MERGER OF OKOA KENYA AND PESA MASHINANI THE LOGICAL THING TO DO

Since the public announcement by the Coalition for Reform and Democracy (CORD) at the Uhuru Park rally on the 7th July 2014 that it was going to initiate a Referendum process to enable the people of Kenya make popular decisions in respect of critical issues including the state of insecurity, allocation of more funds/resources to County Governments, overhaul of IEBC and equity in Public service recruitment, the Jubilee Government has run scared and has consequently come up with a raft of desperate strategies, all aimed at frustrating or scuttling the increasingly popular push for a Referendum. The first such move was a proposal by some Jubilee MPs that the Elections Law which governs the conduct and management of the Referendum be amended to require that the mover of the referendum process funds it but not necessarily the Government. The second move was the filing of a legal suit challenging the collection of signatures of Kenyans by Okoa Kenya on procedural grounds- that the referendum questions were not yet formulated. The third move was a proposal which clearly runs contrary to the constitutional bill of rights- for it seeks to amend the Elections Law so as to bar the CORD leadership from contesting in any future elections, especially for the Presidency, on grounds of age. In this case, the Cord co-principal being targeted is Hon. Raila Odinga and the purpose of the move is to discourage him from spearheading the referendum campaign despite his constitutional right to do so. In response to this particular move, and considering the naivety and parochial thinking of the same,Okoa Kenya could as well include in the Referendum questions the possibility of a one-5year term Presidential term to take effect retrospectivelyfrom 2013. Other desperate moves aimed at scuttling the Referendum initiative include: propping up alternative leadership in opposition strongholds with a view to undermining the existing leadership; using state resources to literally buy opposition MPs to oppose the Referendum process; targeting and attempting to blackmail into submission key proponents of the referendum –eg Orengo, Kajwang and Muthama ; Fuelling wrangles within the opposition political parties to distract its leadership from the Referendum focus; driving a wedge between Governors from opposing sides of the political divide; escalating supremacy war between senators and Governors as exemplified by the establishment of the County Development Boards chaired by Senators; attempting to raid opposition strongholds through state appointments and artificial development initiatives; spreading political propaganda on Presidential age limit; undertaking massive registration of under-age voters in Jubilee strongholds ahead of the Referendum; planting moles within the opposition camps to oppose the Referendum from within ; using official state bureaucracy especially the National Treasury to block funds for the Referendum; coercing the private sector (e.g. KEPSA, Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and Kenya Association Manufacturers) to oppose the Referendum initiative on the premise that it is too costly for business; instigating insecurity in opposition strongholds to scare opposition supporters and in order to disenfranchise them from supporting the Referendum initiative; bulldozing Parliament to approve the proposed constitutional amendments in both Houses to forestall the referendum and destabilizing support bases of the opposition by facilitating internal dissent and sponsoring regional based political parties in opposition the strongholds of Coast, Western and Nyanza. In its latest move, the Jubilee Government is trying to woo the MCAs by promising them several goodies and privileges whose legality and sustainability are questionable. It’s now emerging that these desperate moves are not only divisive and unsustainable but are also causing hindrance to the smooth functioning of the county Governments. Already, members of the public are blocking Senators from chairing County Development Boards whose very legitimacy is questionable in law. I guess many more of the Jubilee evil are still being concocted but will soon come to the fore. Of late, the Jubilee Government has gone overboard in its attempts to woo MCAs, having realized that the Governors are strongly committed to the push for a Referendum. Indeed, the County Governors have also launched a strong campaign for Referendum dubbed Pesa Mashinani. None the less, there is no doubt that the possible merger of both the Okoa Kenya and Pesa Mashinani initiatives will be too formidable for the Jubilee Government to block. Going forward, the merger is the only logical and sensible thing to do since the goal of the envisaged referendum is to improve lives of the people; thus the point of convergence. Via Eliud Owaloon today's Daily Nation