Sobriety needed in debate on Jubilee's scorecard

NAIROBI: The Opposition has finally responded to the president's State of the Nation address. This comes in the wake of condemnation by Jubilee legislators following the decision by Opposition MPs to interrupt the President during the delivery of the speech.

While the President painted a glossy picture of his administration's successes and plans for the future, the Opposition has termed those efforts as Jubilee propaganda; arguing that the country is bleeding from runaway corruption and needs salvaging.

The work of the Opposition in any democracy is to hold the government to account and what transpired at Laico Regency hotel on Saturday where the Opposition gave their version of State of the Nation address is democracy in action. It goes a long way to demonstrate that our democracy is alive and growing. The least that Cord supporters needed was to feel that those they elected to represent them are holding the government to account.

The Opposition has raised pertinent issues, especially on projects like the Standard Gauge Railway, whose cost rose from Sh220 billion to Sh447 billion even as a similar undertaking in Ethiopia cost much less. Initially, it was estimated a kilometre of the SGR would cost Kenya $6.6 million compared to $4.9 million in Ethiopia. These, and many others, are issues the Jubilee administration needs to address without resorting to the usual name-calling and grandstanding. Kenya remains imperfect and all political sides, we believe, work for the good of all Kenyans.

Criticism makes politics competitive and worthwhile, but despite this, what is Cord's role in governance? Is it giving the public a good alternative or is all they care about being them, rather than Jubilee, seated at the high table? As we head to the 2017 elections, voters should feel that they have a credible alternative that gives them a good choice.