Government can be efficient when it wants

The Kenyan government should be voted among the most efficient in the world. Things move at a crisp pace and excellent services are delivered – when the need arises.

The government puts in extra hours and it’s all systems go if and when certain urgent services need to be delivered, especially if those services are political.

And we are talking about all the arms of government. As has been proven in the recent past the system makes all concerned work tirelessly to deliver on their mandate that they took an oath for – when the need arises.

Around the world, the wheels of justice have been said to be slow but in Kenya, they whirl around at the speed of light – of course, when the need arises.

The Legislature works around the clock – literally – as and when the matter at hand are self-serving and where interests are aligned with that of the Executive.

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Needless to say, the Executive leads from the front when pushing whatever agenda it wants – when it wants.

It is a perfect example of a system working in harmony. I am saying this because we all saw how smooth and well-greased (in more ways than one) the entire bureaucracy moves whenever there is a need.

Just look at the rapid-fire impeachment of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. When it is all systems go, nothing can stop the machine.

The ‘good men’ as Gachagua called himself (many would disagree) had been at the core of government operations but I bet he had never experienced such speed in delivering justice in his life.

The efficiency of the government machine must have given him dizziness and chest pains that put in the hospital just when he was most needed to put up the defence of his life.

Some Kenyans pointed out that the government printer must be one of the most efficient operations, given the speed by which those gazette notices about the impeachment were printed.

Even before the Speaker of the Senate could finish the word ‘impeached’, here was the gazette announcing the deed to all and sundry. And all this in the dead of night. Even before the ink dried on the first notice, here comes another one announcing Parliament’s approval of the new deputy president Kithure Kindiki.

I get the sneaking suspicion that whenever a certain important notice is due for printing and the outcome is pre-determined, the notices are usually written in advance and the printer stays with one hand on the printer’s power button waiting for the command from the powers that be to begin printing

. Otherwise, how do you explain the speed by which these notices are printed even in the dead of night?

I only wish our legislators would show the same dedication to the call of duty when discussing weighty matters such as health insurance, corruption, the debt situation and mismanagement of resources.

I wish our Judiciary can exhibit the same speed in discharging its duty when it comes to, say, determining corruption cases that sometimes become stale and people forget about them as the main actors enjoy their loot.

This to me would be the ideal country. But what do we have today? We have a situation where printing any document – be it a car log book, passport, identity document or birth certificate takes ages. We have court cases – especially those targeting ‘big men’ (they are usually men) are dragged through the judicial system for ages.

Look at our police force: they are very good at cracking those crimes where loads of money is involved, perhaps because there are incentives to crack the case.

But for the small crimes (of which they are rampant), if you make a report to the police, the fellow behind the counter will give you an extremely bored look and inform you they will look at the case at some indeterminate time in future. That’s the last time you will hear from them.

The writer is a communications consultant and journalist