Mudavadi cautions MCAs against violence

Musalia Mudavadi. [File, Standard]

Cabinet Prime Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has warned Members of County Assembly (MCAs) against engaging in violence ahead of next year’s general election.

He cautioned that violence would disrupt the peace that Kenyans currently enjoy across the country.

Mudavadi, who is also the Foreign and Diaspora Affairs Cabinet Secretary, said without peace, there would be disruption, making the lives of the people difficult.

“We must have an economic value of peace if we want to continue developing without any disruption by violent activities,” said Mudavadi.

He said this yesterday in Mombasa while opening a conference for leaders of county assemblies from across the country.

Mudavadi also warned MCAs against sabotaging investments in their wards, saying such behaviour among some leaders was not helping the counties to develop.

“You must embrace peace and distinguish between stability and violence. Do not encourage violence as we head towards the general election. We want Kenya to continue being a good example in the world where democracy thrives," he said.

He insisted time had come when leaders must remain united against those who wanted to disrupt peace in the country, must respect the law, and be held accountable for what they are doing.

The CS said it was only in Kenya where a presidential election had been nullified in recent history, and Kenyans remained peaceful and went to the polls without any problem.

He said Kenya was one of the most democratic countries in the world, insisting this should not be disrupted because of the election.

“Do not behave like a trade unionist whose focus is only on limited areas of his or her interest,” said Mudavadi.

The CS said any reasonable leader in the country must focus his energy on improving the lives of his people by initiating development in their wards instead of engaging in violence to get leadership.

He advised the MCAs to ensure they were not undermining the growth of the private sector, as they were making an impact economically at the ward levels

Mudavadi assured the MCAs that there was hope that they would soon have retirement benefits for those who have served more than one term.

“The Bill touching on retirement benefits of MCAs is already in parliament. It is in the second reading,” said Mudavadi.

During the meeting, Principal Secretary, State Department of Children Services, Ms. Caren Agengo, asked MCAs to develop policies that will govern the running of child care centres in the counties.

She said this will protect children’s welfare after the establishment of the child care centres in every county.

“County assemblies should set standards and coordinate the child protection services in every county, as it has been established that there are child care centres for children from 0 to three years who have been abandoned by their youthful mothers,” said Agengo.