Forget for a while that PNU will lose this election. Going by the house of Babel that is the PNU behemoth of twenty-some parties, it is not difficult to see why each of them is clinging to Kibaki. Some, because of being briefcase parties and having no better way to afford publicity but in this 'mass amalgamation' of confusion called PNU. Assuming that the disorder were to be carried out to the electoral victory, it will not be difficult for you and I to visualise a disjointed government which will be driven asunder by several ingredients not least being:
- Demand by each 'constituent party' to have at least an MP as a minister resulting in an unwieldy government bloated for no other reason but to appease the 'contributors to victory'. Let us view this in light of the Kombo Syndrome, aka appointments by blackmail. Would it be unreasonable to imagine that the players in that government will each demand 'a (fair) share of the government'? Knowing Kibaki's slippery nature post-election and since he will not be seeking re-election and thus does not need any future support, what if he dumps them and reneges on that make-shift arrangement? What if he honours it, anyway, and he has to include all the 'pretenders' to his (rag-tag)government, what does this bode for the budgetary allocations and the economy?
- Coalitions that are fabricated in advance of electoral victory and the instability of the same in the case of a close electoral victory. Will Kibaki really have any leverage to realise his 'dreams' (pardon my generosity with terms here!) for Kenya? The pluralism in his coalition means that there will be an unnecessarily large coterie of interests to cater for when executing certain merciless manifesto proposals. In an event that one group feels offended, would it walk out and hence precipitate a collapse of government? Do we have any lessons from the Narc coalition as well as those from Italy, Israel and any other?
- Kanu's re-engineering and its strategic emergence as a 'senior partner' in PNU with Uhuru's confession in Thika (reported in the media) to the effect that he will be seeking the presidential vote in 2012. What does Kanu's eclipse of Ford-K, Ford-P, Narc-K and all the other founder parties of PNU mean for Kibaki's march on to State House? Is it too early to imagine that a Kibaki succession begins in earnest on Dec 28, 2007 whether PNU is in the opposition or in government? While Kombo tries to out-do Saitoti (Narc-K), Uhuru (Kanu), Biwott (New-Kanu) and Mwakwere (Shirikisho), will government business suffer? Is it hard for Kenyans to see that after betraying the Narc dream, Kibaki's indecision led him to abandon Narc-K which seemed better equipped and ready to torpedo him to power? I felt like he betrayed the trusted Lieutenants in Narc-K who invested heavily in terms of finances, goodwill and time to build a machinery for him to ascend to power. Having a trait of betrayal doesn't help Kibaki, does it? Kanu's strengthening has given the former thieves and pilferers of State coffers a new lease of life. With its re-emergence and the tactful repositioning of the grey-haired backers to give a false public impression that Kibaki is Obako, a youthful, chic and romantic sugar-daddy. But lazed with Kanu are its bad history of graft and sleaze and although Kibaki may harp on the success of his team at reviving the economy, it is not lost on the casual observer that the government has not 'grown' the economy. Rather Kenyans have been more productive because of an environment for which Kibaki's hands-off, legs-off and everything-off (Uhuru hates to be reminded of this, certainly) has allowed Kenyans to go about their business. In any case even Wanjiru at State House was destined to achieve a positive economic growth compared to the ruin of Kanu. For Kibaki to wine and dine with the main engineers of the economic misery that Kenyans went through, from the architects of Goldenberg, Anglo-Leasing, conversion of KCC to KCC-2000, the rape Kenya Seed, NCPB, KGGCU aka KFA, Milling Corporation of Kenya and countless others is to rewind the face-value of that achievement that he is credited for. Kanu is therefore an asset only to itself, for while it barks and snorts, it will be able to give a false hope that it has a muscle. Yet the resurgence of Kanu in PNU and its eventual eclipsing of the few remaining 'change agents' therein is a slap in the face of the so many Kenyans who were wounded and scarred by 'baba na mama'. With Kanu's adoption of a front-line support for Kibaki, and his immortal waving of the hereditary one-finger salute bodes bad for Kenya. Kanu is back, through life member Kibaki and other 'club members' and we can save Kenya by consigning them to history's 'better forgotten gallows', resounding electoral defeat.
- To vote for PNU is to vote for hegemony, government confusion and stalemate, bloated government, political dishonesty and Kanu repackaged as something else. If Kenyans want to get an objective break from its ugly past, the best it can do is to reject political calumny and chicanery.
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