Proposal To Transfer ‘Public Seal’, Claims By Ruto’s Critics Were Baseless and Misplaced
The Mt Kenya Times 
President William Ruto
By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- My friend added: Raila should be the last person to allege that Dr Ruto was being held hostage by IMF and World Bank. We know President Uhuru Kenyatta had caved in to pressure and accepted their conditionalities.
- Raila, who was his co-principal in the ‘handshake’ government fully supported that decision.
- Earlier when he served as a Prime Minister, we never heard him faulting President Mwai Kibaki, who was equally working with the two institutions.
- Today we know the reason why he is fighting President Ruto. It is simply because he refused to share the government with him.
- Turning to ‘Public Seal’, this is what Azimio wanted Kenyans to believe. President William Ruto has hatched a plot to clip the political wings of Attorney General (AG) Justin Muturi and Speaker of National Assembly Moses Wetangula.
As a writer and political commentator, I have been following with keen interest the political discourses that have dominated our country in this year,2023, which is almost coming to end.
Well, the leadership of Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Coalition had been setting the ball rolling.
This is in terms of trying to find a fault to President William Ruto’s policy decisions and strategic interventions aimed at fulfilling a raft of pre-election promises.
They would pick and majorly ride on the following issues: The high cost of living, the transfer of Public Seal and the alleged unpalatable bitter pills imposed by International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank.
President Ruto had succumbed to the whims of the two Bretton Wood institutions. He was literally singing their song, they would allege.
But majority of Kenyans would disagree and aver. Raila was just seeking political relevance after realizing his political fortunes were dwindling.
He lost the elections. He seems positioning himself to run again in 2027. He will still lose to President Ruto, a friend of mine from Mount Kenya region told me a few days ago.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is a truthful man and brutally honest. Raila should heed his call. The Mountain will never vote for him.
My friend added: Raila should be the last person to allege that Dr Ruto was being held hostage by IMF and World Bank. We know President Uhuru Kenyatta had caved in to pressure and accepted their conditionalities.
Raila, who was his co-principal in the ‘handshake’ government fully supported that decision.
Earlier when he served as a Prime Minister, we never heard him faulting President Mwai Kibaki, who was equally working with the two institutions.
Today we know the reason why he is fighting President Ruto. It is simply because he refused to share the government with him.
Turning to ‘Public Seal’, this is what Azimio wanted Kenyans to believe. President William Ruto has hatched a plot to clip the political wings of Attorney General (AG) Justin Muturi and Speaker of National Assembly Moses Wetangula.
The story was not informed by any iota of truth and evidence.
The authors seems to have had relied on usual rumors, propaganda and outright lies being peddled by the well-known critics of the President.
The President had nothing to do with that proposal.
For starters, it is one of the proposals contained in a bill drafted by the majority leader Kimani Ichungwah. The law requires him to table the bill before the house for debate.
If approved, that is when the President comes in. He will have two options: sign it into law or return it back to parliament with memorandum explaining the reasons for rejecting it. The memorandum would outlines the grey areas that needed to be reviewed and the necessary amendments factored.
Therefore, the claims that the President resorted to this after his bid to privatize 11 state corporations run headwinds were totally malicious and made in bad faith. Let me set the record straight. Again, in excercise of power conferred on him by the constitution, President Ruto signed the privatization bill into law. This is after the Bill was subjected to parliamentary debate and received overhwelm endorsement.
Recently, Raila Odinga-led Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party moved to High Court seeking to stop the privatization of 11 state corporations.
The judge declined to grant the prayer but he halted the privatization until February next year when the case will be heard and determined.
The ODM had argued that the due process had not been followed to the letter and spirit.
The parastatals are owned by the people of Kenya. So, this is a weight matter. You cannot sell them without involving them.
In earlier statements, Raila and other party luminaries had pointed an accusing finger at President William Ruto.
The President is fully behind this move and he is working with Treasury Cabinet Secretary.
The Azimio brigade would not point out sections of laws that the President had violated.
As the law required, the Treasury Cabinet Secretary organized public forums during which public views were sought, collected and collated. The views were factored in privatization bill.
I would have expected Raila to do two things if he didn’t not agree with Bill. First, mobilize his Azimio troops to reject the bill on floor of parliament. If he fails to marshal enough numbers, move to court immediately after the President assented to it.
He failed to do this. With this, his decision to move to court is being interpreted as an afterthought.
The question is. What prompt him to change his mind? Many avers it is not because of Wanjiku’s interests but rather his personal interests.
Since the law was passed, a section of the leaders in the minority side had been making noises at the funerals, church pulpit, homecoming parties. Why wait until when the government starts to actualize this law?
It therefore means they were contented.
The decision to move to court had been preceded by Raila’s remarks four days earlier. Are you ready to go back to the streets? Raila asked a crowd in Nyamache, Kisii county, where he attended the homecoming party of Governor Simba Arati. Then, wait for my whistle.
We all know that Raila’s political game plan is to continue engaging President William Ruto in a smear campaign.
This is not because the President is not doing his job of serving Kenyans, it is because he is yet to shed off misplaced and warped thinking that Dr Ruto stole his victory.
Raila was the candidate of the outgoing government. Dr Ruto was an outsider. So, how did an outsider stole your victory?
In light of this, this is my considered view. If he make good his threat, Raila’s game plan would fail miserably.
Why I would not expect his supporters to heed his call to participate in demonstrations?
His turnaround is suspect. The other day I heard a group of the people in the estate saying.
Raila was angling himself to play the role of a big broker in the privatization of some of the entities. He knew he would mint millions of shillings. It seems he has been elbowed out.
He is pursuing selfish and personal interests. Therefore, we cannot put our lives in danger for a course that has no bearing to public interest.
He used us last time. A fool has now become clever. He will be in for a rude shock.
It is worth to recall that during the electioneering period, Dr William Ruto, the presidential candidate of United Democratic Alliance (UDA)/ Kenya Kwanza, kept reiterating.
If I win the elections, I will give priority to the privatization of loss making State Corporations and Parastatals plus those that had already collapsed and shut down.
The leadership of the previous governments fully bore the brunt.
They just watched helplessly as these state entities crumbled down due to four main reasons: High levels of corruption, mismanagement, laxity and don’t care altitudes. These vices would be committed by big fish entrusted to manage them.
To make the matter worse, the previous governments resorted to bailing out the entities.
Billions of shillings of taxpayers were being pumped but none of them will get back to its feet. Kenyans would not get value for their hard-earned monies. As such, they would end up being the biggest losers.
The Privatization Bill originated from the cabinet in line with the rule of collective responsibility.
The Finance Bill 2023 passed by parliament listed the 11 entities which are earmarked for privatization in the first phase.
It is worth noting former President Mwai Kibaki was a renowned economist but he failed to resuscitate them.
He was unable to deal with vested interests which were out to make a kill.
Reason? The political class played a key role in the appointment of the chairpersons and chairmen of these State Corporations.
As a result, the holders of these offices owed their loyalties to them. This cleared the way for each to dip their fingers into cookie jar and get a share of the looting.
Kenya Cooperative Creameries (KCC), Kenya Meat Commission and pyrethrum Ginneries were among profit making factories that had already collapsed. The loss making ones were: Kenya Airways, Mombasa Port, Kenya Pipeline, Kenya Seed Company, National Oil Cooperation among others.
Once advertised, the bidders’ history should be thoroughly scrutinized.
The two main considerations should be. First, the proprietors of the firms that qualify have the interest of the Kenyan people at heart.
Secondly, the investors have success stories of managing and turning around the fortunes of similar entities that had been run down by the state.
You would expect the multinational companies to buy some of the State Corporations.
For them, their success stories would go beyond the border.
Besides, the government would be expected to review the tax regime and enact laws that will attract both local and foreign investment.
As I conclude, allow me to say this. The good thing with privatization is that this create room for competition.
So, the new owners will work very hard. This is because they want to make profits out of this. They know the Kenya government will also collect a huge chunk of monies as taxes.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
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