Post by mwalimumkuu on Jun 3, 2017 5:35:13 GMT 3
Sunday 28th May 2017 marked the start of the official campaign period in readiness for the 2017 elections. Everything remaining constant, in two very short months, Kenyans will troop to the voting booths to elect their leaders. Like the case was in 2013, two major forces Jubilee and NASA have emerged as the front runners for both presidential as well as legislative and regional (devolved) elective positions. As fate would have, it will be a repeat match between Uhuru Kenyatta, the current president and Raila Odinga, who will be trying to become president of Kenya for a record fifth time. The first time Raila Odinga tried to become president was when he and a few disgruntled airmen and a handful university students tried to topple the civilian government of the then President Daniel Moi in August 1982. Their effort was unsuccessful, leaving many innocent Kenyans dead and property destroyed especially in Nairobi. It also led to the incarceration of Raila Odinga together with several other accomplices.
Raila Odinga would later try his luck in a democratic process in 1997, but came a distant fourth behind the eventual winner Moi, Matiba and Kibaki. He tried again in 2007 and lost to Kibaki and led demonstrations that left more than 1300 people dead and property worth of billions destroyed and hundreds of families displaced. The mayhem and demonstrations only stopped after he was made Prime Minister following the formation of a coalition government with Kibaki as president. He would later try again against his then Deputy Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 and lost badly, in an election that Raila has maintained was rigged despite all evidence from the supreme court of Kenya and all electoral observers pointing to a free, fair, credible and legitimate election. Uhuru Kenyatta on the other hand will be running for president for the third time. He first tried in 2002 on a KANU ticket and lost to Mwai Kibaki. He later ran again in 2013 and won. He will therefore be defending the seat and seeking a second term in August 2017.
The two sides (government led by Uhuru under Jubilee and opposition led by Odinga under NASA) will be standing on many issues that will hopefully define the race and aid Kenyans in making their choices. The Jubilee formation, like all other incumbents will be defending their four-year record even as they expound on their vision moving forward. In 2013, they ran on a transformational platform with infrastructure, health and education reform, national cohesion and women and youth empowerment standing out as the main pillars of their wider program.
They have so far had several successes and misses within the time they have been in power. The roll out of devolution was the biggest undertaking of the administration early on, seeing new governance structures put in place, devolving all functions as envisaged in the constitution and empowering the devolved units to function. This was delivered way ahead of time stipulated in the statutes. The budgets for the devolved units was upped from the minimum 15% to 35% by the third year of the administration to enable the units to adequately play their role in building the nation in line with the larger national government agenda.
On infrastructure, the Standard Gauge Railway has remained the main flagship project. With the commissioning of the Madaraka Express on 31st May 2017, Uhuru and Jubilee showcased their commitment to break new grounds and succeed where others had failed. The second phase of the project is set to commence later in the year with the aim of connecting the railway line all the way to Kisumu and late to Malaba to link with the Uganda railway into Rwanda, Burundi and DRC. This remains by a country mile, their biggest achievement so far. There have also been some major gains in land reforms with emphasis on ownership and settlement of landless especially along the cost and lately in eastern and Nairobi. Close to 3M title deeds have been issued so far.
Kenyatta and Jubilee have also invested heavily in the generation of power and connection of counties and households to the national grid. The famous One Mile Project has seen the number of households connected to the national grid quadruple alongside an ambitious project of upping the generation of energy to power upcoming industries and later enable the running of SGR wagons. On healthcare, referral hospitals have been opened in each of the counties with state of the art facilities in each. This has eased pressure on the only two facilities Kenyatta and Moi Hospitals that existed before, and allowing easier access to advanced diagnosis, treatment and other medical procedures. Maternity fee has also been scrapped, mobile clinics are being piloted and investment in medical personnel has been expanded with building of more medical training facilities, higher absorption of medical graduates into the health sector and lately improved schemes of service for doctors, nurses, clinicians etc.
A number of reforms in the education sector have also been embraced, key among them being lessening the levies imposed on households in terms of fees in lower levels of education. To enable Free Primary Education live to its original objective, the government increased capitation to all primary and secondary schools, thus scrapping all examination fees payable. Plans are afoot to scrap all tuition fees for secondary level of education beginning January 2018. The curriculum has also been reviewed, with a new curriculum complete with new structure for the lower levels of education set to be rolled out shortly. Medium level training institutions and programs are also under review and expansion. Mainstreaming ICT in the curriculum (the laptop project) is also underway. Higher education reforms are also in top gear with major investment in personnel, research, training and programming. Various women and youth programs have also been started including the NYS program, youth and women fund programs and ease of access to credit facilities and government tendering programs among others. The Galana Kulalu project and the construction and expansion of various dams across the country are meant to shore up food security and transform the agricultural sector as well.
These achievements have however not come without challenges. A few overzealous government officials have tried to take advantage of the system and syphon public money or sabotage the programs. Those who have been mentioned have had to relinquish their positions and faced the law. Several cases are still pending with the anti-corruption commission and DPP. Not even one of the five stadia promised was built, due to change in priority and heavy investment that has had to go to infrastructure. The economy has not hit the double-digit growth either due to external dynamics. This is the record, in a nutshell that Jubilee is going with to the elections.
The opposition NASA on the other hand, too will be going to mwananchi with a record, and vision that must persuade electorate. Majority of the leaders in the opposition are not new, and to a larger extend come with some baggage. Their leader Raila Odinga served in Moi government as minister, and in Kibaki government as minister and Prime minister. His running mate Kalonzo Musyoka has probably served the longest time in government among the present top politicians as a minister and later VP. Musalia Mudavadi joined government as a minister aged only 29 and went on to rise to the level of VP. Wetangula and Isaac Ruto have served as ministers for a lengthy period too. During their tenure in government, many scandals were unearthed ranging from Goldenberg to Ango Leasing, Triton, makaburi, maize, kazi kwa vijana, Tokyo etc. Many Kenyans do not therefore trust them to lead the war on corruption from the front. It is also during their tenure that most manufacturing and processing industries such Mumias sugar, Pan Paper, Rivatex, Kicomi, Kenya Railways, several banks, Kennya Re etc collapsed leading huge loss of jobs and shrinkage of the economy. Ironically, corruption and bad governance is one of the two main platforms that NASA is building its campaign on, the other being ethnicity.
Since losing power to Uhuru, NASA’s (then CORD) main agenda was to keep government in check, offer alternatives and push for a robust legislative agenda. In parliament, NASA found it difficult to get going due to a lack of clear legislative agenda and their minority status in both chambers of the house. They gave up immediately and never tried to push for anything significant in parliament. They instead opted for a broader approach and started working towards a constitutional referendum to repeal the 2010 supreme law. Their efforts dubbed Okoa Kenya became a cropper as they failed to muster the one million signatures required by law. They abandoned the entire process all together. NASA regrouped and started working on their next project, which included weekly demonstrations and violent agitation for the removal of the then IEBC commissioners. After several weeks of chaos, vandalism, destruction of property and loss of lives, the IEBC commissioners agreed to exit. Kenyans were forced to dig deeper into their pockets and pay the exiting commissioners their full dues and benefits for the yet to be completed term, and engage new commissioners to oversee the impending elections.
NASA has consistently accused Jubillee of politics of exclusion, favoritism and tribalism. Heading into the elections, therefore, NASA has weaved together a team of five (The Pentagon), and with it the slogan ‘10 Million Strong’. Each of the pentagon member is expected to bring their regional support to the formation, with the thinking that the tribal groupings from which the principals comes from, will shore up enough numbers to vanquish and exclude the tribes that are thought to be in leadership today.
The lines are therefore drawn, and the agenda and records for the two main protagonists clearly outlined. In two short months, Kenyans will be confronted with all these and will need to reflect on them and make a determination. It will be a very interesting election pitting two very distinct sides against each other. In my view, it is an easy call to make, as early as now.
~~ Mwalimumkuu @nyumbakubwa ~~
Raila Odinga would later try his luck in a democratic process in 1997, but came a distant fourth behind the eventual winner Moi, Matiba and Kibaki. He tried again in 2007 and lost to Kibaki and led demonstrations that left more than 1300 people dead and property worth of billions destroyed and hundreds of families displaced. The mayhem and demonstrations only stopped after he was made Prime Minister following the formation of a coalition government with Kibaki as president. He would later try again against his then Deputy Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013 and lost badly, in an election that Raila has maintained was rigged despite all evidence from the supreme court of Kenya and all electoral observers pointing to a free, fair, credible and legitimate election. Uhuru Kenyatta on the other hand will be running for president for the third time. He first tried in 2002 on a KANU ticket and lost to Mwai Kibaki. He later ran again in 2013 and won. He will therefore be defending the seat and seeking a second term in August 2017.
The two sides (government led by Uhuru under Jubilee and opposition led by Odinga under NASA) will be standing on many issues that will hopefully define the race and aid Kenyans in making their choices. The Jubilee formation, like all other incumbents will be defending their four-year record even as they expound on their vision moving forward. In 2013, they ran on a transformational platform with infrastructure, health and education reform, national cohesion and women and youth empowerment standing out as the main pillars of their wider program.
They have so far had several successes and misses within the time they have been in power. The roll out of devolution was the biggest undertaking of the administration early on, seeing new governance structures put in place, devolving all functions as envisaged in the constitution and empowering the devolved units to function. This was delivered way ahead of time stipulated in the statutes. The budgets for the devolved units was upped from the minimum 15% to 35% by the third year of the administration to enable the units to adequately play their role in building the nation in line with the larger national government agenda.
On infrastructure, the Standard Gauge Railway has remained the main flagship project. With the commissioning of the Madaraka Express on 31st May 2017, Uhuru and Jubilee showcased their commitment to break new grounds and succeed where others had failed. The second phase of the project is set to commence later in the year with the aim of connecting the railway line all the way to Kisumu and late to Malaba to link with the Uganda railway into Rwanda, Burundi and DRC. This remains by a country mile, their biggest achievement so far. There have also been some major gains in land reforms with emphasis on ownership and settlement of landless especially along the cost and lately in eastern and Nairobi. Close to 3M title deeds have been issued so far.
Kenyatta and Jubilee have also invested heavily in the generation of power and connection of counties and households to the national grid. The famous One Mile Project has seen the number of households connected to the national grid quadruple alongside an ambitious project of upping the generation of energy to power upcoming industries and later enable the running of SGR wagons. On healthcare, referral hospitals have been opened in each of the counties with state of the art facilities in each. This has eased pressure on the only two facilities Kenyatta and Moi Hospitals that existed before, and allowing easier access to advanced diagnosis, treatment and other medical procedures. Maternity fee has also been scrapped, mobile clinics are being piloted and investment in medical personnel has been expanded with building of more medical training facilities, higher absorption of medical graduates into the health sector and lately improved schemes of service for doctors, nurses, clinicians etc.
A number of reforms in the education sector have also been embraced, key among them being lessening the levies imposed on households in terms of fees in lower levels of education. To enable Free Primary Education live to its original objective, the government increased capitation to all primary and secondary schools, thus scrapping all examination fees payable. Plans are afoot to scrap all tuition fees for secondary level of education beginning January 2018. The curriculum has also been reviewed, with a new curriculum complete with new structure for the lower levels of education set to be rolled out shortly. Medium level training institutions and programs are also under review and expansion. Mainstreaming ICT in the curriculum (the laptop project) is also underway. Higher education reforms are also in top gear with major investment in personnel, research, training and programming. Various women and youth programs have also been started including the NYS program, youth and women fund programs and ease of access to credit facilities and government tendering programs among others. The Galana Kulalu project and the construction and expansion of various dams across the country are meant to shore up food security and transform the agricultural sector as well.
These achievements have however not come without challenges. A few overzealous government officials have tried to take advantage of the system and syphon public money or sabotage the programs. Those who have been mentioned have had to relinquish their positions and faced the law. Several cases are still pending with the anti-corruption commission and DPP. Not even one of the five stadia promised was built, due to change in priority and heavy investment that has had to go to infrastructure. The economy has not hit the double-digit growth either due to external dynamics. This is the record, in a nutshell that Jubilee is going with to the elections.
The opposition NASA on the other hand, too will be going to mwananchi with a record, and vision that must persuade electorate. Majority of the leaders in the opposition are not new, and to a larger extend come with some baggage. Their leader Raila Odinga served in Moi government as minister, and in Kibaki government as minister and Prime minister. His running mate Kalonzo Musyoka has probably served the longest time in government among the present top politicians as a minister and later VP. Musalia Mudavadi joined government as a minister aged only 29 and went on to rise to the level of VP. Wetangula and Isaac Ruto have served as ministers for a lengthy period too. During their tenure in government, many scandals were unearthed ranging from Goldenberg to Ango Leasing, Triton, makaburi, maize, kazi kwa vijana, Tokyo etc. Many Kenyans do not therefore trust them to lead the war on corruption from the front. It is also during their tenure that most manufacturing and processing industries such Mumias sugar, Pan Paper, Rivatex, Kicomi, Kenya Railways, several banks, Kennya Re etc collapsed leading huge loss of jobs and shrinkage of the economy. Ironically, corruption and bad governance is one of the two main platforms that NASA is building its campaign on, the other being ethnicity.
Since losing power to Uhuru, NASA’s (then CORD) main agenda was to keep government in check, offer alternatives and push for a robust legislative agenda. In parliament, NASA found it difficult to get going due to a lack of clear legislative agenda and their minority status in both chambers of the house. They gave up immediately and never tried to push for anything significant in parliament. They instead opted for a broader approach and started working towards a constitutional referendum to repeal the 2010 supreme law. Their efforts dubbed Okoa Kenya became a cropper as they failed to muster the one million signatures required by law. They abandoned the entire process all together. NASA regrouped and started working on their next project, which included weekly demonstrations and violent agitation for the removal of the then IEBC commissioners. After several weeks of chaos, vandalism, destruction of property and loss of lives, the IEBC commissioners agreed to exit. Kenyans were forced to dig deeper into their pockets and pay the exiting commissioners their full dues and benefits for the yet to be completed term, and engage new commissioners to oversee the impending elections.
NASA has consistently accused Jubillee of politics of exclusion, favoritism and tribalism. Heading into the elections, therefore, NASA has weaved together a team of five (The Pentagon), and with it the slogan ‘10 Million Strong’. Each of the pentagon member is expected to bring their regional support to the formation, with the thinking that the tribal groupings from which the principals comes from, will shore up enough numbers to vanquish and exclude the tribes that are thought to be in leadership today.
The lines are therefore drawn, and the agenda and records for the two main protagonists clearly outlined. In two short months, Kenyans will be confronted with all these and will need to reflect on them and make a determination. It will be a very interesting election pitting two very distinct sides against each other. In my view, it is an easy call to make, as early as now.
~~ Mwalimumkuu @nyumbakubwa ~~
of teachers at heart. And you are one of us, even if, temporarily outsourced to nyumbakubwa, the politicians pay you more for something else. Bad lessons.
better version of their history then. The deeper trick is to find out if the smart African boys too, will write up their own propaganda as the nation's history, erasing, for instance, the role of women in every chapter, or, welcome to ethnocentrism, write maligning and insulting treatises eradicating deemed lesser peoples - ---like the Ogieks of Kenya, The Twa (pygmies) of Rwanda and Congo, or the 'Hottentots' of Namibia and Botswana.
