Open Forum on MPs' Pay and Taxation

From: Okiya Omtatah Okoiti

Dear All,

There will be a public forum to demand slashing & taxing MPs' pay, at the Panafric Hotel on Tuesday, March 31, 2009, from 2.00 pm - 5.30pm. We have booked a spacious hall. Entry is free. Ask as many people as possible to attend and contribute to the debate. Resolutions from the forum will be compiled into a dossier that will be presented to the Akiwumi Tribunal stating our position.

Those who can't attend but have a contribution to make should email their views to omtatah@yahoo.com. Please invite others to the meeting to demonstrate our disgust at the insatiable greed of our MPs.

Welcome.
Aluta Continua!!

Why the government is broke

It's pretty obvious to most of us that Kenya's so-called government is broke because they ate it all amongst themselves in tax free salaries, flowers for their offices, holidays for their wives and mistresses and billions of shillings in ostentatious cars...but for those of you who would like a little extra reading and even more proof in just how this happened, the MARS Group as always go through lengthy and necessary research to show us Kenyans that we are getting screwed.

Click on image below for the erudite facts and
WAKE UP KENYA before its too late...

If they don't have unga, let them eat..

Dear Mr/s. Member of Parliament,

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I know it might be still too soon since you came back from your much deserved break but a couple of million constituents (you know those silly people who voted for you) are mumbling and grumbling again about how hungry they are.

And of course the media has to make a fuss about it. I think since you managed to put a sock in the media's mouth, they must have really little to talk about so they are filling in the pages with stories about those starving watu of yours.

So now that you have spent the festive season filling your bellies with booze and meat, perhaps you really need to put one of your dirty sock's in the media's mouth once and for all. I mean, such stories are a disgrace. What will all those tourists think when they are laying by the poolside drinking pina coladas and they see such garbage on our papers. And what of all the donors attending workshops at the Grand Regency? How do you think people are going to be able to focus on all those important meetings about...um...you know about like saving Africa and stuff?

Media: Blackout MPs

By Betty Caplan

Parliament plans to black out the media: the media's response must be to black out members of parliament. Tit for tat. Consider this: a week without Raila in sweeping white garb, Kibaki smiling at a crowd being promised something they know they won't get; a week without Martha Karua's carefully brushed coiffure and perfectly enunciated KiSwahili. Remember no-one loves to be in the limelight more than politicians. We may actually have space to discuss what is to be done in the current mess.

Do you realize that a mere 35 MPs voted for the Media (amendment) Bill - 35 out of 222! What were the others doing, when something apparently of such overweening importance was being aired. One member of the House (I refuse to call it august) has a regular column in another national paper. This week he complained "There's nothing to envy about an MP's life and the job is thankless." Was the Assistant Minister for Higher Education Science and Technology spending time with his constituents who were visiting his home which they feel free to do day or night or was he seeking refuge in his rural abode to get away from them with his family whom he has too little time for? Was he being a professional beggar, shamelessly soliciting government ministers and bureaucrats or NGOs or being ridiculed, insulted and openly shunned as a potential (rather than an actual) thief?

The Hon. Mwiria cannot attend the House because mundane tasks distract him: he must be a marriage counselor, education advisor and an intermediary in location and family conflicts - tasks no doubt his training has equipped him to do. He must be an ATM machine coughing out money for school fees, hospital bills, funeral expenses and land issues. "Some MPs carry no less than Ksh 200,000 to use with the public any weekend they head home in addition to what they use in Nairobi." Well, if you've got it, why not flaunt it? He even has to, horror of horrors, pay rounds of drinks for those who can afford it. It strikes me that such ministers are poorly prepared House work.

There is a little word in English that has the power to move mountains, It is "No." No, I won't pay because you drink too much anyway and you'll get in your cars and knock someone over. No, I won't have a meal in a public place when my constituents don't even have the money to buy unga to eat in private. No I will not continue this ugly system of patronage that makes me a one-man charity and turns my constituents into perpetual beggars. Yes, I will pay tax on my allowances and even vote for a decrease in salary so that the obscene gap between us can at last narrow if not disappear altogether. No, I will put off my phone when in a meeting, in Parliament or taking a rest and if I am classified as "proud and inaccessible", then so be it. Shauri yako. I am not God; I cannot be all things to all men and women. I am human, or supposed to be.

As for the "frustration in not being able to accomplish even a tenth of what is expected of him and then however good your performance you are blamed as a failure," the revered minister must be aware that is exactly what the humble schoolteacher suffers year after year. In fact it occurred to me they had much in common. Schoolteachers too are meant to be pillars of the community, ATM cards, marriage counselors and of course educators who produce brilliant results no matter what quality of student material they are working with or how inadequate the school's facilities are - no textbooks, desks, clean toilets, libraries. The Minister complains that "you have to toe the line of the party chief or you are gone", but the schoolteacher has to put up with incompetent, inefficient, corrupt and greedy Headmasters and keep mum or else she risks being transferred to the bush. As for going through abusive campaigns to be an MP, the Minister might try just for a little work experience slogging away day after day with students who don't want to learn, who can't see the point of education because these days Ph.ds drive taxis if they're lucky and who think that if you can't get them through any exam without their doing a stroke of work you a nobody. The more I think of it the job is the same. Except for the salary, tax- free allowances and perks of course.

(Betty Caplan is a freelance journalist and writer living in Kenya. Click HERE to read more of her work.)

Kibaki - You are right!!

Ahh Mr. President and the Members of Parliament that WE Kenyans have employed, you are indeed right to state that assenting to Section 88 of the Kenyan Communications Act..."would promote and safegaurd our culture, moral values and nationhood."

As custodians of Kenya you have indeed done everything you possibly can to turn our culture, moral values and sense of nationhood into one of theft, corruption, decadence, lack of respect, nationwide poverty, donor dependance, begging, gluttony,murder, nepotism, impunity...

And yes you are right Mr. President: assenting to taking our freedom of expression away will definitly ensure that all the values you and the criminals WE employ to sleep in parliament tax free will be safeguarded.

WELL DONE!!!

Where your taxes go....just say NO!

Pressure is mounting on MPs to pay taxes but that's simply not enough. The bottomline is the government is using our hard earned cash and the VAT we pay on just about everything to pay for big salaries, flashy cars, fuel, allowances and luxury trips mostly for politicians and a few top civil servants. Read the facts and take control of your life...

The MARS Group and KENGO have launched a Partnership for Change Campaign. Click on the image below to understand more about where your money goes...

No taxes for MPs; No taxes for us!

A message from Bunge La Mwananchi

Congratulations to you Hon. Johnstone Muthama for answering the call of joining the taxpayers army; you are now a member of the Club of Citizens with honor!

We pay taxes to raise money for the government to build schools, roads and hospitals and for indirect functions like justice and redistribution of wealth from the richer to the poorer, thereby checking inequalities in the economy. This is a patriotic act all of us, including our Members of Parliament should be proud of. Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)'s motto is, "kulipa ushuru ni kujitegemea" (to pay taxes builds self reliance).

Could it be that our lawmakers are against building of roads, schools and hospitals; against the Constituency Development Fund, and rural electrification, against redistribution of wealth; against a just society; and worst of all, against our country's independence?

How else do we explain a Member of Parliament with total income of KES 1,000,000 plus expecting an ordinary worker who earns a paltry KES 15,000 to foot the bills of constructing roads on which they drive their fuel guzzlers? How do we explain these totally different income brackets benefiting from the same services that the lower bracket solely pays for?

While we do not yet have a fresh list of Members of Parliament who are on camera against paying taxes on their salaries and allowances, as of the month of June/July 2008 the following are the names of legislators who ferociously fought against paying taxes: Peter Keneth - Gatanga, MP; George Nyamweya - Nominated MP; Boni Khalwale - Ikolomani, MP; Danson Mungatana - Garsen, MP; Soita Shitanda - Malava, MP; Ali Hassan Joho - Hamisi, MP; Charles Keter - Belgut, MP; David Koech-; Fred Kapondi - Mt. Elgon, MP; Charles Kilonzo - Yatta, MP; Sammy Mwaita - Baringo Central, MP; Ephraim Maina - Mathira, MP.

To my fellow countrymen and women, we must keep up the pressure; resist representation without taxation. Our clarion call for this war is: "No taxes for MPs; No taxes for us!"

George Nyongesa
Bunge la Mwananchi

(Bunge la Mwananchi is a countrywide grass root social movement and a member of Kenya National Civil Society Congres)

80,000 + IDPs still in camps...

Kriegler Commission, Waki Commission, Commission of Inquiry on post-election violence, blah blah blah! Workshops, talk shops, debates, theater, art exhibitions, blah blah blah!
FACT: there are over 80,000 people still stuck in camps
FACT: there are communities full of hate and anger just waiting for a reason to let it out
FACT: our politicians have started spending tax payers money on their election campaigns for 2012 or whenever it is.
FACT: Kenyan politicians are thieves. PROOF: look at their personal assets and their use of state assets (yes, Kenyans that means YOUR PESA)
FACT: Nobody is signing this petition to demand they reduce their salaries and give back land
FACT: We are a hopeless basketcase and deserve to be raped by politicians. We voted for them and we keep them in power.

The foreskin Wars

Several years ago, I conducted an ethnographic study on people’s knowledge, attitudes and beliefs towards medical research using a trial on male circumcision as a case study in Kisumu. Given that our main topic of conversation was sex and western models of research, you can imagine we always had plenty to jazz about. Six years later, CNN and Time declared male circumcision as the biggest medical breakthrough of 2007. Not suprisingly, foreskins have since become a bit of an obsession amongst mainstream media and my fellow bloggers. So if everybody is talking about it, why can't I?

Question: But is Sukuma Kenya the right place to be writing about weeners?
Answer: Yes.
Question: Why?
Answer? Because some losers have turned a public health debate into a political one and Sukuma Kenya strongly dislikes politicians.

So Kisumu is back on the global media map again - Mr. Obama, so-called son of Lake Victoria, kindly step aside for a moment as our noble politicians pull their pants down:

Kenyan MPs admit to circumcision
"Standing before an audience of 500 in the western city of Kisumu, including Prime Minister Raila Odinga, three government ministers and an MP said they had secretly undergone the operation…"

When a stitch in time really saves nine
"To cut or not to cut — that is the question as politicians from Nyanza take the bull by the horns to disregard age-old customs. Prime Minister Raila Odinga illustrated the gravity of the matter when he led local politicians on Monday to Kisumu to attend a health conference…"

We all know what terrible atrocities were committed in january after the elections including poor uncircumcised including men being mutilated in the name of politics. So I ask my fellow cyperpunks, what good are you doing fuelling your foreskin with stupid comments like,

"Hi all I join you all in the campaign against this exercise, meant to covenant the luos into the politics of doom!"

Fortunately, there are some sensible people still out there including Luo women living in Kibera slums who point out that, "It is not good that Kibera remains a thriving Poverty Tourism attraction while the PM preoccupies himself with non issues like chopping of foreskin and touring central Kenya every weekend."

Ok, so where is this all going? I am sure there is a great deal of truth in the relationship between susceptibility to HIV and weeners with foreskins. But I am even more sure that there is a very strong relationship between poverty and HIV.

Question: Is Kenya a poor country?
Answer: Yes
Question: What is the minimum wage in Kenya?
Answer: About 5000/- Ksh ($80) a month
Question: What do MPs earn in Kenya?
Answer: About 600,000/- Ksh ($9000) a month.

So fellow activists, let's take some advice from the wisdom of our poverty stricken mamas and demand that the criminals in charge of this country give back what is not their and stop beating off in the bush and fucking us over with their foreskins. Leave Reproductive Health matters to people who know what they are talking about and try and stayed focused on the great divide between the handful of rich who stole from the poor and turned our country into one big dumpsite.

Click HERE if you wish to sign a petition that actually makes some sense.

Fat Salaries for Fat Wives

This is Kenya:

1. First Lady, Lucy Kibaki: Receives US $ 8,000 per month in allowances
   
2. Mrs Pauline Kalonzo, wife of Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka: Set to receive US $ 6,000
   
3. Mrs Ida Odinga, wife of Prime Minister Raila Odinga: Set to receive US $ 6,000

TOTAL: US $ 20,000 a month on allowances

Kenya nchi yetu...

Click HERE to read the story

Where our votes went to

Over one thousand people killed as a consequence of our vote
Hundreds of thousands turned into IDPs due to voting
Tens of thousands still in camps because we voted.

Kenyan Members of Parliament are some of the highest paid cronies in the world because we allow them to be. WE PAY THEIR SALARIES.

And everything goes back to normal? It can't end here. We need 10,000 signatures demanding they do something human for a change and reduce their salaries and give some of their own land to the people in this country who really need it.
But that is not enough either: 10,000 signatures need 10,000 people marching to Parliament...

Click HERE to sign the petition if you think you have been cheated.

4613 Kenyans say you are greedy!!

Yes Mr. President and fellow cronies posing as leaders. There are over 4000 Kenyans across the world and more and more joining everyday with one simple message to you:

YOU ARE SHAMELESS!

Kenyans online have joined hands on Facebook:

"How sad and frustrating is it to find that our MP's earn the highest salary compared to all the other countries in the world. While 20 million Kenyans are in abject poverty; living on less than $ 1.00 a day.

As Kenyans we need to stand for our rights to live and prosper in our country.

Therefore please join us to bring change in our country by reducing our MP's salaries and privileges, so as to improve the life of the mwananchi.

OUR GOAL IS TO UNITE AND GET HALF A MILLION KENYANS IN THIS GROUP.....can we do it?....lets try"

And here is the proof:

This group started on June 5th 2008

06/05/2008- 33 members
06/06/2008- 91 members
06/07/2008- 117 members
06/08/2008- 131 members
06/09/2008-150 members
06/10/2008-200 members
06/11/2008-233 members
06/12/2008-255 members
06/16/2008-370 members
06/17/2008-458 members
06/18/2008-495 members
06/19/2008-550 members
06/20/2008-630 members
06/21/2008-668 members
06/22/2008-720 members
06/23/2008-891 members
06/24/2008-1174 members
06/25/2008-1365 members
06/26/2008-1545 members
06/27/2008-1741 members
06/28/2008-1904 members
06/29/2008- 2000 members
06/30/2008- 2230 members
07/02/2008- 2671 members
07/03/2008- 2857 members


ok i got tired......wow! we are at 4000 + members

lakini

Bado mambo!"

And there are many more out there that can sign and will sign.

click HERE to join the Facebook campaign

click HERE to sign a similar petition online.

Don't you get it Mr. President and company (whichever party you are in is obviously irrelevant because you all sit smug in your 4wd or asleep in parliament while your people starve), you are all guilty.

HOW DO YOU SLEEP AT NIGHT?

MPs’ tax resistance an act of treason!

Bunge La Mwananchi led by George Nyongesa and other brave patriots are one of the few groups left truly campaigning at the grassroots for peace, truth and justice:

When Minister for Finance, Hon. Kimunya, read the 2008/9 budget, the devil indeed lay in the reaction to the details. The budget that was initially described as “people-friendly” and “food for growth” turned into a short-lived political tranquilizer after it failed to halt the unchecked increase in food prices. However, even as our people are reduced to eating rats and carcasses of wild animals to fend off hunger, the debate on high food prices seems to have taken a backseat and our preoccupation is the question of whether Members of Parliament should join the taxpayers army. For sure, as expected of our lawmakers, they are not taking this perceived attack on their obscene pay perks without kicking up a storm of a protest. That leads us to ask, what is the purpose of tax?

According to Wikipedia, tax is a pecuniary burden laid upon individuals or property to support the government. It is not a voluntary payment or donation, but an enforced contribution. The purpose of tax is for government to raise money to build schools, roads and hospitals and for indirect functions like justice and redistribution of wealth from the richer to the poorer, thereby checking inequalities.

At a time when our country is experiencing inflation estimated at 31 percent, it is important to note that taxation is used for countering inflationary pressures on the economy and better still, Kenya Revenue Authority tells us that kulipa ushuru ni kujitegemea. Considering our Members of Parliament ferocious resistance to taxation, one asks, are our lawmakers against building of roads; against redistribution of wealth; against a just society; against checking inflation and, worst of all, against our country’s independence? Why should a parliamentarian with total income of KES 877,000 expect a worker who earns a paltry KES 12,000 to foot the bills of constructing roads on which they drive their fuel guzzlers, for the garbage collection in their posh estates, for building hospitals which they quickly claim and brand as their own projects in campaign speeches?

The above mentioned facts are admissible evidence that our legislators’ protest against taxation is nothing less than disloyalty and betrayal of our country, tantamount to treason! Therefore, the following: Peter Keneth – Gatanga, MP; George Nyamweya- Nominated MP; Boni Khalwale- Ikolomani, MP; Danson Mungatana- Garsen, MP; Soita Shitanda- Malava, MP; Ali Hassan Joho- Hamisi, MP; Charles Keter- Belgut, MP; David Koech-; Fred Kapondi- Mt. Elgon, MP; Charles Kilonzo-Yatta, MP; Sammy Mwaita- Baringo Central, MP; Ephraim Maina-Mathira, MP and others not listed but equally guilty must immediately be charged for treason!

Between 1763-1776, Americans used “no taxation without representation” as a slogan to summarize their grievances against British rule. Today, we must paraphrase that slogan and say to our parliamentarians “no representation without taxation”; for representation without taxation is tyranny! (By George Nyongesa - Bunge La Mwananchi)

The MARS GROUP have published an article showing that there is a lot more at stake than the just the MPs getting away without paying taxes. The Financial Budget this year has taken public theft one step further with budget lines such as 2 BILLION for HOSPITALITY!

Click HERE to read the full article.

Click HERE to find the contacts of your MP and ask him to wake up!

Click HERE to sign the petition demanding MPs to reduce their salaries and give back land to the people!!

Stupid is as Stupid does

Mr. President and your golfing party,

Something to think about while you are on the green: had you not agreed to increase their golfing allowances and tea package, then you would not have to worry about how you are going to get it back...alas, it might be a bit too late to take back from the rich to feed our poor but I do beseech you not to let them getaway in the chase car....

Congratulations Kenya!

WE have done it again. WE have stolen from our poor to give them:

• 35 million shillings to chase after one another in flashy cars
• 360 million shillings to renovate their sleeping chambers
• 185 million shilllings to film them sleeping
• 265 million shillings to go shopping oversees
• 200 million shillings to buy more duty free cars
• 200 million shillings to sleep some more after they retire from sleeping

Congratulations to all Kenyans!

Talk to Kenyan MPs and Ministers

Shailja Patel, Kenyan poet and human rights campaigner, has posted the following information on her blog.

Kenyans for Peace With Truth and Justice (KPTJ) have launched a SMS campaign to urge politicians to fight against a bloated Cabinet. Given the current impasse, there is still an opportunity to urge OUR elected representatives to stop being selfish and to put the nation’s interest before their personal interests.

This is the first step to creating a culture of political accountability in Kenya. MPs need to hear our outrage. Below are all the contact numbers we’ve been able to obtain for the 10th Parliament. The fact that less than 30% of parliamentarians have made their contact details available to Kenyans is, in itself, a tragic statement on the feudal thinking prevalent in Kenyan politics.

Some examples of messages you can send are below. It adds strength to your sms if you personalize it by addressing the MP directly. e.g. “Mr. Saitoti, Kenyans want a lean, clean cabinet.” Feel free to craft your own!

Mawaziri Majambazi!

Siasa Ya Pupa
Njaa Kwetu!

Kenyans Want A Lean, Clean Cabinet

Lean and Clean
Greed is Obscene

Cabinet Feasts
IDPs Starve

Do the Right Thing for Kenya
No More Than 24

Our Country Our Cabinet
No More Than 24

MP CONTACT INFO (last name, first names - constituency - party - cellphone, email)

Abdirahman, H.Ali - Wajir South - KANU - 0721-724746 / 0722-144999 ahassan@tradeandindustry.go.ke

Chiaba, Mohamed Abu - Lamu East - PNU - 0722-410177

Bahari, Abdul Ali - Isiolo South - KANU - 0733-289501

Balala, Mohammed Najib - Mvita - ODM - 0733 333500 /0724 - 650000 najib@mombasa.co.ke

Bifwoli, Wakoli Sylvester - Bumula - PNU - 0733-865323 Wakolib@yahoo.com

Chepkitony, Lucas Kipkosgei - Keiyo North - ODM - 0733-635894 / 0722816064

Ethuro, David - Turkana Central - PNU- 0722-526370 dethuro@yahoo.com

Gesami, James Ondicho - West Mugirango - ODM- 0733 826090

Gisuka, Machage Wilfred - Kuria - DP - 0733-451806/0725834575

Kajembe, Ramathan Seif - Changamwe - ODM - 0721 609777 Langoni@swiftmombasa.com

Kajwang’, Gerald Otieno - Mbita - ODM - 0722-882787

Kamama, Asman Abongotum - Baringo East - PNU - 0731-583303

Karua, Martha Wangari Gichugu - PNU - 0721 623 342 / 0733-747551

Kenneth, Peter Gatanga - PNU - 0722 512996 andykenneth@hotmail.com

Kenyatta, Uhuru - Gatundu South - KANU - 0722 463 891

Keter, Charles Cheruiyot - Belgut - ODM - 0722 530555

Khalwale Boni - Ikolomani - NEW FORD-K - 0721 318722

Khaniri, George Munyasa - Hamisi - ODM - 0722-859341

Kilonzo, Julias Kiema Mutito - ODM-K - 0722-513605 kilonzo@wananchi.com

Kilonzo, Charles Mutavi - Yatta - ODM-K - 0734-621593 ckilonzo@crystalvaluers.com

Kimunya Amos Muhinga Kipipiri PNU - 0722518801 / 520936 kipipiri@wananchi.com

Kinyanjui, Lee Maiyani - Nakuru Town - PNU - 0722 842653

Kiunjuri, Festus Mwangi - Laikipia East - PNU - 0721 600 305

Kuti Mohammed Abdi - Isiolo North - NARC-K - 0733 235914

Lesirma, Simeon Saimanga - Samburu West - ODM - 0722-719946 simeonlesrima@yahoo.com

Magara - James Omingo - South Mugirango - ODM - 0722 911274 jomingo45@yahoo.com

Katoo, Ole Metito J - Kajiado South - 0721-640175

Midiwo, Washington Jakoyo - Gem - ODM - 0721 504 040 / 0733 421277/ 0722 935761

Mohamed, A.H.M - Mandera West - ODM - 0722-779942

Mohammed, Haji Yusuf - Ijara - KANU - 0722-709395

Mugo, Beth Wambui - Dagoretti - PNU - 0722-205753 bmugo@kenyaweb.com

Mungatana, Danson Buya - Garsen - NARC-K - 0722-411971 mungatana@wanainchi.com

Munyes, John Kiyonga - Turkana North - PNU - 0721-339094 johnmunyes@yahoo.com

Murungi, Kiraitu - South Imenti - PNU - 0721-240863 waziri@kenyaweb.com

Musila, David - Mwingi South - ODM-K - 0722 571117 davidmusila@yahoo.com

Musyoka, Stephen Kalonzo - Mwingi North - ODM-K - 0722 523 872 / 0735 161 588

Mwangi, Onesmus Kigumo - PNU - 0722-778581 kiharamwangimp@yahoo.com

Mwatela, Andrew Calist - Mwatate - ODM 0733 719 871

Mwiria, Valerian Kilemi - Tigania West - PNU - 0733-657562 kilemimwiria@africanonline.co.ke

Ndambuki, Gideon Musyoka - Kaiti - ODM-K - 0720-384553/0734-758567 gndambuki@wananchi.com

Githae, Robinson Njeru - Ndia - PNU - 722514837

Nkaisserry, Joseph Kasaine - Kajiado Central - ODM - 0721-356786 nkaisserry@wananchi.com

Nyong’o, Peter Anyang’ - Kisumu Rural - ODM - 0733 454 133 pan@africaonline.co.ke

Odinga, Raila Amolo - Langata - ODM - 0733 620 736 railaaodinga@yahoo.com

Oginga, Oburu Bondo - ODM - 0733 818517/ 0724-105493 oburu_oginga@yahoo.com

Odeke, Sospeter Ojaamongson Amagoro - ODM - 0733 967345 / 0722 813819

Ojode, Joshua Orwa Ndhiwa - ODM - 0722- 514830 Ojode7@hotmail.com

Okemo, Chrysanthus Nambale - ODM - 0733-608895 Chrisokemo@yahoo.com

Olweny, Patrick Ayiecho - Muhoroni - ODM - 0722-734187/0733-784633

Onyancha, Charles - Bonchari - ODM - 0722-248190 jonyancha2002@yahoo.com

Oparanya, Wycliffe Ambetsa - Butere - ODM - 0722 521856

Osebe, Walter Enock Nyambati - Kitutu Masaba - N LP - 0722 724 556

Poghisio, Samuel Losuron Kacheliba - ODM-K - 0722-520663 / 0734-200836 poghisio@wananchi.com

Ruto, Samoei William K. - Eldoret North - ODM - 0722 517 997 info@williamrutto.com

Shaban Naomi Namsi Taveta KANU 0722 814 412

Shitanda, Peter Soita - Malava - NEW FORD-K - 0721-341241 soita-shitanda@yahoo.com

Sugow Ahmed Aden Fafi KANU 0721-596726

Twaha, Yasin Fahim - Lamu West - NARC-K - 0722-925108

Wekesa, Noah Muhlanganga - Kwanza - PNU - 0722-774374 noahwekesa@hotmail.com

Were, David Aoko Matungu - ODM - 0722 707548/0733 569180 scorpionwere@yahoo.com

Wetangula - Moses Makisa Sirisia - PNU - 0722 517 302 / 806 363 mwetangula@hotmail.com

ATTORNEY GENERAL OF KENYA

Amos Wako 0722 772 453

Feed the People, Not the Fat Cats!

I want to share a piece by a fellow Kenyan and Civil Activist. First, some MPs try and get more cash for their retirement and now they want to spend billions more expanding Ministries while we can barely feed ourselves. I personally feel ashamed that I and many others have to reach out across the world to find funds for the victims of bad leadership whilst they insult us and shame us as Kenyans...I apologise to all the people who support and care for Kenya and who have come to our assistance while our own leaders continue to think about ways to line their own pockets.

By Mwalimu Mati

It is astonishing to hear that some crazy person, or people have suggested a Kenya Cabinet size of 44. According to the 2007/8 budget the total cost of running 34 ministries this year is Ksh 299.6 billion (an average of Ksh 8 billion per ministry per annum). Using the same average cost, 44 Ministries might cost you and I about Ksh 387 billion. Are you prepared to fork out another 100 billion shillings or so every year to accommodate your Member of Parliament’s desire to have a flag and to be called “Waziri”?

Let’s be clear, MPs were elected to represent us, not to agitate for wasteful government expenditure in the name of power sharing. Certainly,they are not meant to be inciting Government to spend Ksh 100 billion more for no serious purpose beyond contriving to get Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga to give them sinecures at public expense.

If you read the 2007/2008 Estimates of Recurring Expenditure of the Government of Kenya , you will find that Ksh 100 billion per year is equivalent to Kenya ’s current annual public debt repayments. Ksh 100 billion would finance the youth fund for 100 years and the women’s fund for 50 years. Ksh 100 billion would build ten 10-lane highways each of 50km of length – the distance between Nairobi and Thika. It is twice the aid in loans and grants received from bilateral partners for development;and four times all the grants Kenya receives from multilaterals such as the World Bank.

We cannot afford to spend Ksh 100 billion this year on a bloated
government. We have better things to do with our money. What has the GOK done about IDPs who are still living in tents and being chased from place to place by GOK security personnel whenever they dare to complain about their abysmal living conditions? Nothing. What provision is really being made for the resettlement and welfare of these unfortunate fellow citizens? Your guess is as good as mine. Do the people negotiating the size of the Cabinet have even a spare thought for the IDPs? I doubt it. Ksh 100 Billion is two times as much as we all lost because of corruption in Anglo Leasing. It is twice the amount of money Treasury will raise from the sale of public shares in Safaricom. In fact it is equivalent to at least 5 years of Safaricom’s profit at 17 billion shillings.

Kenya needs a good government not a big one. Today noone seriously argues that we have a good government in place. In fact, and here I am suggesting a vetting methodology for high offices, only 7 of the current Ministers would pass the test of not being adversely mentioned in PAC,PIC, KACC reports, or adverse court judgements. At over 30 Ministries(larger and better paid at top level than any World power) we already have a big government. Who is trying to get us to pay more for an even larger cabinet? For how long can we continue this way?

In my opinion, we need no more than 12 Ministries with one Assistant each.The rest of the Members of Parliament should represent us as they were voted, and are paid quite handsomely, to do from the Back Benches on both sides. We need good honest technocrats to run the public service for the benefit of the public with minimal political interference by temporary ministers. We need to stop pampering politicians who only recently caused us all to have the life threatening, or near death experience that we euphemistically call the “post election crisis”. On this point many of those jostling and lining up for positions at our expense ought properly to be investigated for their individual roles in the making of this
crisis. What were many of them doing in the run-up to the election of December 27th 2007? Where were many of them when we needed them to help Kenyans? Who has mismanaged our public resources in the past, present and in the near future if we don’t stop them? Indeed these are questions we should be focusing our energy in answering.

Our immediate and priority concern should be directed to the poorest and not the wealthiest Kenyans. Nearly twenty million Kenyans live on less than Ksh 64 per day. That means they will make no more or have no more to spend than Ksh 25,000 in a whole year. And that is for families! These are the Kenyans we should be spending money on. I would prefer to spend 100 billion shillings this coming year on poor Kenyans rather than continuing to fatten political sacred cows.

Finally, the only reason such a proposal is even seeing the light of day is the fact that despite the clear provisions of section 16 of the Constitution, Parliament has never made a law to establish and determine the number and portfolios of the Cabinet. Never - in 45 years! Is this the reason why there is no outrage from our elected MPs about the abuse of authority and culture of sinecures which has persisted in Kenya since the days of Jomo Kenyatta?

Mwalimu Mati
CEO, www.marsgroupkenya.org
_____________________________________

Section 16 of the Constitution of Kenya reads as follows:
Ministers of the Government of Kenya
(1) There shall be such offices of Minister of the Government of Kenya as may be established by Parliament or, subject to any provisions made by Parliament, by the President.
(2)The President shall, subject to the provisions of any written law, appoint the Ministers from among the members of the National Assembly.

Mars Group Kenya
Watching Out For You

PLEASE DO SIGN THE PETITION URGING KENYAN LEADERS TO DO THE RIGHT THING BY HELPING THEIR OWN PEOPLE AT LEAST!

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/reduce-Kenyan-MPs-salary

Kenyan MPs: Cut Your Salaries, Return Land!

HELP US MAKE THE LEADERS ACCOUNTABLE!

After post-election violence, Kenyans are anxiously seeking peace and reconciliation, truth and justice, relief and rebuilding. As the 10th Parliament of Kenya begins to address these crucial issues, Kenyan and concerned global citizens have a message for Kenyan MPs: Reduce your drastic salaries and return land you acquired illegally.

The government of Kenya is chiefly responsible for the relief and reconstruction of the country. The funding of these efforts are hampered, however, due to the fact that Kenyan MPs receive one of the highest representative salaries in the world. Therefore, Kenyan citizens, who are the employers of their MPs, demand that Kenyan MPs reduce their drastic salaries and pay their own fair share to help rebuild the country.

Kenyan MPs are also holders of large amounts of land and assets, much of which has been documented in detail as being acquired illegally. Therefore, in order to proceed with justice and reconciliation, MPs must return any and all land and assets they have acquired illegally.

Please sign this petition with the attached letter to Kenyan MPs, urging them to reduce their outlandish salaries, give back land and help their country rebuild in this great time of need. We want to reach at least 10,000 signatures, slightly less than the US dollar equivalent of the Ksh 750,000/- that Kenyan MPs received on their first day of work this year, so please tell your friends and fellow citizens!

SIGN THE PETITION ONLINE AT: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/reduce-Kenyan-MPs-salary