Kenyans were shocked when 50 Assistant Ministers demanded that the Kenya government clearly defines their responsibility, as they are idle and spend their official duty hours reading newspapers. The MPs earn over Kshs 987 500 each and cost the government Kshs 600 million annually on allowances. Tanzania and Uganda have a large cabinet despite the fact that their national budgets are funded through foreign aid.

This calls for urgent limiting of government. Money can only be spent in four ways: You can spend your own money on yourself; spend your money on somebody else; spend somebody else’s money on yourself or spend someone else’s money on somebody else. In the latter, the connection between the earner, spender and recipient is most remote. Consequently, the potential for mischief and waste is greatest. That is where the government falls.

As government spending increases, so does its power and size. As this happens, private choice shrinks. Shrinking the government will maximize opportunity, enterprise, creativity and permit individuals to go as far as their talents, ambitions, and industry can take them. It is time African governments allowed the market process to allocate goods, services and resources.