While Pt IV. of the Kenyan journalism series is still cooking, I’d like to give credit where it’s due. I’d like to see more pieces like this.
AOB: If all goes as planned, this will soon change. A conversation with a parliament insider about a week ago revealed that there is no real reason for the current state of things beyond a lethargic IT department and a fear of relinquishing the status quo by both politics and long-time parliament bureaucrats who guard info related to parliament like their lives depended on it (trust me I know). Basically, almost no one within parliament is interested in opening up and those who are don’t have any clout. He also wondered whether Kenyans would even be interested in knowing more about what their Parliamentarians were up to. In his view, just a minority would really care. The rest are willing to be razzle-dazzled in political rallies. The fact that Ruto is now a presidential candidate (this is only one of the shady land deals that he is alleged to have engaged in, grapevine claims there is a Mau forest storo), that Mudavadi (Goldenberg hello?) is now back on center stage, and that Shakombo (Likoni clashes hello?) is a Minister make me inclined to agree. In any event this theory will soon be tested.
I’ve been watching that website, intent on starting a letter-writing campaign to MPs.
Of course, this is Kenya. It’s a small village. Addresses are available, *somehow*.
Nation has been doing a *much* better job, in some ways. But, to my mind, they still seem driven by news as spectacle and critique as scolding.
We shall see what happens.
Well, at last the KACC will probably beat Bunge with their respective website:
“We are now at the final stages of having our website done. The board and contributors (half of them foreigners, and cartoonists like GADO) seem to be working around the clock as we will launch it in early February.”
Don’t tell you heard it from me. 😉
Osas
Your secret is safe with me 😉 …keep em coming!
It appears the Standard has thrown all caution to the wind and is going to run hard-hitting strories (like the wealthy beggars story above) and is willing to risk a goverment boycott on adveritising over the next 2 years, despite the governme’s spokesman’s denial of such a plan. Just today in the Nation, KACC reprimanded the Standard for wrongly claiming that (i) Murungaru was the first/only leader they have asked to explain his wealth and (ii) Ringera did not have to ask the Presiden’t permission before summoning Murungaru.
Real change (not superficial bandages but lasting policy-driven solutions) WILL come eventually, albeit very, very slowly. There are far too many factors at play here.
I wrote about this yesterday on my blog, in case you’re interested:
http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2006/01/kenyas_parliame.html
Thanks Andy, nice post…will be responding.
[URL= http:/www.parliament.go.ke/composition.php/URL]
Andy, one can still access the website through the ‘back door’. I believe the link above is it.
That piece on the extravagance was good and the one on the show of opulence by our parliamenterians at KSMS just as good if not better as it had pictures.We expect our leaders to fight poverty and extravagance but they are unwilling to take the first step as charity begins as home.