• Raila said Eugene Wamalwa will sign the report and Karua skipped Wednesday's meeting because she's out of the country.
• The former Defence Cabinet Secretary said on Sunday he will not append his signature to the report nor seek a sitting allowance
Image: RAILA ODINGA/FACEBOOK
Azimio leader Raila Odinga has dispelled reports that the coalition principals are split over the bipartisan report with a faction having rejected it.
His remarks follow the move by former CS and member of the National Dialogue Committee Eugene Wamalwa and Azimio co-principal Martha karua distancing themselves from the team’s report over the cost of living issue.
The former Defence Cabinet Secretary said on Sunday he will not append his signature to the report nor seek a sitting allowance
“I didn’t and will not append my signature to the NADCO report and have not and will not accept any sitting allowance for the same because I believe we did not do justice to the single most important issue to Kenyans; the cost of living,” Wamalwa said while speaking at a church service in Busia County.
Karua also voiced her dissent on the report via her X handle on Sunday.
"Any purported agreement that does not immediately impact on the cost of living, electoral justice and respect for multiparty democracy is a fraud on the people and must be rejected," she said.
On Wednesday, the two leaders were conspicuously missing during Azimio’s press statement at the SKM Command Centre at which Raila gave the position of the coalition on the bipartisan report.
Their absence prompted a reporter to seek clarity from Raila on whether this was a confirmation of a split within the coalition over the report.
“No, there is no disagreement at all on this issue,” he said.
“Hon Eugene was here earlier on in the meeting of the summit, he only had to leave because he had a pressing matter he had to deal with but he approved the report as presented by the team,” he added.
“He had not been in the country when this report was being signed but he is going to append his signature on the report.”
On Karua, the former Prime Minister explained that she missed the meeting because she is currently out of the country in Somaliland.
“We had talked to her earlier today, she is in Hargeisa in Somaliland. She is travelling and she will be back around 1am this morning (Thursday) so she has no issue at all.”
The committee, chaired by Kalonzo Musyoka and Kimani Ichungw’ah presented its report on Saturday, November 25, after four months of talks at the Bomas of Kenya.
The team made several recommendations but said they failed to reach a consensus on the reduction of VAT on fuel from 16 per cent to 8 per cent and the scrapping of the housing levy.
The two issues were fronted by the Azimio camp as key drivers of the prevailing high cost of living.
Among the issues agreed on was the recommendation that all arms of government reduce their travel budgets by 50 per cent, and for the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC) to slash Daily Subsistence Allowances for State and Public Officers by 30 per cent.
The proposal for the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in liaison with the National Treasury to reduce the road maintenance levy and the anti-adulteration levy by Sh5 and Sh3 per litre respectively was also agreed on
"NADCO recommends that the National Government finalises the transfer of all devolved functions and provides for the concomitant resources to the county governments," NADCO further said.
There was also a unanimous agreement by the 10-member committee on the issue of establishment of the offices of the Prime Minister and the Leader of the Official Opposition.