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Post by phil on Aug 8, 2012 10:58:40 GMT 3
Kamale.
You may want to know that government departments and parastatals purchase goods and services woth tens of billions of shillings each financial year.
I am yet to come across one institution that wants to blame "supplier rivalry" for failure to procure. The law is not an ass. It is IEBC commissioners who want to make an ass out of Kenyan tax payers and voters.
Go back to the beginning of this thread and you will see how the tendering was ill conceived and totally mismanaged by the IEBC.
The buck must stop somewhere. And that somewhere is Chairman Hassan's door step.
And you know what? This sour tasting BVR saga is just the beginning.
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Post by kamalet on Aug 8, 2012 11:27:46 GMT 3
kamale i haven't had a chance to read and follow all the behind the scenes on this but my question is, if this so called govt to govt deal was an option that was available all along, who was sitting on his hands while cash strapped IEBC was about to empty its pockets to the tune of Sh 4bn? As far as I am aware the cash to be used will be what had been voted for the IEBC and not any other cash.
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Post by kamalet on Aug 8, 2012 11:30:45 GMT 3
Kamale. You may want to know that government departments and parastatals purchase goods and services woth tens of billions of shillings each financial year. I am yet to come across one institution that wants to blame "supplier rivalry" for failure to procure. The law is not an ass. It is IEBC commissioners who want to make an ass out of Kenyan tax payers and voters. Go back to the beginning of this thread and you will see how the tendering was ill conceived and totally mismanaged by the IEBC. The buck must stop somewhere. And that somewhere is Chairman Hassan's door step. And you know what? This sour tasting BVR saga is just the beginning. Phil Just how will this your argument advance the cause for free and fair elections? You need to get over the problem of Isaak telling off ODM guys for trying to order the commission about and focus on the prize! Does the solution now proposed get us closer to the f & f elections we all seek since no one at the commission will be eating as this has been transfered elsewhere?
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Post by jakaswanga on Aug 8, 2012 20:38:37 GMT 3
The Isaac fellow at IEBC must be feeling like Moses and the Israelites as they crossed into Israel from Egypt. No matter what he dones he will not satisfy anyone!! So Isaak announces that they are going back to MVR and everyone and their dog are up in arms shouting possibilities of rigging of the election. Isaak explains that to repeat the procurement process would mean that the registration process would not be complete and many would miss the opportunity to vote due to constraints by the law. In order to get round the law that is the ass here, govt decides to step in to help by using a new term "govt to govt" procurement as way of going round the procument law. IEBC agree to this subject to register closure being reduced from 90 to 45 days by way of amendment of the law. With BVR becoming a possiblity now, one would expect that the people who were up in arms would smile and say 'yes, finally the elections will be F & F. But NO! All this is nothing more than meddling in the independence of the commission and it should not be allowed to happen. IEBC must remain independent of the executive!! So am I sitting and wondering how the independence of the IEBC is being kanyangwa'ad and by who and struggle to see! Surely the government helping out the commission to procure the BVR equipment cannot be deemed to be stealing the independence of the commission as I do not think their independence extends to being stupid or careless as they have been in this case! IEBC's indepence test to secure us a F&F election should come about at the point they start their registration of voters and they cannot because thousands have no ID cards because Kajwang' was busy singing 'bado mapambano'!! It does not rest in the procurement process of equipment. There is a constitution, and these are not jua-kali days. So there arises even the issue of whether the correct procedure was followed by cabinet in amending the constitutional requirement from 90 days to 45 days. We must be vigilant. This document has cost lives. Trashing a constitution even before the last promulgation shout has died, is a coup of sorts! You seem to have a lot of faith in these guys. Unfortunately I do not. This is a cabinet of 44! ripping the public with such expenditures as $3000 electronic kits for MPS who already earn an robbery-rate of nearly $200 thousand dollars a year. I need to be fully drunk on waragi to take them seriously when they purport to act in the national interest. Scepticism Kamalet! If it turns out they stole the independence of the IEBC, will you sleep well? Well, If the IEBC can not run a simple tendering process, what makes anyone think they can deliver a national election? These guys are plain incompetent, Kamalet.
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Post by job on Aug 9, 2012 0:30:56 GMT 3
Jaindi Kisero's fears re: government-to-government contracting.www.nation.co.ke/oped/Opinion/Theres+no+need+to+allow+foreigners/-/440808/1473600/-/ris7ax/-/index.htmlThis government-to-government idea should not be an excuse for circumventing the basic tenets of transparent bidding. It must not be the avenue to allow some of the politically-connected vendors behind the mess the IEBC found itself in to get back into the game.
I have heard the name of Canada being floated as a possible partner. If the Canadians want to assist us, let them give as ten names of companies – including those from other countries – to choose from.
Giving the job to some Canadian company that participated in the botched process will be the height of impunity. After all, this biometric voter registration is not rocket science.
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Post by topnotch on Aug 9, 2012 19:40:00 GMT 3
THE Canadian IT firm tipped to supply the Biometric Voter Registration kits to IEBC through a government-to -government deal was wound up last month. The assets of Code Inc, an affiliate of a Canadian registered charity Canadian Organization for Development through Education, were immediately taken up by Electoral Services International Inc.www.the-star.co.ke/national/national/88739-bvr-company-code-winds-up
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Post by tnk on Aug 9, 2012 20:07:13 GMT 3
THE Canadian IT firm tipped to supply the Biometric Voter Registration kits to IEBC through a government-to -government deal was wound up last month. The assets of Code Inc, an affiliate of a Canadian registered charity Canadian Organization for Development through Education, were immediately taken up by Electoral Services International Inc.www.the-star.co.ke/national/national/88739-bvr-company-code-winds-upwow there surely is no rest for the wicked no matter which way they turn, a new issue crops up technically since it would be a new outfit/company, IEBC cannot simply enter into a blind engagement with these new players i think IEBC should go ahead and beef up the manual and electronic registers and then gradually phase in biometrics
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Post by b6k on Aug 9, 2012 20:12:39 GMT 3
THE Canadian IT firm tipped to supply the Biometric Voter Registration kits to IEBC through a government-to -government deal was wound up last month. The assets of Code Inc, an affiliate of a Canadian registered charity Canadian Organization for Development through Education, were immediately taken up by Electoral Services International Inc.www.the-star.co.ke/national/national/88739-bvr-company-code-winds-upJeepers! Is that what Miguna went to Canada in such a rush to do? On a serious note, I thought tender documents normally have a section where you show proof of the type of business you engage/supply in? How would a charity heavy organization end up doing elections related work??
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Post by job on Aug 9, 2012 20:50:09 GMT 3
THE Canadian IT firm tipped to supply the Biometric Voter Registration kits to IEBC through a government-to -government deal was wound up last month. The assets of Code Inc, an affiliate of a Canadian registered charity Canadian Organization for Development through Education, were immediately taken up by Electoral Services International Inc.www.the-star.co.ke/national/national/88739-bvr-company-code-winds-upFrom that Star news report: Please take a minute to think about these two developments:(1) US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets IEBC officials and proposes government-to-government short-cutting to supply the BVR system for almost free. Source of equipment still being Canada. IEBC rejects the offer citing the gesture as being saddled with perception of political interference.(2) Kibaki calls in IEBC officials for a meeting. In that meeting PNU's Njeru Githae (Finance Minister) proposes that IEBC procure BVR system from Canadian company, Code Inc through government-to-government short-cutting. IEBC takes up this offer without fearing any perception of political interference.Is anyone seeing the obvious irony and hypocrisy inherent within IEBC? Folks, this is the price Isaak Hassan is paying for being a wimp. His credibility has dissipated within a short time thanks to his dalliance with these partisan meddlers. He will continue to look stupid the more he engages in this brinkmanship. The next elections are not casual events to take lightly. An independent mind over one's shoulder is surely the best safeguard in this matter. Hassan has proved he doesn't have it.
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Post by tnk on Aug 9, 2012 21:07:40 GMT 3
job allow me to extract one part of this in response to a question i had posed earlier During her meeting with the IEBC, Clinton had offered her government's support to procure the purchases from Canada and the have her government donate them to the IEBC. Her offer was however rejected by the IEBC which said it would have a political impact as the IEBC was supposed to be independent. kamalet this is what i was talking about earlier, the US govt had offered to procure the gadgets and DONATE to IEBC, i.e no cost. so the question of govt spending was not there the reality here is that a bunch of people were preparing to laugh all the way to the bank and someone rained on their parade. everything else is now reactionary and trying to diffuse the situation. from what i read, the operatives were / are very close to state house and therefore it was assumed to be a done deal. no doubt the early bribes had already been paid up and cannot be retracted thats why there was such earnest effort to make sure the deal went through including cabinet and kibaki trying to get IEBC to go ahead with the BVR. way i see it, a few of the BVR units will be purchased through the so called govt to govt deal, maybe 40% and then the bulk will be purchased quietly so that the deal still goes through. its all about business
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Post by tnk on Aug 9, 2012 21:10:46 GMT 3
Please take a minute to think about these two developments:(1) US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets IEBC officials and proposes government-to-government short-cutting to supply the BVR system for almost free. Source of equipment still being Canada. IEBC rejects the offer citing the gesture as being saddled with perception of political interference.(2) Kibaki calls in IEBC officials for a meeting. In that meeting PNU's Njeru Githae (Finance Minister) proposes that IEBC procure BVR system from Canadian company, Code Inc through government-to-government short-cutting. IEBC takes up this offer without fearing any perception of political interference.Is anyone seeing the obvious irony and hypocrisy inherent within IEBC? Folks, this is the price Isaak Hassan is paying for being a wimp. His credibility has dissipated within a short time thanks to his dalliance with these partisan meddlers. He will continue to look stupid the more he engages in this brinkmanship. The next elections are not casual events to take lightly. An independent mind over one's shoulder is surely the best safeguard in this matter. Hassan has proved he doesn't have it. Job couldn't put it any better than that these guys at IEBC have goofed big time and set the country on edge. its like another slow-motion replay of kivuitu and his lackeys
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Post by jakaswanga on Aug 9, 2012 21:21:05 GMT 3
Please take a minute to think about these two developments:(1) US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets IEBC officials and proposes government-to-government short-cutting to supply the BVR system for almost free. Source of equipment still being Canada. IEBC rejects the offer citing the gesture as being saddled with perception of political interference.(2) Kibaki calls in IEBC officials for a meeting. In that meeting PNU's Njeru Githae (Finance Minister) proposes that IEBC procure BVR system from Canadian company, Code Inc through government-to-government short-cutting. IEBC takes up this offer without fearing any perception of political interference.Is anyone seeing the obvious irony and hypocrisy inherent within IEBC? Folks, this is the price Isaak Hassan is paying for being a wimp. His credibility has dissipated within a short time thanks to his dalliance with these partisan meddlers. He will continue to look stupid the more he engages in this brinkmanship. The next elections are not casual events to take lightly. An independent mind over one's shoulder is surely the best safeguard in this matter. Hassan has proved he doesn't have it. Job couldn't put it any better than that these guys at IEBC have goofed big time and set the country on edge. its like another slow-motion reply of kivuitu and his lackeys Yap, this bogus group should be sent home for the safety of the country. There is also the added problem that they simply seem incapable of thinking. 1. The reason given by the chair for why the tendering process was aborted is childlike --he blamed the bidders! 2. The hypocrisy cited by Job above. A quick lawyer on his wit would smell the trap across the ocean. Independence as a reason rejecting Clinton, is less than pedestrian, given the subsequent events. 3. By now they should know they have lost credibility. But they can not think it, so we have to do it for them. NB: where are the lawyers? the casual nature in which the constitution was amended to acommodate this 'govt2govt' deal rings faulty to me! Ammendments, even insignificant ones, do not go that easy in constitutions!
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Post by podp on Aug 13, 2012 12:24:57 GMT 3
What is increasingly leaving me disturbed is the total inability of the IEBC to exercise their constitutionally mandated independent authority (Chapter 15). Is there a leadership vacuum? They should have called for this meeting in the first place and the press release of should have been from IEBC. Exactly what is going on here? www.the-star.co.ke/national/corridors-of-power/89128-corridors-of-powerA member of a constitutional commission which has been in the limelight lately is said to have purchased prime land worth Sh25 million from a charitable organisation. This has raised eyebrows as the man, who seems to have become a multi-millionaire almost overnight, is said to have paid the entire amount at once, leaving even the seller baffled at his source of funds.
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Post by podp on Aug 13, 2012 15:27:36 GMT 3
MP wants IEBC to speak up on diaspora vote www.nation.co.ke/News/politics/MP+wants+IEBC+to+speak+up+on+diaspora+vote/-/1064/1478174/-/rf5ag8/-/index.htmlAn MP now wants the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to assure Kenyans in diaspora that they will cast their vote in the next General Election. The MP said that the developments on Biometric Voter Registration saga does not guarantee electronic voting. Addressing a news conference in Nairobi’s Parliament buildings on Monday, Mr John Mututho (Naivasha) said there were high-profile individuals keen to retain power and who were out to frustrate the automation of the electoral process. “These people in power should stop cheating the Kenyans in diaspora that they will vote in the next elections. Let us tell them the truth; they will not vote. The BVR as envisaged by the IEBC does not necessarily mean an electronic election. Let’s tell them that they will not vote because someone is planning to steal the election,” said Mr Mututho. The MP also criticized the government-to-government deal struck last week to procure the BVR equipment. He said it is wrong for the executive to borrow money to run the key poll component, when Parliament had approved Sh17.5 billion for the IEBC. “The decision by this government to borrow USD 55 million for the BVR kits, is an admission that we’re either too careless or too broke to carry out our own elections. This is very embarrassing to Kenyans,” said the Naivasha MP. Mr Mututho added that “when governments engage in business” then they ought to be subjected to the same tendering process. The MP took the view that it was wrong for the Canadian government to give Kenya conditions on how the procurement should be done. He said that the Canadian firm picked to do the job was “bankrupt”. “Let the government keep the likes of Canada out of this because their agenda is not clear. Do not bring us a company that is winding up, to register our voters. Why would we want our bio-data out there with a foreign company that we do not know what it is going to do with it?,” posed Mr Mututho. The MP said the Chief Executive of the IEBC, Mr James Oswago, ought to relook at the procurement, and get a consortium of Kenyan companies to do the job. He said the Canadian firm Code Inc, did not have the financial muscle to do the job. The Canadian firms have formed consortiums to handle the BVR procurement. The first consortium involves Code Inc, whose ownership is still in question, and Face Technology of South Africa, which was the third lowest bidder, before IEBC cancelled the tender on July 23. The second consortium brings together Cross Match Technologies of Canada, Smartmatic of UK, and Dermalog of Germany. Boardroom wars pitting the commission against the secretariat had prevented the IEBC from awarding the tender to Symphony, the second lowest bidder after 4G Identity of India was disqualified.
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Post by phil on Aug 15, 2012 15:38:10 GMT 3
Treasury set to announce BVR tender Tuesday, 14 August 2012 00:03 BY STAR TEAM
Treasury is today expected to announce the name of the company that will provide the Biometric Voter Registration kits at a cost of more than Sh3 billion. It is understood that Treasury officials led by the Permanent Secretary Joseph Kinyua have been negotiating with the Canadians to acquire the kits as a loan and the Canadians have placed certain conditions if the deal is to proceed. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has said it has nothing to do with the government-to-government deal that the government is pursuing.
Naivasha MP John Muthutho yesterday questioned the rationale behind the government seeking to borrow Sh4.6 Billion when it had already allocated Sh3.4 billion in the current budget for the purpose. “I am shocked by the government decision to negotiate a $55 million (Sh4.6 billion) loan from Canada to buy electronic voter registration equipments. This is very embarrassing and shows that the government is either careless or broke. “We gave the IEBC Sh17 billion to conduct a credible, free and fair elections. What became of these massive finances? Is it depleted? Mututho asked.
Mututho said the country was going to borrow the loan at terms and conditions that will be determined by Canada. “We are going to borrow on their terms, which are unfavourable to Kenya,†he added. The Canadian High Commission yesterday declined to confirm or deny reports that it wanted to provide the kits to Kenya on certain conditions including one that specifies that a Canadian firm is awarded the tender. "We will issue a comprehensive statement tomorrow (today)," said an official at the Commission
Yesterday, a new consortium operating under the name International Alliance for Electrons Management (IAEM) bringing together three other companies—Canada's Cross Match, Netherlands' Smartmatic and South Africa's Lithotech—emerged as a front runner after the team working on the deal decided to lock out the four companies that had earlier bid for the tender—India's 4G, Kenya's Symphony, South Africa's Face Technologies and Israel's Ontrack innovations.
Last evening the Treasury denied claims that it had already signed a deal with an unnamed Canadian company to provide the kits which the government has decided must be used in the coming elections. “It cannot be. All the meetings that they have been having over the BVR kits have taken place at the Anniversary Towers. Even the Permanent Secretaries involved in the matter have been going to Anniversary Towers because we recognise the independence of IEBC,†a source at the Treasury said.
The Canadian IT firm tipped to supply the Biometric Voter Registration kits to IEBC through a government-to -government deal was wound up last month. The assets of Code Inc, an affiliate of a Canadian registered charity Canadian Organization for Development through Education, were immediately taken up by Electoral Services International Inc.
Code Inc was voluntarily wound up on July 12, 2012 in a “non-conventional liquidation†undertaken by Ernst & Young. The new owner of ESI are Dwight Casson who was previously the chairman of the Code Inc and who has confirmed the latter's liquidation. The IAEM consortium promised the government that it was ready to deliver 2,000 kits within two weeks, another 30,000 poll-book kits within the same period in addition to providing electoral services in tallying, counting and transmission if it was awarded the tender.
According to the consortium, CrossMatch of Canada will supply fingerprint scanners, Lithothech of South Africa will deliver BVR kits, Smartmatic of Netherlands will also supply and install software. Another company CESL of United Kingdom will also supply BVR kits and infrastracture.
According to sources at the Treasury, the new consortium also has strategic suppliers and they include Dermalog of Germany which will supply finger sprint scanners and AFIS software, Institute of Advanced Technologies of Kenya which will provide requisite training to IEBC staff in facilities across Kenya and Genkeys of Netherlands which will also provide software.
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Post by jakaswanga on Aug 16, 2012 19:45:34 GMT 3
Treasury set to announce BVR tender Tuesday, 14 August 2012 00:03 BY STAR TEAM
Treasury is today expected to announce the name of the company that will provide the Biometric Voter Registration kits at a cost of more than Sh3 billion. It is understood that Treasury officials led by the Permanent Secretary Joseph Kinyua have been negotiating with the Canadians to acquire the kits as a loan and the Canadians have placed certain conditions if the deal is to proceed. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has said it has nothing to do with the government-to-government deal that the government is pursuing. . Iosif Goebbels, the german master propagandist of the Nazis, is said to have quipped: When I hear the word Culture, I reach for my gun. I think when one hears the word Independent attached to a public organisation in Kenya, one should make sense of the infamous German.
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Post by raiswakesho on Aug 16, 2012 21:02:57 GMT 3
Waafrika tunashida kweli! Why can't we just do get it right already?
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Post by Mobimba on Aug 16, 2012 23:26:50 GMT 3
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Post by raiswakesho on Aug 17, 2012 0:51:18 GMT 3
lincoln,
This is the only way you can bypass the corrupt elements in IEBC.
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Post by Titchaz on Aug 19, 2012 1:23:36 GMT 3
"Not only will the offer by the Canadian Government to donate the equipment bring relief to Kenyans, but it will also raise the question why it was made to look so expensive and the procurement process that difficult and complicated in the first place....."....
"It will also draw attention to the probable reasons internal rivalry and claims of corruption in and outside Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission led to the cancellation of the tenders for the Biometric Voter Register...... "
"What is even more intriguing, apart from the ease with which Canada will supply the kits, is the fact that whereas IEBC had wanted to buy 9,000 kits for the exercise, the Canadian Government has offered 6,000 more, bringing the total to15, 000..... "
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Post by OtishOtish on Aug 19, 2012 1:50:51 GMT 3
"What is even more intriguing, apart from the ease with which Canada will supply the kits, is the fact that whereas IEBC had wanted to buy 9,000 kits for the exercise, the Canadian Government has offered 6,000 more, bringing the total to15, 000..... " [/size][/b][/quote] This is Kenya. What will happen now is that the people who were planning to eat from the IEBC tender will sell the "extra" 6000. To whom and for what purpose? We'll find out in March.
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Post by job on Aug 22, 2012 20:06:57 GMT 3
After burning out enormous national goodwill and bungling a straight-forward procurement contract for a BVR system, IEBC has officially ceded the "I" in their acronym IEBC; throwing away that "Independence" to the State House godfathers. It is baffling that grown men and women (including Professors) sitting in IEBC couldn't figure out the folly of rebuffing US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's proposal to them towards a free-cost supply of BVR (even from Canadians) - citing perception of political interference - yet accepting with open arms another proposal from PNU's (TNA's) Njeru Githae (in a meeting called by PNU's Kibaki) to procure the BVR system from Canadian company, Code Inc through government-to-government short-cutting. So, in the yes of these learned men and women, the latter is not political interference but the former is. That's gaffe one! Then guess what? Amidst all this irony and hypocrisy, follows eery silence until this predictable drama (below).
[youtube] www.youtube/-TbHBAMNazUYet another round of board-room and power war; starting another politically-partisan (and ethnicity-laced) fire right in the middle of this secretive government-to-government procurement. Is this surely the wisest this IEBC can come up with? Reigniting a fiercely sensitive fight already (previously) arbitrated in court! Are they ready for more adverse publicity from yet another round of protracted court battles?It is no rocket science that Hassan's masters have always wanted to kick-out CEO Oswago from the IEBC secretariat. The latter barely hang there on Constitutional grounds that were affirmed in High Court by a Judge. If they wanted Oswago out; their timing couldn't have been so wrong. Not in the middle of a secretive procurement negotiated by PNU/TNA government insiders? The previous ECK ran straight into a predictably catastrophic election precisely because it was stuffed by unilateral appointees of Kibaki. This is exactly what Hassan and his fellow blind ilk in IEBC are trying to replicate as we walk towards the next election. I just wonder where they left their brains in all this.Trying to enforce an NSIS-supported internal coup within IEBC so as to have a choir singing the same tune - creating perfect recipe for repeat of the 2007 fiasco - won't wash. Watch this space carefully - any attempt to unilaterally stuff the IEBC with pliant cheerleaders will be resisted at all costs. Piece-meal attempts at biased reconstruction will call for a newly-reconstituted body altogether. Otherwise sections of the population will got to the streets protesting against any biased IEBC before the elections. Isaak Hassan and his fellow Commissioners must be told in no uncertain terms they've made a big fool of themselves over and over again. It's time to stop digging further into a deep hole. The IEBC has already ceded Independence to State House - at least as far as the BVR procurement is involved. Any more perception that partisanship and unilateralism is being entrenched will rob the outfit any little credibility remaining. That's free advice! These Commissioners look more and more stupid by the day...as they engage in such plain brinkmanship. The next elections are not casual events to take lightly. The public, civil society, and international community are monitoring every move by these idiots yet they don't have qualms engaging in silly one-sided politics! What a shame?
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Post by Omwenga on Aug 22, 2012 20:42:54 GMT 3
Trying to enforce an NSIS-supported internal coup within IEBC so as to have a choir singing the same tune - creating perfect recipe for repeat of the 2007 fiasco - won't wash. Watch this space carefully - any attempt to unilaterally stuff the IEBC with pliant cheerleaders will be resisted at all costs. Piece-meal attempts at biased reconstruction will call for a newly-reconstituted body altogether. Otherwise sections of the population will got to the streets protesting against any biased IEBC before the elections. Isaak Hassan and his fellow Commissioners must be told in no uncertain terms they've made a big fool of themselves over and over again. It's time to stop digging further into a deep hole. Job,One couldn't say this any better or highlight the agency to keep an eye on IEBC any better.
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Post by phil on Aug 23, 2012 10:12:22 GMT 3
Be patient on BVR kits, Githae says Wednesday, 22 August 2012 00:04 BY SOLOMON KIRIMI
The Canadian government will procure the BVR machines for Kenya government to be used in March 2013, general election. Finance Minister Njeru Githae said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and government officials should not comment on the procurement process to avoid creating anxiety among the Kenyans.
He said the kits must be delivered before September for the registration process to be conducted in good time. “Our role as Treasury will be limited to facilitating government-to-government transaction, but the technical specifications are from IEBC, which will receive the machines to validate them,” said Githae.
He said the actual cost of the equipment has not yet been disclosed, but he expects a discount to be given because of the large number of the units ordered by IEBC. The government took over the procurement process after the one initiated by the IEBC was cancelled amid allegations of corruption and manipulation of the process. The government-to-government deal will be financed through a grant from Canadian government, saidGithae.
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Post by phil on Aug 28, 2012 10:08:08 GMT 3
In case you missed this, here are critical excerpts from PM Raila Odinga's speech at the National COnference on Peaceful Election yesterday. raila-odinga.com/new/2012/08/27/pms-remarks-at-the-national-conference-on-peaceful-elections/- Yes, we all have a role in ensuring peaceful elections. I continue to appeal to all that we stop mobilizing support along ethnic lines. We must stop setting up communities against communities, regions against regions. We must stand up not for our tribes or regions but for the Kenyan nation.
- We must choose our words carefully lest we light up the entire nation.
- All our institutions that are involved in the electoral process must work over time to win the confidence of the people: The Police, the Judiciary, the media, the provincial administration must assure our citizens that they will be competent and non partisan. So far, the Judiciary is doing all the right things in this direction.
- In the end, it will all be up to the Electoral and Boundaries Commission. The IEBC must convince the voters that it is non partisan and that it has the competence to manage this election.
- It is the IEBC that will be responsible for the printing and distribution of ballot papers. This has to be foolproof and transparent.
- It will be up to IEBC to ensure there are no ghost voters and that the voters’ roll is not doctored. All voters who have registered must find their names in the roll on voting day.
- IEBC will have to ensure the accreditation of credible international observer teams and media in a credible and transparent manner and grant them the access they need to monitor the process.
- The Commission will have to ensure that there is no use of state resources to finance the party campaigns; that there is no bribery and coercion during the campaigns and on voting day.
- Kenyans look up to the IEBC to ensure credible vote counting and tallying. So much is at stake for our country. We cannot afford to fail again. I believe that if we take all these steps, Kenyans will have free, fair and peaceful polls. And we shall walk with our heads high again.
Very apt and very timely advise to the IEBC, which has already shown worrying signs of failure in the abortive BVR solution tender. The IEBC has gone further and surrendered its independence to the executive. The IEBC still has a chance to redeem itself and reclaim its credibility. One hopes Chairman Isaak Hassan and his commissioners are up to the task. The comforting words of the prime minister are in sharp contrast to those of the Kibaki who opted to launch indirect attacks on coalition partners at a peace conference. It is sad and unfortunate and shocking that someone who has no legacy worth talking about apart from needless deaths of Kenyans can make use presidential platform to brush aside the need for credible polls and the assure citizens of smooth handover. Sweeping the electoral events of 2007 under the carpet is a face saving tactic. Our eyes are open and carefully observing the IEBC. Time will tell.
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