Cord leader Raila Odinga's grand scheme for Okoa Bill handover

CORD Leader Raila Odinga when he met ODM Members of Parliament at his Nairobi office on October, 28

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) is to launch a 30-day final leg of campaigns that will culminate in their submission to the electoral commission of a draft Bill to amend the Constitution.

The Okoa Kenya Movement will hold a rally in Mombasa on Sunday and thereafter announce a programme of rallies and town hall meetings across the country leading to handing over “in about a month” of the draft Bill to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

These public meetings will mark the final phase of signature collection and discussion of the issues before the Bill on referendum goes to IEBC.

Meanwhile, governors spearheading a separate referendum push have unveiled their draft Bill that they plan to finalise by next month.

CORD leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga revealed the plan for the campaigns when he met a group of MPs at his offices in Nairobi. Later in the afternoon, Raila visited the Senate to observe proceedings and thereafter addressed the media, emphasising the need for Parliament to obey court orders. (see separate story)

The Opposition leaders were to launch their final leg of campaign on Saturday in Lamu, but were forced to cancel it and join mourners at the burial of Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto’s daughter, which was on the same day.

Raila said the Oka Kenya Committee of Experts will join local politicians in Mombasa on Sunday to explain the issues to MCAs and popularise the referendum drive.

KEY ISSUES

From Mombasa, the team will move to different parts of the country in a campaign that will take about a month before the team takes the Bill to IEBC.

Although the movement says it has gathered the requisite one million signatures, the Bill will be submitted to the IEBC either in late December or early January to give an opportunity to any groups that may want to give their input.

Last week, Raila and his co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka met a group of church leaders who gave their views on the referendum. CORD has identified land reforms, inclusivity, devolution and security reforms as some of the key issues to be tackled and expects to expand the issues once all groups have presented their views.
The MPs included Agostino Neto (Ndhiwa), Millie Odhiambo (Mbita), Ken Okoth (Kibra), Abdullahi Diriye (Wajir South) and Rachel Ameso of Kakamega County. They also met Okoa Kenya Movement’s Committee of Experts and Secretariat officials for a briefing on the status of the collection of signatures.

They declared their commitment to join the new push starting this weekend to collect more signatures and explain the issues to citizens. The former PM said the campaign is entering a critical stage as the Committee of Experts is finalising the Bill, which will be taken to IEBC and later to county assemblies.

“Books are coming back for verification of signatures and the Bill is being drafted. The issues will then be much clearer and we want to prepare the ground for massive explanation of the issues,” Raila said.

He said the Okoa Kenya campaign is much more complex because it touches on multiple issues.

“We are not talking just about money when we talk about devolution. We want some security functions devolved. We have to tackle land, inclusivity and electoral reforms. The Committee of Experts is working to ensure the complex issues are clear. Then we will be counting on the politicians to take the message to the people,” Raila said.

He asked voters to be wary of jubilee pledge to increase funding to the counties once the Public Accounts Committee completes audit of reports. “Jubilee wants to increase funding through a Bill, but it can easily be repealed. What we want to do is make the amount spelt out is in the Constitution so that whoever wants to change it must go to the people,” Raila said.

Both the Okoa Kenya and Pesa Mashinani want revenue allocation to be set at 45 per cent of the national revenue with 40 per cent going to governors and five per cent as a ward development kitty.

Governors also want the Sh3.4 billion equalisation fund placed under their control, a proposal that opens up a fight with members of the National Assembly who have claimed the kitty. The draft Bill also proposes to make it harder for the National Assembly to revise allocations passed by the Senate under the Division of Revenue Bill.