By JOSEPH MASHA
Kilifi County
A nine-member committee has been formed in Kilifi County to propose names of those to be in the vetting panel for political aspirants in the area.
The formation of the committee, headed by Mr Boniface Mwamuye, was co-ordinated by an Inter-Community Leaders Forum composed of members from the seven sub-tribes of the Mijikenda community and area civil society networks.
According to Kashero Chinyaka, the two groups elected officials of the task force who are required to receive names of people of integrity, their CVs, scrutinise their track records and short-list the most competent.
Mr Chinyaka was addressing members of the committee at Pekele Hotel in Kilifi during a meeting to discus matters of good governance.
He informed the groups that their organisations have no constitutional right to block any aspirant from contesting for any political seat, but said they have powers to conduct civic education. "Constitutionally no organisation can bar anybody intending to contest for a certain political seat, but they can conduct civic education, giving the voters details of the aspiring candidates, including their corruption status and track records," said Chinyaka.
A civil society member, Daniel Mwayaya, said the inter-community leaders forum and the civil societies network in Kilifi have an obligation to educate their people on issues touching on good leadership and governance.
Mr Mwayaya said Kilifi County and Coast in general had lagged behind in development since Kenya got Independence and blamed poor leadership.
Lagged behind
"Coast region and Kilifi County have lagged behind in development for many years and the problem should be blamed on the leaders we have been electing, as they have not been fighting for the people’s rights," said Mwayaya.
Dorothy Chome said good leadership was a major concern and supported the idea of vetting all the political aspirants interested in vying in Kilifi County.
Mrs Chome said all elected leaders will have to check their performance to ensure they fulfill their voters’ needs. "Vetting and monitoring of our political leaders is the only solution to addressing poor leadership," she said
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