NARC-otics in a Plastic Bag

The NARC government has come up with a new scheme to control the plastic bags that are polluting our environment. The Nation reports that the Kenya Bureau of Standards will revise regulations to increase the thickness of plastic bags. The price of these bags will more than double in mid-January. One might reasonably expect that this will reduce the public's appetite for these bags. However, one would be wrong.

In a typically self-defeating move, the cost will only be passed on "indirectly" to the consumer. This essentially means that commodity prices will be marked up to reflect the increased cost of the plastic bags.

Instead of asking shoppers to pay directly for the bags when and if they want them, the government has chosen to charge all consumers regardless of whether or not they make the environmentally sound decision to reject the bags. This is unlikely to result in fewer people asking for the bags at the supermarket counter. For that to happen, consumers who make environmentally foolish choices would need to bear the full cost of those choices, not share the burden with those who chose otherwise.

A direct, and thus voluntary, payment for these bags would automatically result in fewer plastic bags coming out of the shops and even fewer ending up in the garbage dumps. After all, one is unlikely to throw away something that he/she has paid good money for.

An involuntary charge has the effect of subsidising bad behaviour and punishing responsible choices. And this at a cost of 2000 badly needed jobs. Way to go Kivutha Kibwana.

Has Corruption been Legalised in Kenya?

"The AG as the principal legal adviser of the Government entered into a contractual agreement with the Nedermar Technology BV. This in essence locked out all agencies from the deal. KACC cannot move in now to investigate the security contract."

So declared Mr Justice Joseph Nyamu of the High Court when he stopped the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) from investigating businessmen Andrew Burnard Pritpal Singh Thetty, who are suspected to be harbouring crucial information relating to the Kshs 2.7 billion Anglo-Leasing security contract.

Now, I'm no lawyer but that sounds like the High Court is saying that any deal that meets with the AG's approval cannot thereafter be investigated by other agencies. Since the AG advises the government on all deals, the verdict essentially means that no government contracts can be investigated. If I'm right, then the doors of hell have just been kicked wide open. Any lawyer who can help decipher this?

Theatre of the Absurd

Guess who's the new Official Leader of the Opposition? None other than Nicholas Kipyator Biwott. Yesterday afternoon, following the Registrar's acceptance of his list of KANU officials, the "Total Man" sauntered into Parliament and, to applause from the Narc Government's front bench, sat in the seat formerly reserved for Uhuru Kenyatta. In a shocking turnaround, the man who more than any other personified the corruption of the Moi era is now the one to lead the way in vetting the Kibaki administration.

According to the Standard, the Registrar of Societies, Bernice Gachegu, had initially turned down the request to ratify the election of Biwott as Kanu Chairman but succumbed to pressure from an unnamed Cabinet Minister. The registration thus appears to be the culmination of meetings between Mo1 and Kibaki and amounts to a Government attempt to appoint the Leader of the Opposition.

This needs to be opposed by everyone, not because we have love for KANU, but because it represents an existential challenge to our hard-won democracy. If the Government is allowed to get away with determining the leadership of opposition parties, then we are on our way back to the days of de facto one party rule. The ridiculous vista of government ministers applauding the (s)election of the man supposed to lead the way in scrutinising their actions speaks volumes. The government seeks a free hand to do as it will without the encumbrance of a parliamentary opposition.

The unnamed Cabinet Minister (Uhuru in his press conference implied it could be Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Martha Karua) should be prosecuted for abuse of office and relieved of his/her position. The Registrar of Societies should likewise go. If she cannot stand up for what is right, then she doesn't deserve the job. The President should come clean and tell us what was discussed in the meetings with Mo1. If indeed this was on the agenda, then Kibaki should also go. The blood of the many who died in the cause of democratic governance calls out for this.