Values I hold dear are not negotiable

Dubbed the 'Iron Lady' by many, Gichugu MP MARTHA KARUA is unfazed by the title and remains determined to be Kenya's next president. She wants to see her country free from the abuse of impunity and corruption. At her home, the demeanour is chatty. Discover the softer and elegant side of this no-nonsense woman. She spoke exclusively to NJOKI KARUOYA

I see myself as a working mother because politics is my work. My political ambitions have not affected my family negatively. My children have grown up while I was active in politics. When I first entered politics, my daughter was six years old while my son was four. Today they are 25 and 22 years respectively.

Martha Karua

Before joining politics, when they were four and two years respectively, I was active in civil society, the women’s movement, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and ICJ. Even then, I can say I was active in politics as the LSK and the Church were like the unofficial opposition back then.

My children have grown with me in politics. What people say about me occasionally affects them. However, they have grown used to it. When they were young during the Moi regime, I risked going to jail for speaking politics. I sat them down and explained to them, in a language they could understand, that I could go to jail for what I was doing.

My children know who I truly am because I’m their mother, so they know not to believe whatever they hear people saying about me. It may disturb them, but we always discuss it as a family.

For instance, on the day I walked out on Moi, I explained to them just before I left the house that I was going to fight him. I had a feeling Moi’s people were going to refuse to give me an opportunity to speak. When I came back home my children applauded me.

There have been times when I have been occupied with my duties and maybe they feel neglected at times, but I know they understand. As they grew up, I tried to go everywhere with them.

We would go to the Fida-Kenya forums until they began to think they were members of Fida. I remember my son even started speaking the language of women, and as he grew older, I remember him telling me I should not discriminate against him because he is a boy.

Political ambitions

When they became teenagers with their own minds, they wanted to do their own things. None of my children has expressed any political ambitions, although my daughter helped me campaign the last time she was around.

Although I brought up my children alone, I made sure they grew up visiting and seeing their father (now deceased). He would call them or come pick them up any time. The exposure to the two parents turned out to be good for them. I am very close with my parents and they support me 100 per cent. Actually, they are the ones who urged me in 1992 to contest the Gichugu parliamentary seat even before I had made up my mind.

When my parents asked; "What do you mean you are not going to run?" I realised there was an expectation that I should run for the seat.

I know my parents still continue to seek support for me, from their friends, my friends... even my late godfather. They all went round campaigning for me. I also get support from friends I schooled and worked with.

Minimum of standards

In life, there should be things that one cannot compromise on and those that can be negotiated. For me, there are things I hold dear and are non-negotiable. One must have a minimum of standards that are acceptable to you. Life must always be at a cost acceptable to me. If I hold something dear then I will listen to my inner voice.

It is difficult to give you a list of what I find non-negotiable, but if you tell me to compromise my work or do something I do not believe in, then I will certainly not. I cannot do what I know is not right, because how will I live with myself?

I believe I get along well with my constituents and that can be confirmed by the fact that I have been re-elected four times.

I do their work, so my constituents let me also venture out. I balance between my constituency and going on a national vote hunt for presidency. I was able to balance my responsibilities even when I was a minister.

Now I’m a full-time politician. For the last ten years I have practised both law and politics. I used to be in court virtually every morning except on Wednesdays when there was a private members motion, which I held dear.

New set of hands

Afternoons I would leave for Parliament. I also visit my constituency regularly. I always say work will never kill me, only the lack of it.

For leisure, I socialise with friends and play golf. Once in a while I swim and travel a lot locally.

My determination to be president of Kenya stems from the realisation that Kenya needs a new start, a new set of hands, if you will, to bring about the realisation of a corruption-free and prosperous Kenya.

I feel that my experience as a professional and as a politician who has served in the back benches for more than eleven years and in Government for about six-and-a-half years, gives me insights as to what really needs to be done and I feel am called to lead.

I want to be president of Kenya because I have something to offer to move the country forward, and I believe I will be able to convince Kenyans. For me, campaigns begin from the day you are elected and I have started campaigning. I am not saying, "please vote for me"; rather, I focus on the things I do to speak for me. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.

As the President of Kenya, I will ensure the rule of law is restored. Impunity thrives in Kenya and the rule of law has been totally undermined.

There are more Kenyans than the cartels that thrive on impunity, and those Kenyans are and always will be the legitimate determinants of their destiny. These cartels are powerful as they have money, but millions of Kenyans want to see this nation move forward, which is why change must start with enforcing the rule of law because orderliness and discipline is the backbone to a prosperous nation.

The rule of law protects ordinary citizens from arbitrary use of power and regulates our behaviour as to how we relate to each other. It also ensures the delivery of services by Government is seamless.

No respect for the law

When we talk of things like corruption, insecurity and all the many problems we have in this country, what we are really saying is there is no respect for the law.

If we fixed the rule of law such that those who deviate from it suffer the consequences of punishment, even those who have the tendency to abuse their office or take what does not belong to them and misappropriate public resources would think twice about breaking the law, because they will know it is costly.

We have gotten so used to impunity as a way of life that it has become part of our culture, to the extent that nobody seems to pay much attention to it. Although we grumble everyday about corruption, when some of us go to public offices and are not given services fast, we readily offer bribes to be able to jump the queue.

Make sacrifices

If it is a motorist, he or she will readily offer a bribe to a traffic policeman to get through, and when there is a traffic jam, the matatu driver will create an extra lane where there is none, and instead of people getting upset, they, too, follow suit and within no time, the whole place is a gridlock and nobody can pass. This then is the Kenyan condition.

I know that the problem has been how those in authority behave. When President Kibaki took over in 2003, Kenyans hoped that things would be different and they were ready to behave differently.

We had reports of citizens ordering policemen who had taken a bribe to return it. People opted to walk when matatu drivers were refusing to accept the ‘Michuki’ rules. In other words, people were ready to make sacrifices to see this nation change. This then is the spirit of the true Kenyan people.

What is happening now is as a result of the hopelessness and despair most Kenyans feel. If people get hope they will make sacrifices.

We saw a bit of that during the Constitution review process. On promulgation day, thousands of Kenyans went out of their way to witness this great event because of hope.

If the top man or woman, the CEO of the country, gives the right signals that the days of impunity are over, I know the populace will respond by changing their attitudes and behaviour and make sacrifices.

Lot of resistance

That is what I experienced when I was at the Ministry of Water fighting to implement the water sector reforms. There was a lot of resistance right from within the ministry to external offices.

Senior officers would not tell you they are resisting but they would do the opposite of what you are saying and even write speeches contrary to policy, so if you are the type that reads a written speech before going through it, then you will end up saying something contrary to the set policies.

The City Council of Nairobi and several other local authorities also resisted the water changes. Cartels thought they could steal by exaggerating and varying the bills and bringing pending bills for work not done.

After struggling with all those negatives for a while, I was able to succeed because everybody realised there was determination at the top.

By the time I left, after three years, most of the cartels had fizzled away. As soon as I left for the Ministry of Justice and Governance, the cartels were back.

I left on a Wednesday and on Thursday, a good samaritan from the ministry called and informed me that vouchers for bills I had communicated in writing should not be paid as they were not genuine were being prepared for payment.

Model of working

I had to call the Treasury and my colleague who had taken over the ministry to alert them of this development. I asked that those pending bills be sent to the relevant committee.

Those people thought that because I had moved out, they could get away with a few things before the next minister settled.

So you can see why I believe that it is important that the top gives out the right signals. I have that determination and the passion to see our country move in the right direction and I feel called to help do that.

My model of working with ministries to fight corruption is what I would use as Kenya’s CEO to ensure all the ministries and departments of Government are singing the same song.

What actually has undermined the reforms that have been going on during the Kibaki era is the discordant nature of government, such that one or two departments could be doing right while many others are doing the opposite.

And it is all because those who behave contrary to the law and code of ethics are not punished. The message, therefore, is clear to all — that you can get away with breaking the law. I intend to change all that by holding people accountable to their actions. Rules and regulations are created to ensure that people are accountable.

For instance, if you do contrary of what is expected of you in your station, then you must be called to answer. If you break the law, you must suffer the consequences. If you have broken the administrative rules, you again must suffer the consequences.

Policy direction

It is the work of the country’s CEO to ensure that his or her policy direction is embraced by everybody, and he must set up systems and processes that will help monitor, evaluate and deter those bent on breaking the law. If you let even one culprit escape justice, people will be quick to notice.

I always say that since the maize scandal, the wheels of corruption have been oiled once again in Government. Now we have many other scandals around us, including scandals in oil, sugar and the misappropriation of IDP funds... it seems business is as usual.

It is okay to see highways being built but we can also see the leakages and wastages, such that while we are building one highway, we could actually build two of them on the same budget if only we were more disciplined and effective monitoring systems were in place.

Service delivery is totally undermined because of the exaggerated values of services and goods, yet it is very easy to curb that by conducting market surveys of the things normally used by Government, and then making every officer accountable for every loss they make, including ministers and permanent secretaries.

There has never been a major takeover of government in Kenya. After former President Moi left, President Kibaki simply replaced him without changing any of the key offices — that is not a takeover of government.

I think the Kibaki administration and the opposition at that time were not ready for a real takeover. It was more a question of getting Moi out and somebody else in and then business as usual.

A takeover by a new administration entails knowing the pressure points and reorganising them so that the thinking and policy changes of the new administration are implemented. Otherwise, leaving the key positions the same way means there is a disconnect between the desired change and the reality on the ground.

Zero tolerance

That is why although this government had a policy of zero tolerance to corruption, the Anglo-Leasing project that had started during the Moi era thrived.

When Narc came to power, the cartels lied low for a while, but when they realised it was okay to proceed, they re-emerged. These people recruited within the new administration by using the same familiar faces they had been working with.

Granted, the civil service must continue working irrespective of which government is in power, but there are certain key areas that must change with the entry of a new administration. This is what happens in Europe and America. I do not think we have taken time to think about that in Kenya.

I am thinking of all those things because I know you must surround yourself with people who share your policies. Further, those appointed in high public offices must undergo an induction course to enable them embrace the policies. As a minister, I was called to such a seminar about a year after being in office.

Importance of co-ordination

In my experience, I have also seen that co-ordination is very important because when one hand does not know what the other is doing, there is confusion. Even ministries that need to be relating by the virtue of what they do are not.

For instance, the Agriculture ministry is doing its own thing, as is the Water ministry, yet agriculture is related to water. If water and agriculture are not working in sync, then how are we going to improve food security?

Another related ministry is Forestry as water resources and catchment areas are basically forests. The Environment ministry is also a major concern to food security due to its need to battle pollution, preserve water catchment areas and ensure proper drainage in the city.

This is why thoughts of how ministries should coordinate should be done when formulating the ministries. Government is like a big jigsaw puzzle — each piece is separate yet they belong to the whole. It is, therefore, important that everybody works together and moves in the same direction to avoid setbacks.

If we are to attain food security as a country, we need co-ordination between the various ministries. By now, we should have invested over the years, supported our farmers with inputs and stopped relying on rain-fed agriculture. When farmers had vibrant organisations like the Kenya Farmers Association, they used to access inputs at very low prices.

All over the world where nations have attained food security, it is because the government ensured there was a market for what it produced and there is optimum storage of excess.

Wealth creation

We need incentives to encourage farmers and in the long run, we will use less money than what we use to manage each crisis when there is drought or food shortage.

Look at a country like Malawi. It does not have a stronger economy than Kenya’s, but with proper planning, they have achieved food security. It is doable in Kenya as we have sufficient water resources, yet we import food from countries like Israel, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, which are in deserts and have almost no rainfall.

Our biggest problem as a country is poverty. I believe we must first tackle the inequalities. For instance, when you improve the atmosphere of doing business, you encourage investments and creation of wealth. When there is rule of law, an enabling environment for business is created.

We must fully implement our labour laws and the international standards so that we stop talking about minimum wage and talk about liveable wages. Giving people a minimum wage of Sh6,000 in Nairobi doesn’t make sense as they; too, have families who have needs, like everyone one else.

Appropriate policies

One way of lessening the burden of people in the lower income bracket is putting in place appropriate health and education policies that will support them throughout their life cycle. It may sound like a lot of money, but I think it is possible. When you do it right, you guarantee that the majority of Kenyans will be sorted out when their problems are beginning and not when they have advanced. Today many Kenyans have no access to health care. We should be able to focus more on preventive rather than curative treatment.

In my time, there was access to health services in government hospitals. Private hospitals were very few and unknown because government hospitals offered the best.

Up to about 1980, Kenyatta National Hospital was doing very well and dealt with all manner of illnesses and operations, for free. But all this was before the structural adjustment programmes and the introduction of cost sharing, which locked out the poor from health services.

Proper planning

Look at the education sector. Today, many people lack access to good education. Look at our universities. When I went to university, the loan I got was sufficient for the three basics — accommodation, tuition and meals.

Today, the loans our youngsters are getting does not guarantee them the three basics, and hence their quality of education and life has deteriorated so much that students are getting into all manner of activities to pay their fees and avoid failing — they are subletting their rooms, cooking inside while others are being enticed by older people with money.

I also look at our universities today and see the huge number of parallel students. The universities are collecting colossal sums of money yet they wait for what the government will give them for investment. With proper planning, and as the universities get more students they should be able to expand, organise themselves and ensure lecturers are paid better so they can focus on providing quality education to Kenyans.

When we come to housing, the slum upgrading programmes are moving at such a slow pace. Why? Why are houses so expensive?

Remember the ones built in Kamukunji for the low-income group but rent was pegged at Sh11,000 per month? This is clearly beyond what most Kenyans can pay.

Again, this is all a question of graft — pricing services and utilities beyond our reach when we should be cost effective and ensure the end product is affordable to all of us. We cannot price every service out of the market and reach of majority of Kenyans.

Public morality (not private morality, which should be done at home) must also be the concern the Government. Our national values are important and that is why it was necessary to enshrine them in the new Constitution.

As government, we must ensure these national values are inculcated and taught to children right from their formative years if we are to transform our attitudes as a nation.