Parliament should support proposals on parastatals

A number of parastatals have long been an unnecessary burden on the weary shoulders of the taxpayer.

Some have been more useful as tools to reward political cronies through jobs and lucrative tenders.

The tradition to reward such cronies with board positions in State-owned companies has come at a high price.

Many of the organisations, even though they may be staffed by professionals, find themselves stuck because the teams that are supposed to set policy direction and ensure high performance are more interested in deriving personal benefits.

This is not to say that all parastatals have been failures. But statistics show, as reported elsewhere in this newspaper, that up to 30 per cent of commercial State corporations have been reporting losses.

The proposals that Parliament will be considering after MPs resume their sittings are designed to resolve some of these problems, raise efficiency and turn these entities into money-making machines for public benefit.

Even those that offer strategic services are set to be redesigned to ensure that the public enjoys the value of money invested.

BOLD BREAK

For example, the proposed high standards that individuals must meet to join the leadership of these corporations in future is a bold break with the past where there were no stipulated qualifications for parastatal board membership.

The change is meant to inject high levels of professionalism by demanding that those who are appointed must clearly demonstrate managerial expertise.

These proposals are now headed to Parliament.

It has happened before that when the political class feels those they may want to put forward for such positions could be left out, they are tempted to lower the standards or shift the goalposts.

It is also possible that there may be those who are concerned that such high qualifications may not favour individuals from every part of the country because education standards are uneven.

Should there be rules for affirmative action to mitigate such inequalities, they must also be applied in such a way that the overall objective remains in sharp focus. In any event, all 40 million plus

Kenyans stand to benefit from highly efficient State corporations.

We would like to urge MPs, when the time comes, to consider the government-owned entities, that they maintain these standards at the highest level possible.

High qualifications can only serve the interests of the country.