Cronyism in Kenya

In the three generations since independence began, the great hope for African politics was that eventually, with guidance, goodwill and good fortune, parliamentary democracy would prevail over the 'Big Man' style of leadership characterised by one-party states, human rights abuses and, most characteristically, economic corruption. In Kenya, parliamentary democracy emerged - finally - with free and fair elections in 2002, following the demise of archetypal Big Man Daniel arap Moi. Since then, the country's economy has surged at around 5 per cent a year. In the pre-democracy age, such figures were unreliable as a barometer for African health. After all, what good is a growing economy if the profits end up in the back pocket of a corrupt dictator? Now, this figure should provide grounds for optimism.

If only matters were so simple. In the last fortnight, Kenyan MPs, who are already among the highest-paid in the world, proposed a golden-handshake bill designed to give each of them a bonus equivalent to £45,000 on their departure from parliament at the end of the year. This pat-on-the-bank is in addition to a basic salary of around £75,000; already generous compared to £60,675 paid to MPs in the UK, before considering the vast differences in the cost of living between Western Europe and sub-Saharan Africa. Kenya remains a country where half of the population remain below the poverty line of $1 a day. If there was to be a suitable bonus, it ought to be the difference between the average wage received by a Kenyan worker in 2002, at the beginning of this government's administration, and the end in 2007. Such a sum would be negligible.

The bill, intended to slip quietly through the legislature, was held up at the last by the absence of the attorney-general. His tardiness enabled an outcry from the press which has since killed off any hopes it will pass. A second bill, which has been rubber-stamped, will provide 90 new parliamentary seats, with 50 reserved for women. President Kibaki is aware that of the current 221 MPs, only 18 are held by women. Therefore, the government rhetoric goes, women, historically marginalised and ignored, will gain the representation that they deserve. Well, sort of.

This legislation is not about redressing the gender balance at all, but bleeding more money from the country. If Kibaki's real desire was for more women in parliament, why not keep costs down by creating these seats out of the existing 215? Due to the kind of greed outlined above, it now costs twice as much to maintain an MP in Kenya as it did in 2002. It cannot be said the value provided by the politicians has increased proportionally. The parliament, before these latest measures, was already a net consumer of taxes. Now taxes will rise further for the 50 per of the the country living below the poverty line. There is a considerable economic risk to creating a top-heavy legislature, but this is of secondary importance to financing a growing political elite that has become so familiar to the continent. This is exactly the sort of Big Man cronyism democracy was created to counter.