NAIROBI: The 2010 Constitution may have had an overwhelming support among Kenyans but I will submit that the document was seriously flawed in several aspects.
The drafters were keener on clipping the powers of an imperial presidency more than the factors that would lead to its successful implementation. While significantly dismantling the status quo, the drafters forgot the cost factor. The current law is utterly expensive to implement. The economy is bleeding from demands of a rising population, need for infrastructural development and provision of basic human rights such as access to health, education and security.
The bitter fact is that we were under pressure to pass the new laws. Even top notch lawyers in Parliament at the time and most of whom are now in the Senate, have confessed that they didn’t know how some clauses passed.
Ground should be laid in 2016 for the defective laws in our Constitution to be repealed. The Kibaki administration left a legacy of enacting the new laws. The Jubilee government has an opportunity to leave a legacy of correcting the defects borne out of political opportunism of yester years.
Unfortunately, those propagating for constitutional change are just doing it to enhance or salvage their political ambitions. The Okoa Kenya drive by the opposition is merely seeking to throw mud at the government. The Boresha Katiba Initiative by a section of my Jubilee colleagues in Parliament is a pale shadow of an outfit that can ably drive a process of such magnitude. The magnanimity of the desired Constitution change requires the President and Parliament to take charge and form an all-inclusive constitutional amendment team. This matter must be protected from being turned into a theatre of Jubilee-CORD grandstanding.
To remain true to the spirit of devolution, we should retain economic devolution but rethink political and administrative devolution. The disconnect between the 47 county governments and the national government should be fixed. There should be a clear reporting link to the Executive as they are inferior to the Presidency.
President Kenyatta should unite the various political voices for constitutional amendment. With a pragmatic approach and understanding of the need for reforms, it should be manageable to bring the opposition on board. I can hear voices within Jubilee who want change but fear being seen as sympathetic to the opposition. This is where the goodwill of the President can work wonders — by making it an all- inclusive affair.
Finally, we cannot anchor our future on a defective document.
The Standard Group Plc is a
multi-media organization with investments in media platforms spanning newspaper
print operations, television, radio broadcasting, digital and online services. The
Standard Group is recognized as a leading multi-media house in Kenya with a key
influence in matters of national and international interest.
join