Why referendum would be an unnecessary expense now

German philologist Friedrich Nietzsche once said; “All things are subject to interpretation whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth.”

How about we get down to some truths today? Since Saba Saba when the Opposition launched its 13-point agenda, the word referendum has not left the mouths of Kenyans in every sphere of the society. The Opposition has claimed that a referendum is the only way problems facing Kenyans today can be resolved.

Governors also announced they would hold their own referendum to entrench devolution. Gradually we have seen this effort beginning to disintegrate with Jubilee-aligned governors being first to jump ship on the grounds that that holding a plebiscite now would be premature.

The Opposition has called its referendum campaign “Okoa Kenya” while the Governors have dubbed theirs “Pesa Mashinani”. It is time Kenyans interrogated these two campaigns before blindly being thrown into another round of needless campaigns less than two years after the country carried out a General Election.

It is becoming clear that “Okoa Kenya” is a movement similar to that which birthed the Orange Democratic Movement after the 2005 elections. It is clearly designed to create a political contest between the incumbent and the Opposition with the aim of slowing down the government and preparing the groundwork for the 2017 elections.

For “Pesa Mashinani”, it is evident that the principle is guided by the Governors’ desire to ensure that devolution is entrenched and works. Devolution is a great idea and it is working very well. However, to tighten the framework which underpins the devolution process governors must look for less expensive avenues than a full election-style campaign.

“Pesa Mashinani” calls for more money to go to county coffers. While this is something we all wish for, it is also important that we audit whether the county governments have the capacity to handle more functions.

The challenges county governments have faced must act as experiences in the learning curve from which we can draw lessons. Already, counties are facing difficulties in handling the health sector.

The proposal by The National Alliance party to have a committee of MPs, MCAs, Senators and Governors interrogate the issues raised by Kenyans is a step in the right direction. It is clear that all avenues have not been exhausted before we move to amend the less than five-year-old Constitution.

Going back to the Opposition, Cord and its leadership must for be satisfied with this role and look at lobbying its members in the Legislature in parliament and county assemblies to tackle its concerns.

Looking at some issues raised by “Okoa Kenya” such as corruption and insecurity, any sober Kenyan will tell you that there exist institutions that, if well utilised, can help in dealing with them. Kenyans must also be careful about the dangers that come with security being controlled from several centres.

This opens the security apparatus to abuse. What will stop “rogue” Governors from using security forces as “private armies” against their political rivals and non-supporters?

In 2008, we sent the entire electoral commission home because some were not happy in how it had handled the 2007 presidential elections. We then through the 2010 Constitution, put in place the IEBC and defined the electoral process that saw the opposition go to the Supreme Court to challenge the 2013 elections result.

Are we saying that every time that someone loses the presidential election, we have to disband the electoral commission? The issues raised by Cord over IEBC are administrative rather than legal and do not need a referendum. At the end of the day, we have one country to live in. We have a national government and 47 county governments that must be allowed to work without being distracted with an unnecessary political contest.