Our economy, just like our politics, is a shaky card-house
Kevin Spacey as Frank Underwood in ‘‘House of Cards.’’ Is our politics and economy like this television series, built on a proverbial “house of cards” or non-existent success based on perceptions? PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
Economy and politics are illusions based on some numbers that no one can, and should really not, trust.
Like any sane person, I am as excited about politicians as much as I am excited about flushing dysfunctional toilets.
This does not mean that politicians can’t be exciting. Sometimes they really outdo themselves. Mostly it will be in fiction rather than real life – like in the television series – House of Cards, a must watch recommendation should you ever be lucky to get enough time within your busy professional life (A caveat though- It will be more fun if you have a rough understanding of US politics).
While we await this time miracle to happen, let me do you a favour and brief you about it.
House of Cards is an American political drama television series, developed and produced by Beau Willimon and based on a novel by Michael Dobbs.
Set in present-day Washington D.C., it is the story of Frank Underwood (acted by Kevin Spacey), a Democrat from South Carolina’s 5th congressional district and House majority whip who, after being passed over for appointment as Secretary of State, initiates an elaborate plan to get himself into a position of power.
His loyal wife, Claire Underwood (acted by Robin Wright), assists him in this endeavour.
The series is primarily about ruthless pragmatism, manipulation, power, and doing bad things for the greater good. But the central theme, as depicted in its name, it’s about building the proverbial “house of cards” – a mirage of non-existent success based on perceptions rather than reality—of faking it till you make it.
This week, I learnt that this excitement is not limited to the silver screen. Kenyan politicians have the capacity to pull out their own Hollywood moments just as well. And no, I am not referring to the non-ending antics of Senator Mike Sonko, and his dire attempts to provide leadership with a twist of comical relief.
I am referring to intelligent political antics played by no less an office than that of the Presidency. I have to admit that what the President pulled mid-week was what I would refer to as high stakes political chess.
For a while , I didn’t care much about this hullabaloo of the case facing the Kenyan president at the Hague since I agreed with His Excellency’s own sentiments that it remained his “personal matter”.
Obviously, like other concerned citizens, I noted that the position he held meant there was an extremely indiscernible fine line between matters public and personal.
Still, it would be a lie to say I cared enough about this issue to lose my night sleep over it. It is a worry prerogative that I felt fell directly on the President himself and his countless sycophants some who had publicly professed loyalty to the point of being ready to commit suicide given an executive order demanding them to do so.
Thus, when the President requested that he wanted to address the nation through Parliament, I thought it was one of these run of the mill boring patriotic soliloquys about patriotism and what have not and gave it a wide berth.
Thanks to instant breaking news alerts on my mobile phone however, I soon got to understand that this was not just any other address.
This particular statement from the address is of interest, “Let it not be said that I’m attending the status conference as the President of Kenya.
Nothing warrants my being in court. I will go to The Hague on Wednesday, not as President of Kenya. I invoke Article 147 by appointing Deputy President William Ruto acting President of Kenya,”
The gravitas of this single statement separated this address from any other we have heard from him given the ramifications it would have and the precedent it would set on the political fabric of this country( according to legal experts).
This is what Section 147 reads: (3) Subject to Article 134, when the President is absent or is temporarily incapacitated, and during any other period that the President decides, the Deputy President shall act as the President.
Meanwhile the refereed to Article 134 states as follows: (b) while the President is absent or incapacitated, or at other times as contemplated in Article 147 (3), the holder of that office may not exercise the powers of the President specified in clause (2).
The powers referred to are— (a) the nomination or appointment of the judges of the superior courts;(b) the nomination or appointment of any other public officer whom this Constitution or legislation requires the President to appoint;(c) the nomination or appointment or dismissal of Cabinet Secretaries and other State or Public officers;(d) the nomination or appointment or dismissal of a high commissioner, ambassador, or diplomatic or consular representative;(e) the power of mercy; and (f) the authority to confer honours in the name of the people and the Republic.
My interpretation: “Thou shall be President in name only”. Meanwhile, immediately, Uhuru’s handlers want us to believe that in effect means that the President automatically “became a civilian”.
Which is awkward because it means that for the time the President was away, technically, we had no President since whoever was intended to act as President, technically lacked the capacity to be a “real President”. But I am not a lawyer so don’t take my word for it.
Regardless of your legal biases though, the real lesson I think all us un-learned friends have to learn from this is that similarly, the presidency is but a house of cards—it’s an illusion of power that keeps us from and sometimes drives us to slaughtering each other’s throats.
In essence, it is basically an illusion, albeit a persistent one. Poor us!
This brings me to the other happening of the week— the rebasing of the economy. So, we followed in Nigeria’s footsteps and corrected our national statistics to restate our hitherto non-accounted for wealth and voila! Our economy is now 25 per cent larger.
Way back in April, I wrote in this very column when I got wind of the rebasing project that the end effect will be a measure of our inefficiency in keeping our national statistics rather than an improvement of our economic outlook.
The irony of course is that this new rebased figures have some real implications on our credit rating as a country and hence may have an actual effect on the economy.
This leads me to assert that, probably, our economy, just like our politics, is just but some messy house of cards based on some numbers no one can and should really trust. Talking of which, I propose a game of cards. Any takers?
