Fix anarchic politics to realise Jubilee’s election promises

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale (centre), surrounded by other Jubilee MPs, addresses journalists at Parliament Buildings on October 7, 2015. October 9, 2015 marked the 30th month of Jubilee power. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Jubilee’s mid-term moment is the ideal time to assess the state of affairs since the Government was sworn into office on April 9, 2013.
  • The first study is this year’s Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), which ranks Kenya as the 14th best performing country on the overall governance out of 54 countries in Africa.
  • The Mo Ibrahim 2015 report has some good news: The levels of literacy and enrolment in Kenya have improved.
  • While Jubilee must fix the country’s anarchic politics and elite indiscipline, it has also to maintain its greatly improved record on governance, security and development.

October 9, 2015 marked the 30th month of Jubilee power.

Jubilee’s mid-term moment is the ideal time to assess the state of affairs since the Government was sworn into office on April 9, 2013.

However, Kenya’s anarchic public sphere, typified by our macabre loose-talk politics, fierce elite power tussles and industrial unrests, beclouds a sober review.

But it is not all doom and gloom. Two scientific studies have confirmed Kenya one of the “rising potential powerhouses” globally.

The first study is this year’s Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG), which ranks Kenya as the 14th best performing country on the overall governance out of 54 countries in Africa.

The report lauds Kenya’s general improvement in its performance in governance since 2011.

The second study is a mid-term review of the performance of the Jubilee Government in its 30 months in office.

The report reveals that, on average, the Government has so far fulfilled nearly 60 pc of the election promises it made in 2013.

POSITIVE PERFORMANCE
Overall, the two reports praise Kenya’s performance in governance and making available economic opportunities to its citizens, but are also critical of Kenya’s declining performance in education.

On its part, Ibrahim Index of African Governance (IIAG) is an annual assessment of Africa’s performance in governance, conducted by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation (MIF).

Its 2015 review was based on 93 indicators clustered into four categories: Safety and rule of law, participation and human rights, sustainable economic opportunity and human Development.

The report subtly concluded that: “Kenya’s performance is largely positive, with a rank of 14th. This good positioning within the rankings is complemented by the progress the country has made in overall governance since 2011.”

The 2015 report attributes Kenya’s rise on the public participation and human rights indicator to increased freedom granted through the new constitution, a more independent judiciary, an improved property rights regime, sustainable economic opportunity to citizens, newer roads built and improved business environment.

IMPROVED LITERACY LEVEL
Similarly, the mid-term review of the government’s performance in the 2013-2015 hiatus, published by the research firm, the East Africa Index, in October, reveals that the government scored highly in governance (83.33 pc), reflecting the new legal environment arising from the implementation of one of Africa’s most liberal supreme laws.

It has also performed well in women’s empowerment (77.78 pc) and transport and infrastructure (75 pc).

However, an incipient unbridled judicial activism and a new culture of litigation practically on everything on planet earth is depicting Kenyans as a people courting the vices of excessive democracy, unable to balance between freedoms and their corresponding responsibilities.

Both the Ibrahim Index and the East Africa Index reports raise the flag of declining performance in education.

On its part, the East Africa Index report shows that Jubilee performed dismally in the areas of primary education (25 pc) and secondary education (30 pc).

The report notes that although the government has kept its promise of guaranteeing the rights of disadvantaged pupils in public schools, it has not improved the quality of education by attaining the student-teacher ratio of 1: 40 that it promised, increasing funding or equipping every pupil with a solar powered lap-top computer.

The Mo Ibrahim 2015 report has some good news: The levels of literacy and enrolment in Kenya have improved.

Assess to education has been democratised, with enrolment in basic education rising meteorically beyond 85 pc.

OVERCROWDED INSTITUTES
The bad news, however, is that enrolment has lowered the teacher-to-pupil ratio in public schools to 1:43.

Tertiary and university education has not faired better. Universities are crowded and under-resourced.

The two reports differ on the government’s performance on the provision of public safety and security.

While recognising that violent extremism and terrorism by the Al-Shabaab have undermined public security, the East Africa Index report indicates that the government has met over 57 pc of its promises on providing security to its citizens.

But the 2015 Mo Ibrahim governance report shows that performance in public safety has declined.

This difference may be attributed to two factors. First the Mo Index lumps together personal safety, human rights, the existence of a robust legal system and transparent, effective and accessible state institutions to measure security.

On the basis of this, it ranked Kenya 35th on the continent, with a score of 39.1.

Second, the Mo Index faults the Kenya Government for not robustly implementing policies to curb human trafficking.

HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Because of increasing incidents of human trafficking, Kenya’s position in the Mo Ibrahim Foundation Index has dropped 25 points since 2011.

Drawing from the findings of the US State Department, the Mo Index Report notes that although Kenyans have voluntarily migrated to the Middle East in search of employment, they have frequently become victims of the worst forms of exploitation in domestic servitude, massage parlours and brothels or forced manual labour.

In its report, the US State Department listed Kenya among countries that serve as transit points and destinations for human trafficking.

Despite this, both the Mo Index and East Africa Index reports reveal the lingering dilemma between balancing the imperatives of human rights and democracy and those of security and development.

While Jubilee must fix the country’s anarchic politics and elite indiscipline, it has also to maintain its greatly improved record on governance, security and development.