Government interfering with operations of anti-corruption agency, Raila says

CORD leader Raila Odinga with Kisumu senator Prof Anyang' Ny'ongo during the swearing in of Chairman Japheth Omolo Kamanyala as the Luo Council of Elder for Nyakach in Urudi Nyakach constituency Kisumu. PHOTO: COLLINS ODUOR

KISUMU: Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader Raila Odinga has accused the Jubilee Government of infiltrating independent institutions and interfering with their work.

Raila singled out the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) as being compromised by the government. He expressed his displeasure that EACC did not find fault with Devolution Cabinet Secretary Anne Waiguru over the loss of millions of shillings  in her ministry and instead handed recommendations for the overhaul National Youth Service (NYS) to her.

Last week, EACC presented Waiguru with proposals for a complete overhaul of the NYS to transform its operations.

Receiving the proposals, the Cabinet Secretary said she had no choice but to comply with the recommendations.

“The recommendations are tough. There is need for a complete overhaul of the processes and systems we need to automate, in terms of revenue collection, to see how to build a human resource capacity,” she told the press after receiving the report from EACC Chief Executive Officer Halakhe Waqo and Deputy Secretary Michael Mubea at the Kenya School of Monetary Studies.

Waiguru expressed optimism that the ministry would beat the four-week timeline the commission had given NYS to implement the recommendations.

But speaking at Urudi village in Nyakach, Kisumu County, during the installation of Omolo Kanyamala as Nyakach branch chairman of the Luo Council elders Friday, Raila said Waiguru should not be overseeing operations at the ministry because there would be a conflict of interest.

He said   the Okoa Kenya initiative  can help  untangle the country from the current mess.

“I have on many occasions spoken about the state of the economy and Jubille said all was well. But it has now dawned on them that the country requires a bail out and that is why they have approached the World Bank and IMF for money,” Raila said. “The Government must tell Kenyans which infrastructural projects were implemented by the Eurobond. Jubilee is overborrowing, overstealing and overspending.”

He asked Nyanza residents to register as voters in large numbers to enable CORD win the presidency in 2017.

“You must be armed with your national identity card as your gun and voter’s card as your bullet in readiness for a big battle in 2017,” said Raila.

He said many regions had continued to be marginalised in terms of development  50 years after independence. The CORD leader asked the Jubilee government to look at events in Tanzania “going by the way a CORD friend  clinched presidency in neighbouring Tanzania”.

Raila also defended governors, saying they lack funds to deliver on the many projects they have initiated. The CORD leader claimed  President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto are not the right people to implement devolution since their support for the process has been lukewarm.

“Devolution was not good to some people, it is like snatching meat from the jaws of a hyena. That is why we are pushing for Okoa Kenya to bring more funds to counties,” said Raila.