We must resist attempts to take us to a dark past when courts were powerless

For weeks now public schools across the country have remained closed due to the teachers’ strike over a pay dispute. Leaders, commentators, and ordinary Kenyans have offered their opinions on this and there has been a lively debate on whether or not to pay the teachers.

For any keen observer, there are many striking things about this discourse — from the casual attitude of some key actors to flip-flopping leadership and even sheer display of ignorance by many commentators.

What I find most disturbing, however, is the fact that we are debating whether or not to implement a court order.

The court issued a ruling, an order, not an advisory or a suggestion. We need to remember that this country has a history where courts were mere dogs of war, held on a leash by the Executive, which could, and did, unleash them on whoever it desired.

Consequently, the public lost faith in the courts so that when we had a presidential election dispute in 2007, we chose to resolve it in the streets rather than seek judicial intervention. Kenyans remember too well the result of this.

Remember too that we had a similar dispute in 2013 — and accepted the outcome because we had confidence in the courts. This is why, in my view, those canvassing the implementation of a court order are attempting to take us back to those dark days.

Therefore, their efforts should be resisted at all costs. This does not mean that Kenyans should not discuss the court order. In fact, a discussion on how best to implement it is healthy.

What is the substance of the matter here? First, the figures of 50-60 per cent did not come out of the blue. According to the Kenya National Union of Teachers, these figures were offered by the government, through the Teachers Service Commission, to counter the teachers’ demand for a 200-300 per cent salary increase. Why did the government make the offer if it knew that it had no money to pay?

Was it an attempt at deception? So, what has changed? The argument that the money was not budgeted for does not wash because we produce supplementary budgets every year and nothing is stopping us from coming up with one this year.

Besides, the dispute was already in court during the budgeting process and common sense dictates that managers anticipate their organisations’ obligations.

Second, the government does not need Sh17 billion to pay teachers. It needs just about Sh11 billion because about 30 per cent of the proposed amount will be retained by the government as PAYE and another 15 per cent will return as indirect taxes.

Third, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission has talked about an unsustainable wage bill. The fact is that Kenya already has an unsustainable wage bill even before we pay teachers.

What makes the wage bill unsustainable is not the money we pay public servants; it is the money paid to workers who either do not exist or add no value to our GDP because they are hired on criteria other than capacity to produce.

Why, for instance, would you pay an MCA Sh300,000, hire staff for him/her to idle in some shack christened his/her office, and then tell a teacher to be content with Sh16,000? What role models are we creating for our children?

Kenya has enough money to pay teachers and all public servants who work to keep this country safe and to grow its economy. The problem is that those in control of the public coffers are treating them like a campaign kitty — expending public resources in wasteful ways for political expediency.

This is what needs to change. As the guardian of three secondary school children, for whom I have paid fees yet they continue to stay at home, I want this matter resolved.

I have heard some drunkards suggest that National Youth Service men and women be deployed to invigilate the forthcoming examinations. I hope no one in government is thinking like those drunkards. I hope the decision to “close” schools does not imply that this wild rumour could come to pass.

The future of hundreds of thousands of young Kenyans, indeed the very future of Kenya, depends on the expeditious resolution of this sad state of affairs. The simple resolution is to pay the teachers. There is no doubt that the government is able.

Dr Manyasa is an economist and educational researcher with a regional NGO. [email protected].