- Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga had been pushing for the creation of regional governments.
- ODM chairman John Mbadi proposed an expanded executive comprising president, deputy president and prime minister.
Image: FILE
ODM has made an about-turn over key issues it wanted to be considered for constitutional amendments.
When making its presentation to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce yesterday, it became clear that the party had dumped its quest for a parliamentary system and the creation of a three-tier system of government, which its leader Raila Odinga had rooted for to improve governance.
Raila had been at the forefront of the advocacy of a parliamentary system. A similar push in 2010 failed to materialise after a compromise decision in Naivasha made room for a pure presidential system, with Cabinet secretaries appointed from outside Parliament.
The former Prime Minister has also been pushing for the creation of regional governments, a matter that was left out by his party when it presented its proposals to the Senator Yusu Haji-led team.
In March last year, Raila, while drumming up support for regional governments, said some of the counties would do better if grouped into bigger entities. He explained that some counties are not competitive because of their smaller population and scarce resources.
Yesterday, ODM chairman John Mbadi proposed an expanded executive comprising president, deputy president and prime minister.
“As soon as possible, and in any case within 14 days after assuming office, the president shall appoint an MP from a political party having a majority of members in the National Assembly or, if no political party has a majority, who appears to have the support of the majority of the Members of Parliament, to be prime minister of the republic,” Mbadi said.
He added that the person shall not assume office until his appointment is first confirmed by a resolution of the National Assembly supported by a majority vote of the members.
The president, according to ODM’s proposal, shall appoint and may dismiss the Cabinet, including the PM, deputy prime ministers and ministers.
In a parliamentary system that Raila and the party had advocated, the party with the majority seats in Parliament would form a government to be headed by prime minister with executive powers.
When MPs headed for Naivasha in January 2010 after the Committee of Experts had completed its work, they were divided on the nature of the executive. Former President Mwai Kibaki’s side, PNU, was in favour of a presidential system with a president as head of state and government.
On the other hand, Raila’s ODM wanted a parliamentary system with a PM and ceremonial president. In this system, a prime minister would head the government and be the leader of the party with the majority of MPs.
The PNU wing led by President Uhuru Kenyatta (then Gatundu South MP), had proposed a presidential system though they had by then conceded to the possibility of a weak prime minister. The ODM wing team under the leadership of Senator James Orengo (then Ugenya MP) was committed to a parliamentary system. And in what it described as give and take, ODM accepted a pure presidential system, rejecting even the weak PM position.
Regional blocs
Yesterday, instead of calling for the creation of another tier of government as had been proposed by Raila, ODM told the BBI taskforce that regional economic blocs should be strengthened.
“We propose enactment of laws for regional blocs with conditional grants to be used to encourage better planning, reduced wastage and collaboration between counties,” Mbadi said.
It was only last month when Council of Governors chairman Wycliffe Oparanya, himself the deputy party leader of ODM, supported Coast leaders’ proposal for regional governments, saying they would boost service delivery and enhance development.
“The three-tier system should be created based on the 2005 Bomas Draft that created 14 regions,” Oparanya said.
ODM further proposed that the largest parliamentary party or coalition of parties in the National Assembly not forming the government should elect from among their MPs, the leader of the opposition.
“The Leader of the Opposition shall rank in precedence immediately following the president, the deputy president, the prime minister and the speaker,” said Mbadi, who was accompanied by secretary general Edwin Sifuna and deputy secretary general Florence Mutua.
ODM said the president shall be the head of state and government, commander-in-chief of the Kenya Defence Forces and chairperson of the National Security Council.
“The president shall liaise with the prime minister to ensure that the international obligations of the republic are fulfilled through the actions of the relevant ministers,” Mbadi added.
Maendeleo Chap Chap, on the other hand, wants Kenyans to elect president, deputy president and prime minister on a joint ticket.
Governor Mutua’s take
It also Maendeleo Chap Chap further called for the introduction of regional governments. Party leader Alfred Mutua said the three positions in the executive should be filled with people from different ethnic communities.
“We propose that the same power-sharing agreement should also apply to the devolved governments.”
He added that the three offices should be given specific portfolio and mandate to avoid duplication of work and prevent the country from having two centres of power.
The Machakos governor reiterated that the president, deputy president and the prime minister should be from the same party or coalition of parties.
“People should know if they are included in the executive arm of government when they elect the people they want in those offices,” he added.
Mutua suggested the president be given powers to fire deputy president and prime minister. “You don’t want a situation where the president is stuck with a thief. However, there must be a procedure for this because we also don’t want a president who wakes up and just fires people,” he said.
Last week, Wiper Party rooted for an expanded executive to promote inclusivity. In proposals to the taskforce, party leader Kalonzo Musyoka proposed the creation of the position of a prime minister to be appointed by the president and subject to approval by Parliament.
“The prime minister can only be dismissed by Parliament through a two-thirds majority both in the National Assembly and the Senate,” Kalonzo stated.
ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi, who made his presentation on Tuesday last week, also supported the position of PM to be appointed by the president from his or her party subject to approval by Parliament. He, however, did not give the role of the premier but said his/her responsibilities must be clearly defined.