Nepotism is the real issue, not tribalism
By GABRIEL DOLAN
Posted Friday, December 30 2011 at 18:15
Posted Friday, December 30 2011 at 18:15
What baffles me most about reaction to remarks made by the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights commissioner Hassan Omar Hassan is why he needed to spend five hours at the National Integration and Cohesion Commission explaining himself.
Surely, even a cursory glance at his commentary would reveal that he was just repeating what the NCIC themselves had exposed in their April audit on ethnic profiling in the civil service.
That research revealed that the big five — Kikuyu, Kalenjin, Luhya, Kamba and Luo — occupy 70 per cent of positions in the civil service, while 20 ethnic communities hold less than one per cent.
Hassan might have been blunt in his remarks but the fact that Kikuyus hold 22.3 per cent of all civil service jobs and make up only 17 per cent of the population tells it all.
Statistics do not lie. Besides, having your own man in State House is a huge advantage, confirmed by the fact that Kalenjins hold 16.7 per cent of all civil service posts despite accounting for only 13 per cent of the population.
Considered together, both communities have around 30 per cent more positions than they should.
Yet, statistics can conceal important details. It would appear upon further scrutiny of these figures that cronyism and nepotism are even greater problems than ethnicity.
A closer look at the composition of all the top posts that Hassan raved about would show that loyalty, cronyism and blood ties were the determining factors in allocating most top positions.
The Kikuyu top jobs are not widely distributed among their community, nor indeed are the Luo jobs well dispersed among the Nyanza population.
Previous audits on the composition of 51 Kenyan envoys showed how loyalty and family were rewarded equally by both principals.
Their appointments give a whole new meaning to power sharing. Both parties are equally adept at planting their cronies and family members as ambassadors.
A closer examination also of not just the Prime Minister’s office, but every other of the 40-something ministers in this bloated cabinet would reveal that in the absence of any opposition or oversight body, every minister has put his family and buddies in top jobs.
If you doubt the extent of the problem, have a look at any Kenya Gazette of the past couple of years and get an informed view of appointments to parastatal boards, university governing councils or any one of hundreds of committees.
You will see that cousins, failed politicians and disgraced administrators reappear in obscure committees and collect hefty sitting allowances as they decide on weighty matters for which they have no aptitude or experience.
The Kikuyu may have found the most lucrative positions at the trough, but they do not have a monopoly on greedy ambition.
This coalition grudgingly agreed to sit quietly and eat together in February 2008. The two elite groups are the real beneficiaries, not the communities from where they originate.
Mr Hassan missed to say that the big issue is not tribalism but elitism, cronyism, nepotism and insatiable greed. Happy and Prosperous Year to all.
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