An Opportunity towards a Different Politics

Journalist Tom Maliti makes a plea to Kenyans to take responsibility for their leaders. Be informed, lobby, volunteer – demand justice:

"On Thursday our members of parliament will be formally called to national duty to bring to life the Harambee House Accord. Our members of parliament should not be left alone in that duty. As citizens we are also called to national duty.

First is to be informed. The mediators of Kenya's political crisis have set up a web site with links to all the agreements so far, statements and other material that is informative.

The web site is www.dialoguekenya.org .

Many of us publicly celebrated the signing of the Harambee House Accord, but our members of parliament have been uncharacteristically silent. Between now and when debate on the Harambee House Accord begins they will need encouragement to avoid selfishness, narrow party interests and visualise the national interest. As citizens, it is our national duty to provide that encourage, remind our parliamentary leaders that this is not just about them. It is about all of us.

How do we do that? Many of us went to the same school with a current member of parliament or have worked with them or just attended a half day seminar with them before they became politicians. Or it was their relative we were in school with or the person we know is an aide or key ally.

We are connected. This is one time we need to make those connections work. Individually, for example writing to them, or collectively through the neighbourhood association.

If the member of parliament is not easy to reach, try your local councillor. Many councillors live in the ward they represent and are easy to find. Many also act as grassroots mobilisers or coordinators for members of parliament and can easily get in touch with the area member of parliament.

These are some of the approaches one can take to lobby members of parliament on the Harambee House Accord.

But it is not just the Harambee House Accord that needs our attention. There are other agreements negotiators reached that need our action. For instance, the Serena Accord of 1st February, 2008 calls for politicians of different persuasions to hold joint rallies to advocate peace. A few were held the day and weekend that accord was announced. Then what happened?

The Serena Accord also states that militias need to be demobilised and disarmed. But it does not say who should do this or when this should begin or end.

But our focus as citizens should not be limited to the Annan-mediated accords.

For example, under the arrangement elaborated in the accords, there is not going to be a significant opposition in parliament. So who will act as a check on the government? Ensure that what the politicians have agreed to is implemented? As citizens we will be required to be more vigilant than before.

In the months to voting day, lots of questions were raised about the type of political parties we have. The chaotic nominations of parliamentary and civic candidates prompted many of those questions. The general sense was, "Well, that is politics for you". It doesn't have to be that way. And there's a possible answer: the Political Parties Bill.

It was passed by parliament in November and is waiting for the assent of President Mwai Kibaki. The importance of this bill is it proposes to steer our political parties to become mature organizations that are responsive to their members and have a national agenda.

For a detailed analysis of the bill you can go to www.capf.or.ke/document/Political_Parties_Bill_2007.pdf

To date, political parties are registered under the Societies Act just as are neighbourhood welfare associations, neighbourhood funeral groups and so on. There's nothing wrong with that because the Societies Act covers a wide range of groupings and its criteria for registration is also broad and does not cater for the specific needs of political parties or Kenyans concerned about their parties.

The Political Parties Bill proposes to address that. In it you will find it requires political parties to report each year to the Registrar of Political Parties on their membership countrywide, financing and other issues. If passed, a lot of briefcase parties will disappear simply for failing the membership criteria. The bill also provides for the Treasury to give some funding to parties with a certain level of representation at the council or National Assembly level. This could, I emphasise could, help political parties ease the grip people with deep pockets have on them. The catch is this: it does not have clear criteria on limits of funding by an individual or company nor does it make it mandatory for parties to disclose who is funding them and how.

The Political Parties Bill offers an opportunity towards a different politics. Talk to your MP to talk to the president to sign the bill into law.

But matters do not end there. Assuming your preferred political party is able to recruit a substantial and committed national membership, is able to fundraise for its needs and will willingly and publicly account for the monies, and has a clear agenda that is tied to principles and not individuals, where are the people to make all this happen?

A big challenge for any political party today is staff. From the simplest job to the most complex. Many people volunteer their time, services and money during election time. Once the election is over, however, they go back to their routines. And yet we still expect political parties to work and satisfy our ideals of what politics should be. Why?

If you recognise Kenya is at a historical moment and want to make a contribution, opportunity is knocking at your door. Answer, give time to your preferred political party, even if it is just one Saturday a month.

If you don't, who will?"