Political goodwill can end referendum push

Even though the President has pointed out that the country does not need a referendum at this point in time, we cannot lose sight of the fact that the Government's stand on vital national issues is the sole reason why the country finds itself at a crossroads.

The roles of Government and the Opposition are meant to be complementary to each other, but lately there has been a lot of mistrust and animosity between the two.

There are issues the Jubilee administration has done well to address, but it is also apparent that from the time it took over Government business, the country has experienced myriads problems. From insecurity, hunger and the rising cost of living to rampant unemployment and skewed public appointments, the Jubilee administration has had its fair share of bad luck.

Calls for national dialogue to deliberate over issues impacting negatively on citizens were trashed by the Government that used its five-year mandate as defence to kill the clamour. It clearly did not see the need for dialogue with the Opposition, which was perceived to be working to overthrow the Government through unconstitutional means.

The Opposition denied this and stated the ouster of the Government was not on its agenda, having accepted the Supreme Court's ruling in March, which upheld Uhuru Kenyatta's election as President.

Beyond the Opposition, governors too, feel short-changed. They have stated their displeasure with the passage of the County Development Board Bill into law. This Bill relegates them to second position in the county development board rankings.

They want the Government to increases county revenue allocations to 45 per cent of the national budget. The standoff between the Government, senators and governors has given birth to calls for another referendum.

The State has reacted by threatening governors affiliated to Jubilee with dire consequences if they persist with calls for a referendum. But threats will not solve anything. The most sensible thing is for the Government to acknowledge that we have issues that must be solved, view the Opposition as partners in developing the country and call for dialogue.

If both parties would sober up, the need for a referendum can be overridden for the good of the country.