Dear Mr. President,
I am writing to first congratulate you for holding this country together as the head of state thus far.
I know you may be aware that in this country we have been stereotyped that an incumbent President is such a high profile personality that not any Tom, Dick and Hurry can address him/her or that only very pressing and pertinent issues affecting or likely to affect the well being of Kenyan citizens can be brought to his/her attention.
With that background, sir, you may already be having it at the back of your mind that whatever it is I want to bring to your attention is not only of urgency but also pressing and very pertinent to the well being of common mwananchi.
Last week as I know you are aware, our Members of Parliament (MPs) unanimously endorsed the Akiwumi report which makes recommendations that if implemented to the letter will see their salaries skyrocket from the current Ksh. 850,000 to about Ksh. 1,100,000.
Though I am aware you are an MP, I am also aware that as the head of state you are not obliged to attend every parliamentary sitting apart from the opening and closing sessions of each Parliament. I am also aware that the Prime Minister (PM) Right Honourable Raila Odinga who is also an MP was hospitalised during the period when the MPs endorsed the Akiwumi report and as such could not be physically present in Parliament to contribute to the debate. With these in mind I will refrain from lumping you and the PM together with the rest of the MPs when I convey my reservations regarding their endorsement of the report wholesome.
Mr. President it is heart throbbing as a common mwananchi who is barely surving to see an MP - who also happens to be a Cabinet Minister in your government - denouncing the endorsement of the report by his colleagues in Parliament when he/she had the opportunity to be present in Parliament and contribute to the debate that would have seen sections of the report amended or shelved all together. They also no all to well that making noise on the street does not solve any problem and that when Parliament has passed anything it is beyond their individual capacity to make any changes on it either as an MP or Minister.
Our MPs - their predecessors included - have been known to be very united when it comes to passing bills that give them hefty payrises and this particular one, Mr. President, is no exception. Already we have seen their willingness to extend their stay in Parliament beyond the stipulated adjournment period so that they can quickly pass the bills that will inch them closer to the payrise.
Mr. President, it is public knowledge that we are going through tough economic times as a country that we can ill afford to honour such crazy payrise demands from MPs who already are better remunerated considering the fact that we also have the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) to boost growth and development in the constituencies across the country.
With all these facts in mind, Mr. President, it is my thoughtful and heartfelt decision to advice you not to sign any of those bills - that am sure the MPs are going to pass in record time - which will ensure their payrise demands are legitimised and so have to be honoured.
I also wish to advice that when the bills get to your desk, send them back to parliament with a note stating your wish to have the payrise recommendation comprehensively and soberly debated in Parliament and conclusions arrived at, that reflect the economic mood of the country and wishes of the common mwananchi.
Otherwise, Mr. President I don't really have much to write about now but just to wish you a wonderful week and hope that you will act decisively on this pressing matter in the interest of the common mwananchi when it finally gets to your desk as am sure it will.
God bless you and may God bless Kenya.
Kind regards,
Asaka J. Ogonda
Concerned Citizen
Point taken.
ReplyDeleteMr President