- Taskforce to steer the next phase of the reform process.
- It will be involved in expanding and guiding public participation and structuring recommendations into implementable action plans.
The BBI commissioners have had their terms extended.
President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga are keen to avoid intense lobbying that would have been triggered by the creation of a team of experts.
After a meeting at State House, Nairobi, on Wednesday evening, Kenyatta announced the extension, barely two weeks after the much-anticipated report was unveiled.
“The President and the Rt. Hon. Raila Odinga thanked the team for putting together a report that captures the aspirations of Kenyans and requested the taskforce to continue leading the BBI process,” State House spokesperson Kanze Dena said in a statement on Thursday.
The extension has no timeframe and neither did Dena indicate what is expected of the team at the end of their term.
The Star established the term was extended because politicians keen to exert influence on the proposals would have paralysed the initiative.
“The terms of the team will be redefined afresh with time. The timelines will also be issued at a later date,” said a source, who did not want to be named.
The source indicated that the BBI will engage experts of their choice in synthesising the report into a bill or bills that can be presented to Parliament or that can be shaped into a referendum question.
Dena said the taskforce will take charge of the reform process. The team will guide public participation and develop the recommendations into implementable action plans.
After the launch of the BBI report on November 27, Kenyatta announced that a national convention would be held in January to address contentious proposals. It is expected that after the convention, a committee of legal experts would be constituted to prepare the final draft Bill.
Politicians are, however, divided on how the report should be implemented. Some want the report implemented through a referendum but others want it to go the parliamentary way.
The report recommended a non-executive Prime Minister as leader of government business in the National Assembly with the positions of President and Deputy President retained in their current form
Uhuru and Raila have been rallying Kenyans to read and understand the contents of the report.
Mt Kenya MPs, on the other hand, have prepared a month-long schedule that they will use in January to educate the region on the report. It followed a two-day retreat that was held in Embu bringing together 57 MPs from Mt Kenya and its diaspora.
And only a week ago, Deputy President William Ruto has called for quick implementation of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report. Ruto said he does not care if the report is taken to the Parliament or if a referendum is conducted.
He said no one is against the BBI report but the main focus should be on developing the country and improving the lives of Kenyans.
The 14-member team was gazetted in May last year. It traversed all the 47 counties to collect opinions on the main challenges facing the country, among them electoral violence. It was to conclude its work within one year but had its term extended.