One of, and perhaps, the major impediment to good and sound governance is lack of accountability. Rules of accountability dictate that astute representation can only be attained when a leader applies the 'bottom-up' paradigm in his discharge of duties. The paradigm works from the notion that the common man at the grassroots level be fully engaged in decisions and policies drafted at the top. If the reverse (the top-down) approach is preferred by policy makers, the original intent of the project will never be realized. This has been the idea behind many white elephant projects that dot the nation. 

In Kenya, sadly though, policy making is intertwined with ethnicity. Ethnicity has many faces but the face that outshines the others in this sector is that of political ethnicity. 

Ordinary Kenyan politicians are a disturbed people because of the political dilemma they find themselves in. On one hand, they feel bound to the oath of allegiance they took to represent the plight and interests of their respective constituents while on the other, they must sing the political tune of the president and his cabal of friends if their grassroot representation is to be achieved.

It's only by being loyal to the centre of power that their constituents' plight can be accorded an ear, receive a favourable policy formulation and funding. Politicians allied to the opposite hand of the Speaker are branded as rebels whose major preoccupation is to bring down the government of the day. They are given a deaf ear by the government insiders with a warning that if they continue being hardcore, they might find themselves rounding their five-year term without any government involvement in community development and poverty eradication in their respective constituencies.

To demand that loyalty to the president be a prerequisite to provide empowerment opportunities to the masses is an act of ideological corruption. Two, it is against the spirit of real democracy to apply overt and covert methods to quash the opposition. It remains unjustifiable for the president's inner core to dictate political and developmental terms to the rest of the politicians, the sole reason for the glaring disparities in Kenyan constituency development index with constituencies enjoying political support registering much progress than the 'opposition' constituencies.

As the M.Ps go back to their constituencies to ask for another mandate, their past development records will be called to prop their campaigns. With other aspirants hot on their heels to give them a run for their money, the incumbents will be put to task to account for what they did in the past five years. With odds stuck against them, the incumbents will have to rely on the past political goodwill they had enjoyed to guarantee them another stint in the august house. But this political goodwill will receive a major dent if the incumbent M.P was not 'politically correct'.

With the government of Kenya launching 'Ukweli wa Mambo' (Swahili for the truth of the matter) detailing what it has done since the National Rainbow Coalition (NARC) government assumed office, issues of political encroachment in 'rebel' constituencies and freezing support of developmental projects so as to upgrade the living standards of the poor is given a blank check.

There has been inequitable distribution of resources (whether natural or man-made) by the respective men and women who command the power at the core of governance. The cabinet ministers responsible for formulating policies that drive the nation's developmental conveyor belt are giving the ordinary person a raw deal. Instead of using their influential positions to put Kenya above other third world nations, they invoke their powers in settling political scores with the opposition and frustrating their efforts to put their constituencies on the right development path.

This remains the major setback that the NARC administration has encountered on its path towards cementing its position in their quest for a second term in the highest office in the land.