Comments on: Our Drunken Finance Minister

By: Pimpin Curly

Pimpin Curly — Sun, 17 May 2009 23:33:07 +0000

KE,

I think a times you give attention to replies which carry NO substance.

So what if Thuna Kumba met PS. Kinyua ? This is not the point…. Knowing about something and being stellar in performance is TWO Different things.

There are people in the west who know so much…. but many of them are not the best in performance….

When a person is given a public trust to oversee… There is NO – If’s or Buts about anything.. He accepted a public role and should be condemned accordingly when he performs poorly.

People want to see the end product…. NOT SLEAZE….

Sleaze is Kinyua’s undoing… He might know how to run the finance docket in theory but not in practice…

You people need some awakening… This is not a private company we talking about.. This is Public Trust !!

By: Thana Kumba

Thana Kumba — Wed, 13 May 2009 11:37:13 +0000

KE,

Nice trick question right there!
In answer to your first one. Yes I have met him a number of times over the years since I first came here. I sought to clarify that your depiction of him as “PS (Kinyua) is a joker. Kinuya (sic) is not a thinker. He’s a paper shuffling bureaucrat.” is a bit off the mark. Kinyua may not carry a long academic cv but the man has a very deep understanding of inter-ministerial workings, he has an amazing ability to cut through @%*! to get to the core of numerous proposals and requests that come through his office and has prevented his political bosses from making some astounding errors in policy using his very disarming approach. Could some other Kenyan do a better job? Quite possibly. Is he a hapless, paper shuffling bureaucrat? No Sir.

As to the trick question of who or what prevents him from doing his job better, I would be falling into a familiar logic trap to push the blame to others. I leave that question to bolder men.

You say PNU would not let Oburu get real power at treasury? Methinks you underestimate the Odingas. Their specialty is building influence from grassroots before making the play for the big deal. No where does this work better than in bureaucratic systems such as a Ministry where even the Tea-lady has more importance than the position suggests. Watch how Oburu rises to make authoritative statements on his docket as time goes by.

By: John Karanja

John Karanja — Wed, 13 May 2009 07:21:40 +0000

This is an unfortunate set of circumstances. It seems the government is blundering too often. But at least there is some form of accountability. What needs to happen is an Exit strategy from economic AID given to us by the world bank and other AID organizations. They are one of the Key things holding Kenyans and Africans back. Let us create our own wealth. http://stopaid.org

By: WorkingStiff

WorkingStiff — Wed, 13 May 2009 06:36:28 +0000

Here in the west, he would have ended up being on a foundation board. His alcoholism would disappear, as it looks like deep down even he knows he is not suited for the job.
I am sure there are a lot of people who would like him to get the position, as he would not be politically strong enough to stand up to them.
Uhuru 2012….. I don’t even know where to begin. I hope those who love the idea of a Kenya will be in a position to stop, or derail the train.

By: lee

lee — Tue, 12 May 2009 04:34:09 +0000

uk is a really smart guy i don know how he got himself in this mess.look out am very sure that he is the only guy in this govt never implicated in any scandle,i believe in him to be our countrys saviour.remember when he told ministers to stop making unnecessaly travels,who else do you think would do that?

By: kenyanentrepreneur

kenyanentrepreneur — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:52:13 +0000

Several observations:
1. the writer of this blog has clearly not met Kinyua. The man is actually quite smart. In his common sense way, he knows the solutions to most of the problems facing his docket.
.

I’m assuming you’ve met him and if so, why do you think he’s so smart?

I’m also assuming that if you think he is that smart, you believe that his ability to fully function is being constrained by the politicians, not by his own incompetence?

Oburu Odinga has no real power at that ministry. PNU would not allow that. Oburu is the brother of public enemy number one.

By: Kei O

Kei O — Mon, 11 May 2009 13:08:46 +0000

I am a keen supporter of UK and I am really willing for him to succeed in this docket.

I know he will.

By: Thana Kumba

Thana Kumba — Mon, 11 May 2009 11:36:26 +0000

Several observations:
1. the writer of this blog has clearly not met Kinyua. The man is actually quite smart. In his common sense way, he knows the solutions to most of the problems facing his docket. His officers are also some of the smartest and well qualified Kenyans you could put in those positions and the good thing is, the core team is very diverse (not just one region of the country). Your tribal comments on this issue are slightly off the mark.
2. There is clearly a major problem at the Treasury. The control process around papers leaving that office are actually quite elaborate which lends credence to the suspicions that the error was not inadvertent.
3. UK does look out of depth at the Treasury but I also think this story has more to it than meets the eye especially as he has shown a rather interesting ability to learn on the fly. Remember the 2002 campaigns? I believe that everyone carries in them the potential for greatness. He may yet surprise us all.
4. Watch also how quickly Oburu Odinga seems to be taking to the Treasury function. His last comments (made off the bat) seemed very well informed and statistically driven.

By: Kei O

Kei O — Mon, 11 May 2009 10:44:41 +0000

You cannot compare Kenya and India.

You should compare India and Africa.