SAM'S SENSE: Why citizen advocacy is key to holding the government accountable

Tonight on my sense, I choose to lean on the side of citizen involvement in the affairs of the nation.

Often times, government and politicians allied to the government have dismissed criticism, suspicion and questions coming from outside the government. Terms like naysayers, enemies of progress, and critics of negative energy have been thrown at “those people”.

When media reports raise questions as to procurement processes, it is usually met with name calling, that such outlets are out to tarnish the name of the government for selfish gains. In fact, some have said that the media is bidding for certain quarters whether knowingly or unknowingly.

Tonight, the president of the Republic of Kenya has made a decision; he has cancelled two deals that would have cost at least Ksh.356 billion, recoverable across 30 years with far-reaching economic implications on Kenyans and their country.

And even though the president attributes his decision to new information from partner nations, it did not come easy.

It has taken commitment by citizens who care about their country. Citizens who have raised questions; citizens who have expressed themselves at different avenues including online.

It may seem like a win by Kenyans. But it is not the end. It is testament that Kenyans must now more than ever pay attention to the actions of the government. And with government I mean: the Executive arm led by the President; the Legislature led by the speakers of the two houses of Parliament; the judiciary led by the chief justice; the county governments both the executive arms led by governors and the assemblies lead by County Speakers.

And it is possible for the good citizens who occupy positions of authority to make innocent mistakes. Innocent to mean, mistakes made in good faith. That they didn’t mean any harm. But we have also learnt that those same good citizens can sometimes make deliberate mistakes.

At a time when deals are cut at any time of day and night, on land, in the air and oversees; there can never be a more urgent time for a citizenry to be vigilant.

Kenyans have been through so much over the last two decades. Kenyans have been through so much unexplained corruption. Taxpayers have paid so much of penalties over cancelled development contracts.

Taxpayer money has been used far too many times to settle legal fees after the government breached its side of the bargain in some of the contracts. And indeed, far too many tenders have been canceled to settle political scores.

But the more than 50 million Kenyans aren’t all politicians. They are not all involved in the deals cuts in whispers. But it affects them. It affects you.

Kenyans want progress. They want fancy airports. They want uninterrupted access to power. They want a functional healthcare system. And for sure, they want a predictable education system and a predictable academic calendar. They want many things. But they want it at a fair price. Yet, fairness doesn’t come easy. It demands eternal vigilance.

As to the leaders: This is the second time in five months that the president is going against an otherwise popular decision by politicians allied to the government. On June 26, President Ruto rejected the Finance Bill 2024, sending it back to the National Assembly for deletion.

He did so in the company of tens of members of parliament who had a day before voted in support of the bill and in support of the president. They thumped their feet as they passed it. They clapped their hands as the president rejected it.

And today, the president canceled the Adani contracts. On the same day, the Cabinet Secretary for Energy spent hours defending one of the deals. Over the last few months, some of the MPs allied to the government have been supporting the Adani entry into Kenya, explaining and over-explaining.

Today, they thumped their feet, clapped their hands and cheered as the president canceled the deals.