Manifesto contests to shape up politics

Competition among political parties based on manifestoes is a healthy development.

Past elections have seen parties use ‘primitive energy’ with devastating results. The 2007 General Election witnessed an explosion of negative energies leaving death and destruction of property in its wake. Will the country do things differently this time?

Reports appearing in the media that there is an emerging fierce contest of policies between Orange Democratic Movement and United Democratic Forum is a welcome development. This should bring on board all other parties.

Kenyans would want to know which of the parties has more creative and pragmatic policies for fixing what is ailing the country. Kenya has the brains and natural resources to join the league of newly industrialised nations.

Personality attacks which characterised previous polls have made ours a delicate democracy. Character assassination only serves to drive a wedge between the citizens. It takes the nation away from real issues that count in national building. That should not be allowed to happen in the new era of democracy and responsible leadership.

Our new Constitution has set the bar a bit too high for those seeking high political office. They are required to conduct themselves with high decorum not to embarrass the public. We, starting with our leaders, must start living the values of the Constitution.

Burden to masses
Public expectation can only be comparable to the 2002 period when the voters ousted the despotic Kanu regime. Prudent management of State affairs became a norm and not an exception.

Attention shifted from governors to the governed. Leaders were supposed to serve the people of Kenya unlike the old epoch which promoted lords. Government was a burden to the masses that had to feed it.

Progressively, the ordinary folk have taken the centre stage in governance matters. How do the aspirants plan to implement essential reforms?

Attempts by MPs to arbitrarily amend the supreme law of the land to suit personal interest is a wake up call to the aspirants. Wananchi are watching to see who is for the greater national good. Whose party will stand for reforms?

Economy is the next big thing the parties will wage war on. A party with sound policies aimed at growing the fragile economy stands the best chance of winning the forthcoming elections. All the ills affecting the country are linked to a non-performing economy.

Unemployment rates are very high making the jobless youth fodder for crime and violence acts. Al Shabaab menace and armed robberies all point to a worrying trend of economic impoverishment. Which party is ready with a workable strategy to fix the economy?

By and large, the country has come a long way. The country must strive to join the ranks of newly developed countries.

A people who are scaling up the ladder of civilisation ought to do things in tandem with current trends as far as development is concerned. Kenyans are keen on moving forward not retrogressing. Hence, the reason for issue-based politics enshrined in the party manifestoes. It is up to you politicians.
{B Amaya, Nairobi}

Over the weekend, on his presidential campaign, William Ruto termed political ambitions of Roads minister Frankline Bett and Tinderet MP Henry Koskei to be Raila’s running mate as misdirection.

Although Ruto commands a lot of support in the vast Rift Valley region, he should not be seen to interfere with the duo’s ambitions. He should respect democratic and political rights of every leader in Kalenjin land. Again, it is time we moved our politics from personality-based to issue-based.
{Arnold Rono, Via Email}

Sh22b budget can guarantee credible polls

When the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission presented its bloated election budget of Sh41 billion to the Parliamentary Budget Committee and Treasury, the two shot it down on account of the amount requested and lack of funds in the national Budget.

Following the rejection, IEBC revised its budget downward to Sh35 billion and sent it back only for it to be returned for further cuts.

This time, the electoral body slashed the budget to Sh31 billion, an amount that was still too high for Treasury to afford. At Sh31 billion, the budget was three times that of South Africa’s elections which is a larger country, with a bigger economy and more registered voters. It was thus difficult to see the justification for the amount requested.

When Finance Minister Njeru Githae presented his Budget Statement to Parliament on June 14, IEBC was allocated Sh17.5 billion, which, according to Githae, was enough to hold credible elections. However, the poll body claimed the funds were insufficient. Githae said Treasury would not be reviewing the allocation to IEBC.

However, that the Treasury has carried forward Sh4.7 billion from the previous financial year and promised to give it to IEBC, the electoral body may now have no excuse for not conducting free, fair and transparent elections.

Furthermore, various donors have pledged to provide more than Sh2 billion in aid of the electoral process. This underscores the determination by the international community and investors in ensuring peaceful elections.

The coming elections thus should help erase memories of the violence that characterised the periods around the 2007 elections, which greatly dented our international image.

Even though a leaner election budget would still be appreciated, this should not be done at the expense of a credible electoral process.

In its attempt to scale down its budget, IEBC has reduced the number of polling stations and scrapped off the Sh5 billion meant for a presidential re-run. This is commendable. It is still possible to achieve free and fair elections with a reasonable budget.
{Dennis Mbae, Nairobi}