“Lies, damned lies and statistics,” my wife recently teased me on account of my love for data. The phrase was made popular by Mark Twain in Chapters from My Autobiography . Twain attributed the phrase to British prime minister Benjamin Disraeli.
“Figures often beguile me, particularly when I have the arranging of them myself,” Twain famously wrote; in which case the remark attributed to Disraeli would often apply with justice and force: that “there are three kinds of lies: lies, damned lies, and statistics”.
To beguile is to charm or enchant in a deceptive way. Aptly, the oxford dictionary offers the following example of the word beguile in a sentence, “He beguiled the voters with his good looks.” I say aptly because in this season of promises, how do we tell lies from the truth?
Consider this. What is the cause of corruption in Kenya? And why does it have such a high level of social acceptance? Unlike many nations, there is no stigma at all attached to being found corrupt.
“Go, steal and bring the loot for us to eat,” voters famously told Hon Matu Wamae when he complained in the 2002 electoral season that his monied competitor was dishing out cash.
One theory is that the state has historically enjoyed low levels of legitimacy. In the colonial era, it was considered heroic to steal from the state. Today, many believe it is okay to “help” themselves if the opportunity should arise.
Parents often beseech me to give their sons and daughters ‘mahari ya kujishikiria’, as though government is a long gravy train to hold on to.
Another view is that things got out of hand once the Ndegwa Commission Report of 1971 was adopted. The commission allowed civil servants to not only own businesses, but also trade with government.
This created the conditions for abuse of office and allowed public servants to tilt tenders in their own favour. By 1980, the Waruhiu Committee Report found “overwhelming evidence that some public servants utilise government facilities in order to benefit themselves”.
In these campaigns, words will certainly be thrown around. Who is to blame for the rampant corruption? How do we eradicate it? Most of these words will be false and will not go beyond vague promises.
To get out of this mess, we have to retrace our steps. The Ndegwa commission argued that the civil service was a key cohort in creating both a middle and capitalist class. Perhaps that was true back then, but times have changed. The middle class has grown. An African capitalist class is evident and public sector pay and incentives are sometimes higher than the private sector’s.
As the President directed a while back, we must revisit the fundamental rules. In the private sector, managers are not allowed to trade with the corporate. Why should it be different in the public sector?
On the social side, we have to do better on just what our values are. In churches and mosques for example, how can we continue to accept monies whose sources are dubious and call ourselves religious?
August is coming. As you make your choices, beware of lies and damned lies!
