How Raila's Opposition helped Kibaki's Economy Grow..

From: Mundia Mundia

Kenya 's politics seems to be borrowing Newtonian politics in as far as the opposition is concerned. When my friend Pastor MacOnyango was hit by a moving car on the roadside and displaced three meters from where he had been knocked down he lost his left shoe in the melee. He wondered whether the politics of motoring had led to the loss of his left shoe or maybe a bad spell had been cursed on him.

Newton 's third law of motion proved that when MacOnyango fell down, his right side of the body met opposition from the ground. The same force that had acted on his right side acted with the same equality on his left leg that was above the ground displacing his left shoe. Thus Newtonian politics re-affirms the notion that to every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.

From theories of motion to those of supply and demand and the negative and positive charge inter-marriages, Kenyan politics has been graced with reactive opposition and government dialogue in parliament. The over-wing government may boast of initiating developments projects that include free primary education and the CDF among many.

Our economic prosperity in terms of improved GDP has been supreme because of the influence of the under-wing opposition. Government fails to acknowledge the fact that opposition has a significant role in parliament to contribute to passing of motions, bills and enacting laws. Government only implements such laws. Without opposition Kenya would not be having the CDF, free primary education, improved GDP and other 'government' programmes. Politics has only blinded government.

ODM-Kenya parliamentary oppositionists have been independent and have not taken cue from the executive. They are more structured, formal, fluid and bi-partisan when dealing with government proposals.

Government had previously shifted its allegiance by courting opposition MPs without allowing them to resign and join the party affiliated to it.

The role of such legislative opposition has been vigilant and diligent. Government finds it hard to recognize the rights and functions of this facet in the country. Government treats ODM-Kenya with suspicion, hatred and the latter is seen to be an enemy of development. Government MPs forget that the opposition's role lies in protecting and safeguarding the rights of minorities and makes sure that the force of public opinion is respected. ODM-Kenya MPs as opposition ensure that government is responsible through parliament when initiating issues for its citizens. Thus without influence by further tuition, rights of opposition and government should equally be respected in parliament and in politics. Unfortunately pseudo-opposition from the likes of Ford-Kenya and other weak parties only weakens government performance. On the other hand extra-parliamentary critics that include former MPs, civil society, the church and media, e.t.c have significantly contributed to the wellbeing of our nation. Certainly without opposition and criticism history proves that freedom always dies hard.

ODM-K has always ensured that rights of majorities are observed even against a select minority. They have guarded society against oppression and unjust invasion of their rights and freedom. In parliament they supervise all expenditure and prevent over-expenditure by exploring to light wasteful and corrupt projects like Goldenberg and Anglo-leasing which have since held our nation at ransom. ODK-Kenya always demands for amendments, questions and elicits information for the sake of Wanjiku. The public opinion by voice and vote is represented by them scrutinizing every action made by government. The vigor, industriousness, courage and determination by such an opposition promote health of parliament and the nation's development status. Opposition's right to oppose, attack, criticize and cut and thrust debate becomes a powerful symbolic resonance for government. All said and done the opposition and backbenchers do not receive the credit that they deserve. Instead of government allowing parliament to symbolize inner spider-web dialogue through sequences of questions and answers it only pushes and pockets the ODM-Kenya affiliated MPs with hate monologues.

Indeed, it is a fact that without the opposition, government's arrogance cannot be trimmed. No laws can be made without the influence of opposition. In Kenya the government takes credit for all that parliament enacts only for the opposition to be disadvantaged with nothingness. It is thus upon parliamentarians and Kenyans at large to acknowledge that the two organs are not each other's enemies but each other's partners with indispensable though different complements. The problem with party based parliamentarians is to lose their words in shouting and heckling by having sectarian politics of tribalism in parliament that only degenerates into sterile and reflexive political antagonism in the public arena by simply discrediting each other. It should be observed that LDP and KANU have a role of articulating interests of their constituents, scrutinize actions of government-opposition qua government-opposition in parliament as they represent alternative policies that touch on ordinary Kenyans.

Even without resources that the government always has to implement its projects, the opposition has a stake in the continued and sustained improvement of parliamentary services. Adversary politics from opposition MPs affiliated to LDP/KANU merger that is ODM-Kenya should not be perceived as being negative but an integral part of panel beating government policies and helping to counter corruption.

Government, without opposition advocacy, contention and persuasion would only govern by paralysis and emergency of dictatorship. A reactive opposition has a role to constantly pursue evidence and check any dishonesty and arbitrary behavior from government. Its sole role is to re-interpret government's interpretation in as far as politics and policies are mentioned. It is thus upon ODM-Kenya opposition MPs to buy into the dream to ease the burden of Kenyans through their representation in parliament and shoulder government in the public arena when it falls.

Regards, Mundia Mundia Jnr.