County system is party's, not DPM, idea

Delegates system, world over, is used by political parties to nominate flag bearers, though it varies in terms of actual methods. The US, for instance, uses the caucus method, where party officials become the Electoral College or ordinary party members vote and the winner is known State-by-State.

Here, Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi is championing ODM sub-branch officials to become the Electoral College at the counties. He wants each county to have 60 officials from sub-branches (constituencies). The county delegates will therefore be 60 times the number of sub-branches.

The largest county Kakamega, with nine sub-branches, will have 540 delegates voting through secret ballot at the county level. Lamu, the smallest, with two sub-branches, will have 120. Therefore, the 210 constituencies will produce 12,600 delegates.

DPM’s stand is simple and candid: Let the 58 (20 mainstream, 19 women and 19 youth) ODM officials at the sub-branches become the Electoral College and vote at that level. The voting will be through secret ballot and probably supervised by IEBC. There will be only 47 polling stations voting on the same day and the method is more cost-effective.

At no time has Mudavadi claimed to be the originator of this method as claimed by an ODM leader on a recent national TV talk show. He is merely articulating a method already proposed by the party National Executive Committee and the Parliamentary Group and approved by the National Governing Council. It is also the preference of grassroots officials.

The only prudent thing is to ratify the method at National Delegates Conference, and anyone opposed to the method is hypocritical and reneging on a democratic process. 

Unrepresentative system

The party constitution provides for about eight delegates from each constituency totalling to 1,680. Although ODM has 20 youth and 20 women officials at every sub-branch, the current method will only make them passengers as only one youth and woman can go to the NDC.

Political parties prefer to ferry  selected officials from the branches to a central place to vote. The system has proven to be illogical, unrepresentative, and is open to abuse.

ODM has been fashioning itself on the US system of nomination where the largest number possible of officials participate in decision-making. There is no greater decision in a party than how to choose its flag bearer. We are also a party of devolution. The more officials involved, the greater the commitment to and ownership of the presidential candidate.

It is with this wisdom that ODM embarked on review of the constitution to align it to the Constitution of Kenya, the Electoral Act and the Political Parties Act 2011.

The county system was endorsed by the NGC in October 2010 at Bomas of Kenya after it had been proposed and passed by the NEC and the Parliamentary Group in Naivasha.

The system was among a bundle of amendments to the party constitution. The same organs changed the party branch from the constituency to the county. County voting is not an imposition but a recognised party policy to devolve decision-making within ODM. The prudent thing to do is ratify it during the forthcoming NDC if ratification is the problem.

To say the county nomination system is awaiting the NDC is to practice double standards. Yes, the NDC must ratify all the party decisions, but it has not met to ratify the change of branch from the constituency to the county yet it has been implemented. To argue that NDC has to change the method before it becomes applicable it’s like telling the Registrar of Political Parties the recent ODM grassroots elections are illegal since NDC has not ratified change of branch structure.

County system is preferred because it demonstrates ODM’s commitment to tenets of democracy and devolution, enhances internal democracy and expands participation and decision-making. It is also foolproof and transparent because officials who will become the Electoral College are known to each other.

The method also expands commitment and ownership of the presidential candidate by the party members. It gives aspirants at lower level confidence in free, fair and transparent nominations.

Claims Mudavadi is sponsored are the kind of propaganda we must avoid. It is more ridiculous and dishonest when it comes from ODM.

{Kibisu Kabatesi, Director of Communications in the office of Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Local Government}

 

Professionals failing us on reform agenda

 

The exchange rate of the shilling against the US dollar was below 70 when President Kibaki took over the reigns at State House. The rate rose to a high of Sh107 to the dollar last year and there are no signs that we are overcoming this eratic trend.

It would be morally unfair to imagine that some guys were actually using this market trend  to raise money for their political campaigns. There seems to exist cartels that are hell bent on benefitting from such monetary fluctuations.

Unfortunately, the leaders in charge sit pretty as wananchi suffer from the political manuvaers rather than offering solutions.

Leaders in Central Bank and the Treasury must accept responsibility of last year’s woes of the shilling. That they watched with reluctant response as the unit performed a record low against the dollar and as Kenyans paid the price is unacceptable.

{Richard Korir, Nairobi}

 

Gross condemnation of ‘Nyeri sisters’ bad batters

After recent reports that some husbands were beaten by their wives in Nyeri, there are stereotypes that the region’s women are spouse batters. This is misguided.

Let each person carry own cross. That few elements misbehaved does not imply no women in the community are good, respectful and loving to their husbands. Let’s stop blanket condemnation of our Nyeri sisters.

Kenyans must learn to stay away from worthless stereotypes against communities which could lead to tribal hatred and marginalisation.

Just as Kambas are believed to practise witchcraft but not all of them are witches, not all Nyeri women are husband batterers.

{James Wanzala, Nairobi}

 

Football management can give Stars lifeline

I join other football fans to congratulate Zambian national team for winning the Africa Cup of Nations finals against Côte d’Ivoire.

Fate structured a young squad of players with little or no recognition across the globe who edged out the mighty in the tournament. No one predicted a win for the side before the final whistle.

At the same time, I hope our Harambee Stars’ managers have picked a lesson or two from the victorious Chipolopolo.

It has now been proved a well managed team, a disciplined squad and a collective responsibility geared towards productive results is all that is needed for Harambee Stars to walk its path to destiny.

{Sammy Lutta, Kitale}

Recent court rulings lacking objectivity

Our Society is structured in levels of the advantaged and disadvantaged, the rich and the poor, the producers and the consumers.

This class system has its challenges, often creating room for friction requiring arbitration. The need for arbitration is the justification for the existence of courts, but a big question mark hangs over their dedication to serve Kenyans.

Going by some of the rulings our courts have given lately, one is left wondering whose interests they serve and whether the ‘independence of the Judiciary’ is merely a phrase to impress.

Ordinarily, courts must dispense justice. For instance, I doubt the objectivity of a court ruling that rescinded Government ban on packaging of alcohol in plastic bottles.

Alcohol retailers are notorious for injecting poisonous substances into plastic bottles to enhance potency. The results have been death, blindness and paralysis. Adulterated brews have also ruined families.

The courts, in this case, failed as custodians of the law and favoured the rich and powerful in the society.

Recently, the nation was thrown into an uneasy suspense by a  ruling that elections should be held in March 2013.

Another ruling banned public debate on the eligibility of Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta and Eldoret North MP William Ruto to contest the presidency. Here, the court deliberately infringed on our constitutional right to freedom of expression.

City and municipal councils are unable to control the haphazardly sprouting illegal buildings lacking in basic amenities conducive for habitation. Some of these houses are occupied before they are certified safe for occupation because developers can get injunctions favourable to them at the bat of an eyelid. The end result of this has been massive deaths in collapsed flats. Courts have also greatly contributed to merciless evictions, rendering hundreds of thousands homeless .

We have seen people who have abused their offices run to court to stop the wheels of justice. We know of people who laugh all the way to the bank secure in the knowledge their little indiscretions can be well taken care of by the courts.

Courts must not work at cross purposes with society if they want to maintain their relevance. We can no longer view the Judiciary as sacrosanct if its decisions are questionable by a discerning public.

{Alexander Chagema, Kakamega}

Feedback

Could Party of Action be the epitome of change?

Raphael Tuju’s Party of Action that was launched on Sunday at KICC in Nairobi could offer the change Kenya has been yearning for since the reform crusade began.

Listening to Tuju’s speech, one would note the leader is a firm believer in positive change for the growth and development of the country and a person whose integrity is above reproach.

The mainstream parties have a lot to emulate from this young party ideals to sell to the electorate, which stand for change and embody the will and aspirations of majority of the Kenyan voters — the youth.

POA promises to tackle long-standing problems that suppress growth and development and we hope it delivers exactly that.

{Salome Nashipai, Nakuru}

Perhaps, Tuju and group should answer the question: Will their party have the mettle, ability, charisma and character to unite Kenyans, provide visionary leadership second-to-none and provide the change that the country desperately yearns for?

We have seen political parties with ideologies dressed up like a gorgeous bride awaiting the groom to slide the ring, only to shed this façade revealing their true harlot personas after their candidates get to office.

Reforms must be founded on a solid foundation of action-driven politics and visionary leadership that serves all Kenyans regardless of ethnic or regional affiliation.

His party must prove to the electorate beyond a shadow of doubt, that indeed it is possible to have a political outfit that defies the commonplace political arrangements that most present parties epitomise, to have a distinctively lead and founded political party to serve us.

Virginia Thara, Runyenjes