Unemployment is choking our youth. Free Primary Education is crumbling as teachers complain of lack of resources. Our health centres too are largely understaffed. Despite the billions, the rural folk unlike their urban elites don’t feel much change. True, we are building roads. Kids still flock to schools. But the drudgery of life for the ordinary person hasn’t changed an awful lot.
It’s largely about trivialising our national priorities, and extravagance and wastage in public service. In this budget, defense and national security services received a whooping Sh150 billion, which is 10 per cent of the total budgeted expenditure, one of the highest in Sub-Saharan Africa. Much of it will be spent in secret, away from public scrutiny, in a nation where high graft is glorified.
Food security though remains on the back banner. Contrary to the Africa Union recommendation that States spend above 10 per cent of the budget to boost agriculture, we are just above 5 per cent at Sh53 billion. We will import basic commodities as usual, and watch thousands of our able-bodied men; women and children starve and then plead with donors to help. Nothing much will change here. Poor, jobless and hungry folks in the country are a more serious security issue than Al Shabaab in Somalia.
The macroeconomic indicators don’t look pretty either. Our GPD growth prospects are less rosy than what the minister predicts. The high inflation, rising interest rates and depreciating shilling will not boost growth. Nonetheless, the minister must look good in an election year. And so the hard questions don’t get addressed.
Our exports remain very depressed, at 23 per cent of the GDP, or just over Sh500 billion. On the hand, the imports are double that, at over Sh1.3 trillion. It is hard to see how Prof Njuguna Ndungu will keep the shilling steady in such a situation. To worsen the situation, huge public spending will fuel inflation. Our expenditure as a percentage of the GDP is above 33 per cent when revenues are only 23 per cent.
Treasury might blame the new institutions and devolution for the huge spending plans but that may not be so. Counties will receive only 10 per cent of the expenditure. Even the roads will receive only Sh123 billion. Well, much of the spending will be the conspicuous consumption in the public service.
And in part, it is public policies that are lacking in priorities and necessity that swallow funds that may be put to better use. It is the reason the crucial FPE will receive only Sh8.3 billion, and our schools will continue learning with a shortfall of 50,000 teachers. Government will continue to do many mundane activities that private sector should have done or financed, whilst some critical flagships in Vision 2030 remain far behind schedule. Well, we toast to it, and forget it ever was a short while later.
The writer is a former MP for Mandera Central and political economist." Courtesy of Standard Digital.
Monday, July 2, 2012
North Eastern MPs to blame for drought ravaging the region, Billow Region
"Unfortunately, it is that unpredictable season when unmitigated drought hits our Parliament and makes some of our MPs cry foul. It comes in the form of political misfortunes such as when the political star of an MP is dimming, or when a political party feels its honeymoon is being blighted by its enemies.
For those from ASAL areas, it is the thirst for survival by the people and their livestock that drives them to desperation and hopelessness. But neither the drought ravaging many parts of the country, nor KACC’s forays into ODM territory is political.
First, the drought is likely to decimate much of the 50 million livestock in ASAL areas, valued at more than Sh200 billion by the Kenya Livestock Marketing Council, unless urgent sustainable measures are taken by the Government. In 2005/6, livestock worth more thanSh70 billion was lost in North Eastern Kenya alone to drought. In 2008/9, Kenyans watched in horror as thousands of dying livestock were belatedly trucked to KMC, and carcasses littered their yard in Athi River.
According to Ministry of Planning and National Development, 25 per cent of the country’s population live in ASAL, and accounts for 70 per cent of the nation’s livestock, 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and 80 per cent of its eco-tourism interests. Over the years, many have lost this livelihood to perennial droughts and are hooked to Government’s relief food handouts, shattering the pride of a resilient pastoralist community.
But the MPs from the region are largely to blame for the crisis. They know that this Government, like all the others before it, pays only lip service to real development of ASAL region, particularly with regards to finding sustainable solution to the drought effects. Mets alerted this nation more than three months ago about pending Lanina effects but little was done to prepare the residents for it.
The so-called Ministry of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Areas is a whitewash, a little more than a public relations exercise to hoodwink the residents, just like the 2003 ‘Marshal Plan’ and several other false initiatives before it. Since its inception, this ministry has not spent half the Sh7 billion Treasury has utilised on the 600,000 IDPs of the 2007 post-election violence, with its role reduced largely to co-ordination of other line ministries plans for the region. The ASAL development policy paper remains a draft for more than a decade, and the World Bank’s Arid Lands Management Programme that provided ‘first-aid’ drought intervention in the region is moribund.
The lack of proper range management leading to poor pasture utilisation, lack of water and inadequate marketing opportunities for the pastoralists has bedeviled the region. The few billions allocated for dams and boreholes is often stolen, and incomplete infrastructure dots the region. This is why I believe those managing the Water Ministry ought to be guests of PLO; never mind what those ODM psychophants say about jumping the queue.
In 2004, the PNU then known as Narc, complained that KACA was jumping the queue and should have arrested the Moi-era looters first before nabbing their budding Anglo-leasers. ODM thinks its record on anti-corruption is good; I entirely agree, but only on the rhetorical record! And it had many close shaves!
The PM’s office survived the maize scam; it’s Deputy PM was embroiled in a grave matter. The party chairman is in court, along with the deputy party leader. Their ministers in immigration, medical and water dockets have had their day in the court of public opinion. Well, maybe not the majority but certainly the creamy part of it. Clearly, it is a bad season not just for pastoralists but this party too. Fortunately, PLO’s outfit is now anchored in the Constitution. It’s a little too late to dream of disbanding it. Maybe, they are out to disband the irrelevant ASAL ministry their party created to get votes." Courtesy of Standard Digital.
For those from ASAL areas, it is the thirst for survival by the people and their livestock that drives them to desperation and hopelessness. But neither the drought ravaging many parts of the country, nor KACC’s forays into ODM territory is political.
First, the drought is likely to decimate much of the 50 million livestock in ASAL areas, valued at more than Sh200 billion by the Kenya Livestock Marketing Council, unless urgent sustainable measures are taken by the Government. In 2005/6, livestock worth more thanSh70 billion was lost in North Eastern Kenya alone to drought. In 2008/9, Kenyans watched in horror as thousands of dying livestock were belatedly trucked to KMC, and carcasses littered their yard in Athi River.
According to Ministry of Planning and National Development, 25 per cent of the country’s population live in ASAL, and accounts for 70 per cent of the nation’s livestock, 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and 80 per cent of its eco-tourism interests. Over the years, many have lost this livelihood to perennial droughts and are hooked to Government’s relief food handouts, shattering the pride of a resilient pastoralist community.
But the MPs from the region are largely to blame for the crisis. They know that this Government, like all the others before it, pays only lip service to real development of ASAL region, particularly with regards to finding sustainable solution to the drought effects. Mets alerted this nation more than three months ago about pending Lanina effects but little was done to prepare the residents for it.
The so-called Ministry of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Areas is a whitewash, a little more than a public relations exercise to hoodwink the residents, just like the 2003 ‘Marshal Plan’ and several other false initiatives before it. Since its inception, this ministry has not spent half the Sh7 billion Treasury has utilised on the 600,000 IDPs of the 2007 post-election violence, with its role reduced largely to co-ordination of other line ministries plans for the region. The ASAL development policy paper remains a draft for more than a decade, and the World Bank’s Arid Lands Management Programme that provided ‘first-aid’ drought intervention in the region is moribund.
The lack of proper range management leading to poor pasture utilisation, lack of water and inadequate marketing opportunities for the pastoralists has bedeviled the region. The few billions allocated for dams and boreholes is often stolen, and incomplete infrastructure dots the region. This is why I believe those managing the Water Ministry ought to be guests of PLO; never mind what those ODM psychophants say about jumping the queue.
In 2004, the PNU then known as Narc, complained that KACA was jumping the queue and should have arrested the Moi-era looters first before nabbing their budding Anglo-leasers. ODM thinks its record on anti-corruption is good; I entirely agree, but only on the rhetorical record! And it had many close shaves!
The PM’s office survived the maize scam; it’s Deputy PM was embroiled in a grave matter. The party chairman is in court, along with the deputy party leader. Their ministers in immigration, medical and water dockets have had their day in the court of public opinion. Well, maybe not the majority but certainly the creamy part of it. Clearly, it is a bad season not just for pastoralists but this party too. Fortunately, PLO’s outfit is now anchored in the Constitution. It’s a little too late to dream of disbanding it. Maybe, they are out to disband the irrelevant ASAL ministry their party created to get votes." Courtesy of Standard Digital.
Sunday, July 1, 2012
It’s time for CBK to review policies, save shilling from sliding by Billow Kerrow
"Things may be elephant for our Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta at The Hague but it certainly will be no better when he returns home. The economy is in stormy waters as the shilling tumbles freely, headed to well beyond a Sh100 to the US dollar.
The last time it hit that level was in 1994, when Cabinet minister Prof George Saitoti presided over the Goldenburg ‘raid’ at the Treasury that brought this great nation to its knees. It cooled off his State House ambitions for the next two decades.
This time round, Uhuru’s ‘hands off’ policy over the Central Bank may just be his Achilles’ heels. CBK Governor Njuguna Ndung’u has run out of ideas, and is at best confused, as reflected in his policies on the currency in the past three months. He has blamed speculators, banks, low interest rates, current account deficit, global turmoil and just about any reason he can find. The shilling has lost a quarter of its value this year and Ndung’u’s reactions have not helped build confidence in the money market.
The impact of CBK policy failure is awesome. The economic growth will certainly dampen, putting breaks on job and wealth creation in the long term. Prices will increase, raising the cost of goods and services and making survival more difficult for most Kenyans. Already, energy costs are likely to go up by 30 per cent according to the Ministry of Energy. Manufacturers and producers are already warning of higher consumer prices. The resultant high cost of production will erode our global and regional competitiveness. The weaker shilling may lead to capital flight as investors seek better value elsewhere.
Our foreign-currency denominated external public debt will rise sharply and will take away more resources from the discretionary public expenditure votes. Businesses cannot plan long-term due to the uncertainty in the currency, delaying investments. Clearly, there is a confidence crisis in the money market. CBK does not seem to place its fingers on the appropriate solution.
From early this year when the rapid shilling slide started, the CBK remained indifferent and shrugged off concerns over its policies. One reason for this inaction could be its dalliance with International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its July mission, it advised ‘CBK to refrain from intervening in foreign exchange beyond what is needed to attain the required reserve accumulation’.
In short, IMF’s concern was only the current account deficit and not the devaluation. They pushed for a credit squeeze to businesses through higher lending rates. CBK raised its Monetary Policy Rate and sat back, hoping it would halt the slide. But lending rates are usually far much higher anyway; CBK ought to control banks by seeking measures that would get them to contribute to economic growth through targeted lending for needed projects.
Perhaps an obvious reason the Governor shies away is the huge fiscal deficit occasioned by the rising Government spending that is fuelling inflation. Shutting down credit to private sector and allowing Government to live large will worsen inflation. Already, the country’s double-digit inflation is headed to 20 per cent due to the energy and commodities imports.
True, many countries in the emerging markets such as India, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea and Russia face currency slides too due to the Eurozone crisis. However, even countries like Brazil that is a major exporter have intervened to stop the slide. Devaluation makes a country poorer and the State must intervene as the markets cannot always address the problem.
If the shilling slides further, the Government may as well shelve its proposed price control statute; it will have zero effect! The cost of living will rise and the desperate struggle for survival by most Kenyans continues. Perhaps it’s time for new brains at CBK! Over to you Uhuru!
The last time it hit that level was in 1994, when Cabinet minister Prof George Saitoti presided over the Goldenburg ‘raid’ at the Treasury that brought this great nation to its knees. It cooled off his State House ambitions for the next two decades.
This time round, Uhuru’s ‘hands off’ policy over the Central Bank may just be his Achilles’ heels. CBK Governor Njuguna Ndung’u has run out of ideas, and is at best confused, as reflected in his policies on the currency in the past three months. He has blamed speculators, banks, low interest rates, current account deficit, global turmoil and just about any reason he can find. The shilling has lost a quarter of its value this year and Ndung’u’s reactions have not helped build confidence in the money market.
The impact of CBK policy failure is awesome. The economic growth will certainly dampen, putting breaks on job and wealth creation in the long term. Prices will increase, raising the cost of goods and services and making survival more difficult for most Kenyans. Already, energy costs are likely to go up by 30 per cent according to the Ministry of Energy. Manufacturers and producers are already warning of higher consumer prices. The resultant high cost of production will erode our global and regional competitiveness. The weaker shilling may lead to capital flight as investors seek better value elsewhere.
Our foreign-currency denominated external public debt will rise sharply and will take away more resources from the discretionary public expenditure votes. Businesses cannot plan long-term due to the uncertainty in the currency, delaying investments. Clearly, there is a confidence crisis in the money market. CBK does not seem to place its fingers on the appropriate solution.
From early this year when the rapid shilling slide started, the CBK remained indifferent and shrugged off concerns over its policies. One reason for this inaction could be its dalliance with International Monetary Fund (IMF). In its July mission, it advised ‘CBK to refrain from intervening in foreign exchange beyond what is needed to attain the required reserve accumulation’.
In short, IMF’s concern was only the current account deficit and not the devaluation. They pushed for a credit squeeze to businesses through higher lending rates. CBK raised its Monetary Policy Rate and sat back, hoping it would halt the slide. But lending rates are usually far much higher anyway; CBK ought to control banks by seeking measures that would get them to contribute to economic growth through targeted lending for needed projects.
Perhaps an obvious reason the Governor shies away is the huge fiscal deficit occasioned by the rising Government spending that is fuelling inflation. Shutting down credit to private sector and allowing Government to live large will worsen inflation. Already, the country’s double-digit inflation is headed to 20 per cent due to the energy and commodities imports.
True, many countries in the emerging markets such as India, Brazil, South Africa, South Korea and Russia face currency slides too due to the Eurozone crisis. However, even countries like Brazil that is a major exporter have intervened to stop the slide. Devaluation makes a country poorer and the State must intervene as the markets cannot always address the problem.
If the shilling slides further, the Government may as well shelve its proposed price control statute; it will have zero effect! The cost of living will rise and the desperate struggle for survival by most Kenyans continues. Perhaps it’s time for new brains at CBK! Over to you Uhuru!
The writer is a former MP for Mandera Central and political economist." Courtesy of Standard Digital.
Saturday, June 30, 2012
Dubai debacle exposes our rogue security apparatus that capitalises on anti-terror war by Billow Kerrow
"Many Kenyans are aghast with the blame game between the Immigration, Foreign Affairs and Internal Security ministries over the deportation blunder of four United Arab Emirates nationals, which has led to diplomatic falling out between Kenya and Dubai.
Many Kenyans who do business with that country and others who transit through it have now felt the consequences of the Government action. Dubai, whose people are not uniquely recognised for their academic prowess, is demanding Kenyans to flash out degrees.
Why is the UAE country so particularly distraught over this deportation? Is it the first time nationals from that region have been unceremoniously ejected by our hapless security forces? To the best of my recollection, it is not the first time, indeed it happens frequently. Not just to UAE nationals but also others from the wealthy Gulf countries who come for business or holidays.
Just a day after the UAE nationals’ arrests, three Somalis on Australian and US passports were arrested as terror suspects at Wilson Airport, enroute to Somalia. In the same week, two Pakistani nationals were also arrested under the same suspicion at Malaba, coming from Uganda. The list goes on. Indeed, in that week alone, media reports alarmingly indicated over a dozen terror suspects were arrested.
The pattern is the same – terror suspects arrests unprofessionally leaked out or proudly paraded to the media. Then, nothing is ever heard about it: police for lack of evidence invariably releases the suspects. Or in other instances, suspects are reported to have bribed their way out. The case of Hussein Farah Hanshi who reportedly escaped from police cells in Busia in March this year came barely a year after Fazul reportedly escaped arrest in Malindi on a tip off.
It is now apparent we have a dysfunctional and rogue security apparatus that may have turned the anti-terror war into a cash cow and lacks the integrity to handle this important role. Any light-skinned Muslim, particularly of Arab, Pakistani or Somali extraction, is now fair game for the disgraced Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU). They have arrested dozens especially in Eastleigh and Mombasa but no one ever gets indicted in court. When police mounted the infamous crackdown on Somalis early this year, the media reported that dozens were taken to ATPU for interrogation, and nothing has been heard about them since. Muslim human rights groups have often complained that the unit is extortionist, and uses threats to fleece suspects before releasing them.
ATPU and NSIS agents have taken charge of Immigration, routinely arresting people at airports and even in hotels on immigration related offences, and as stated by the Foreign Affairs Assistant Minister last week mainly to extort bribes. Early this year, a prominent Nairobi businessman was arraigned in court by ATPU, according to media reports, on suspicion he obtained his ID card unlawfully 11 years ago. In 2008, the security agents returned eight Kenyans to the country from Ethiopia after they were renditioned illegally.
It is not enough for the Immigration Minister to lament that Internal Security and Foreign Affairs have encroached in his docket. The legality or otherwise of an ID, passport or visa issued by his office cannot be used by these agents to ‘terrorise’ Kenyans or visitors to our country. The security concern is real and just but the end cannot justify the means. Immigration matters can and should only be determined by that Ministry, and must not be used as a gravy train.
Muslims generally believe these security agents work in cahoots, and at the behest of Western security agents. Indeed, the Task Force appointed by the President in 2007 to look into Muslim grievances submitted their report to the President in July 2008 and reportedly confirmed FBI and M16 routinely access and remove suspects from police custody. It is therefore likely that these agents act irrationally in order to remain relevant to those who control the purse strings.
I have no doubt that the action of these security agents will likely place the country at risk rather than protect it. The world over, the war on terror has been discredited for its deceptive propaganda and abuse of human rights. The concern about ethnic or religious profiling is a key factor in the decision by human rights groups and politicians for rejecting the proposed anti-terror law in the country. Above all, the symptomatic corruption in Government seems to permeate even in key security agencies, exposing the nation to ridicule and potential threats.
—The writer is a political economist and former MP for Mandera Central." Courtesy of Digital Standard.
Many Kenyans who do business with that country and others who transit through it have now felt the consequences of the Government action. Dubai, whose people are not uniquely recognised for their academic prowess, is demanding Kenyans to flash out degrees.
Why is the UAE country so particularly distraught over this deportation? Is it the first time nationals from that region have been unceremoniously ejected by our hapless security forces? To the best of my recollection, it is not the first time, indeed it happens frequently. Not just to UAE nationals but also others from the wealthy Gulf countries who come for business or holidays.
Just a day after the UAE nationals’ arrests, three Somalis on Australian and US passports were arrested as terror suspects at Wilson Airport, enroute to Somalia. In the same week, two Pakistani nationals were also arrested under the same suspicion at Malaba, coming from Uganda. The list goes on. Indeed, in that week alone, media reports alarmingly indicated over a dozen terror suspects were arrested.
The pattern is the same – terror suspects arrests unprofessionally leaked out or proudly paraded to the media. Then, nothing is ever heard about it: police for lack of evidence invariably releases the suspects. Or in other instances, suspects are reported to have bribed their way out. The case of Hussein Farah Hanshi who reportedly escaped from police cells in Busia in March this year came barely a year after Fazul reportedly escaped arrest in Malindi on a tip off.
It is now apparent we have a dysfunctional and rogue security apparatus that may have turned the anti-terror war into a cash cow and lacks the integrity to handle this important role. Any light-skinned Muslim, particularly of Arab, Pakistani or Somali extraction, is now fair game for the disgraced Anti-Terror Police Unit (ATPU). They have arrested dozens especially in Eastleigh and Mombasa but no one ever gets indicted in court. When police mounted the infamous crackdown on Somalis early this year, the media reported that dozens were taken to ATPU for interrogation, and nothing has been heard about them since. Muslim human rights groups have often complained that the unit is extortionist, and uses threats to fleece suspects before releasing them.
ATPU and NSIS agents have taken charge of Immigration, routinely arresting people at airports and even in hotels on immigration related offences, and as stated by the Foreign Affairs Assistant Minister last week mainly to extort bribes. Early this year, a prominent Nairobi businessman was arraigned in court by ATPU, according to media reports, on suspicion he obtained his ID card unlawfully 11 years ago. In 2008, the security agents returned eight Kenyans to the country from Ethiopia after they were renditioned illegally.
It is not enough for the Immigration Minister to lament that Internal Security and Foreign Affairs have encroached in his docket. The legality or otherwise of an ID, passport or visa issued by his office cannot be used by these agents to ‘terrorise’ Kenyans or visitors to our country. The security concern is real and just but the end cannot justify the means. Immigration matters can and should only be determined by that Ministry, and must not be used as a gravy train.
Muslims generally believe these security agents work in cahoots, and at the behest of Western security agents. Indeed, the Task Force appointed by the President in 2007 to look into Muslim grievances submitted their report to the President in July 2008 and reportedly confirmed FBI and M16 routinely access and remove suspects from police custody. It is therefore likely that these agents act irrationally in order to remain relevant to those who control the purse strings.
I have no doubt that the action of these security agents will likely place the country at risk rather than protect it. The world over, the war on terror has been discredited for its deceptive propaganda and abuse of human rights. The concern about ethnic or religious profiling is a key factor in the decision by human rights groups and politicians for rejecting the proposed anti-terror law in the country. Above all, the symptomatic corruption in Government seems to permeate even in key security agencies, exposing the nation to ridicule and potential threats.
—The writer is a political economist and former MP for Mandera Central." Courtesy of Digital Standard.
Crackdown on Somalis irrational, Billow Kerrow
"The aftermath of the demonstration by Muslims for Human Rights Forum has revealed our weakness as a nation where justice, freedom and human rights is merely skin-deep and may be whimsically sacrificed, not just by the Government but by all including the media, civic activists and the public.
The Government’s knee-jerk reaction was to characteristically deflect attention, blaming the violence on ‘extremist foreign elements and al Shabaab militia’ and indiscriminately rounding up hundreds of Somalis in various parts of the country, including Kenyan Somalis. Some media even implied that al Qaeda elements were involved; while others lamented that the police did not use adequate force to deal with the protestors, in spite of police bullets killing two protestors and leaving several others injured.
Some human rights activists equally concluded that national security was undermined and blamed the Government for failure to contain the demo. Members of the public too joined police in the frenzy, stoning the protesters, and looting shops in Jamia Mall. NCBDA was more outrageous, claiming that foreigners (read Somalis) planned to ‘destabilise businesses so that they can take over the city centre’.
Visitor’s rights
Why was it necessary to attack Kenyans exercising their rights, to protest incarceration and violation of the human rights of the visitor, however ‘dubious’ he may be? In the Western democracies, don’t millions demonstrate every year against violation of the rights of terror suspects held in Guantanamo? If gays and lesbians or Mungikis demonstrate in our streets tomorrow, will members of the public who are opposed to them be justified in pelting them with stones?
Why is a person convicted of hate speech and discharged after serving his term deemed to be an eternal criminal? Are Nazi war criminals and genocide suspects not subjected to the due process of law despite committing crimes against humanity?
The supposed ‘terrorist’ Al Faisal preached in six African countries before entering Kenya but those who alerted Kenyan authorities did not find it fit to advise the other governments to reject him. The Sheikh was reportedly on a terror watch list, and hence his movements must have been monitored internationally. Why raise the alarm only in Kenya? By forcing the detention of the preacher in the country for several days, was there a wider plot to provoke the local Muslim community, antagonise Muslim youth into violence, and then provoke repulsion and anti-Muslim frenzy in the Kenyan public?
Muslims feel they have been vilified as aliens, ‘terrorist sympathisers’ and collectively punished through arrests and intimidation for simply exercising their rights.
The same media, activists, and public who have repeatedly condemned police over the years for brutally repressing protests and were champions of human rights are now convinced Muslims ought not to hit the streets at all.
The Taskforce on Muslim Grievances submitted its report to the President in July last year, and is gathering dust on the shelves. According to sources, the key grievances raised by the Muslims community include harassment by police, arbitrary arrests and detention, open discrimination in issue of identity documents and illegal renditions. The report is vindicated by the ongoing ethnic victimisation of the Somali community. Early last year, the Kenya Human Rights Commission published a report entitled Foreigners At Home: the Dilemma of Citizenship in Northern Kenya, which exposed institutionalised discrimination on questions of citizenship in the region, particularly among the Somali community. It revealed a systematic process of denial, and incarceration of Somalis in obtaining identity cards and passports, and gross violation of their basic human rights.
These examples illustrate the official biases against Muslim communities, which fuels frustrations among the youth. Its latest action will only serve to deepen resentment and push many youth towards extremism, as has happened in central Kenya.
—The writer is political economist and former MP." Courtesy of Standard Digital.
The Government’s knee-jerk reaction was to characteristically deflect attention, blaming the violence on ‘extremist foreign elements and al Shabaab militia’ and indiscriminately rounding up hundreds of Somalis in various parts of the country, including Kenyan Somalis. Some media even implied that al Qaeda elements were involved; while others lamented that the police did not use adequate force to deal with the protestors, in spite of police bullets killing two protestors and leaving several others injured.
Some human rights activists equally concluded that national security was undermined and blamed the Government for failure to contain the demo. Members of the public too joined police in the frenzy, stoning the protesters, and looting shops in Jamia Mall. NCBDA was more outrageous, claiming that foreigners (read Somalis) planned to ‘destabilise businesses so that they can take over the city centre’.
Visitor’s rights
Why was it necessary to attack Kenyans exercising their rights, to protest incarceration and violation of the human rights of the visitor, however ‘dubious’ he may be? In the Western democracies, don’t millions demonstrate every year against violation of the rights of terror suspects held in Guantanamo? If gays and lesbians or Mungikis demonstrate in our streets tomorrow, will members of the public who are opposed to them be justified in pelting them with stones?
Why is a person convicted of hate speech and discharged after serving his term deemed to be an eternal criminal? Are Nazi war criminals and genocide suspects not subjected to the due process of law despite committing crimes against humanity?
The supposed ‘terrorist’ Al Faisal preached in six African countries before entering Kenya but those who alerted Kenyan authorities did not find it fit to advise the other governments to reject him. The Sheikh was reportedly on a terror watch list, and hence his movements must have been monitored internationally. Why raise the alarm only in Kenya? By forcing the detention of the preacher in the country for several days, was there a wider plot to provoke the local Muslim community, antagonise Muslim youth into violence, and then provoke repulsion and anti-Muslim frenzy in the Kenyan public?
Muslims feel they have been vilified as aliens, ‘terrorist sympathisers’ and collectively punished through arrests and intimidation for simply exercising their rights.
The same media, activists, and public who have repeatedly condemned police over the years for brutally repressing protests and were champions of human rights are now convinced Muslims ought not to hit the streets at all.
The Taskforce on Muslim Grievances submitted its report to the President in July last year, and is gathering dust on the shelves. According to sources, the key grievances raised by the Muslims community include harassment by police, arbitrary arrests and detention, open discrimination in issue of identity documents and illegal renditions. The report is vindicated by the ongoing ethnic victimisation of the Somali community. Early last year, the Kenya Human Rights Commission published a report entitled Foreigners At Home: the Dilemma of Citizenship in Northern Kenya, which exposed institutionalised discrimination on questions of citizenship in the region, particularly among the Somali community. It revealed a systematic process of denial, and incarceration of Somalis in obtaining identity cards and passports, and gross violation of their basic human rights.
These examples illustrate the official biases against Muslim communities, which fuels frustrations among the youth. Its latest action will only serve to deepen resentment and push many youth towards extremism, as has happened in central Kenya.
—The writer is political economist and former MP." Courtesy of Standard Digital.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)