Do not change the Constitution for individuals

Ever since President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga shook hands on the steps of Harambee House, Kenyans have been kept in the dark concerning the contents of the agreement that led to the famous détente. Keeping in character, we have engaged in endless speculation which will only stop once the agreement is laid bare and we get new material to discuss endlessly in our social gatherings. The latest piece of speculation, which is gathering quite some momentum given the amount of attention it is receiving from politicians, is that plans are under way to amend the Constitution in order to accommodate more politicians in the interest of national unity and peace.

MISGUIDED

My opinion on this matter has not changed since I wrote in this column in early November last year that “… those calling for such a solution are sorely misguided. They have made the wrong diagnosis of our national problem and are now prescribing a poison that will only further exacerbate it.” As I argued then, the Constitution must continue being regarded as the shield protecting the citizens from their rulers, and not as “a loincloth to cover the nakedness of our politicians from our searching gaze”.

The present politicians will come and go. If we continue reviewing our Constitution to take into consideration the needs of these men who will soon suffer the fate of Ozymandias, our country will quickly follow suit and become the wasteland in which the remains of his obscene statue were found. Our politicians cannot in one breath mutter that no individual in this country is greater than the other, while in another they are busy clamouring for constitutional amendments to accommodate those they consider to be greater than all other Kenyans.

OFFICES

Clearly, therefore, this column will vigorously oppose any proposals to amend the Constitution to create any more offices in the Executive or Legislature, and will instead support any changes that reduce those offices and limit their powers as much as is practicable. While it is conceivable that such amendments will be passed very easily due to the “golden handshake” between our very important citizens, we will voice our opposition to them, and do our utmost to mobilise voters against them.

However, it is important to note that eight years since the promulgation of our Constitution, we are in a position to discuss more important changes that may be needed in order to improve governance and the quality of life of our people. An analysis of constitutional institutions will reveal some that have miserably failed in their mandates, perhaps because the rationale behind their creation was fundamentally flawed.

This column will therefore be supportive of constitutional amendments to abolish such institutions as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC).

TALK SHOPS

The functions of these two commissions can be carried out more effectively by the police and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, as long as the applicable law is in place. These two commissions have distinguished themselves as empty talk-shops and whining conglomerations that we can do well without.

A further amendment that this column would support is to introduce a mechanism to better manage our human resources for health. Over the past five years we have witnessed the difficulties in ensuring that all Kenyans have access to required health services, and are attended to by qualified health professionals. We have agreed that human resources for health are scarce in this country, and the more specialised the professionals, the fewer they are. It is irrational to insist on subjecting these scarce yet absolutely essential resources to market forces and competition between the differently endowed counties.

MERIT

It is time to consolidate the management of public health workers under one authority in order to better distribute them to serve all Kenyans under the framework of Universal Health Coverage.

Should it come down to a vote, the electoral commission would be well advised to frame each issue as a separate question to be voted on, and let each rise or fall on its own merit.

Atwoli is an associate professor and dean of Moi University School of Medicine. [email protected]