President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga will on Monday, August 18, co-chair a joint parliamentary group meeting.
The meeting will bring together lawmakers from the Kenya Kwanza leaders allied to the President and those from the ODM party.
The meeting, to be held under the framework of the broad-based government partnership, will discuss strategies to strengthen national unity, implement joint policies, and advance the 10-point MoU signed by the two parties in March this year.
It will also follow up on the work of the recently unveiled five-member technical committee overseeing the MoU’s implementation.
“On Monday, we are going to have a broad-based government meeting between lawmakers from ODM and Kenya Kwanza to agree on strong mechanisms to unite the country and push it forward,” Ruto said Thursday in Migori when he met the grassroots leaders.
He added, “We (ODM and Kenya Kwanza) agreed to work together to create a country that is for every Kenyan and come up with policies that bring in more income to our nation.”
National Assembly Minority Leader Junet Mohamed confirmed the meeting, saying they will discuss common issues that will ensure the country moves forward.
“We are going to discuss agendas that will take the country forward, including helping communities affected by recent protests,” he said.
The five-member committee formed to oversee the implementation of a 10-point agenda and the NADCO report is chaired by Agnes Zani.
It has Fatuma Ibrahim, Kevin Kiarie, Gabriel Oguda, and Javas Bigambo serving as members.
A joint secretariat, co-led by executive secretaries from both UDA and ODM, has also been established “to support the Committee’s operations.”
The statement signed by Ruto and Raila noted that the committee “will be fully funded and facilitated by both UDA and ODM” and will undertake “inclusive and extensive consultations with members of the public and all relevant stakeholders.''
These include the arms of government, government departments, independent commissions, civil society, religious institutions, and the private sector to ensure that the MoU’s implementation reflects “diverse perspectives” and addresses “the needs and aspirations of all Kenyans.”
The committee has also commenced its work and is set to submit progress reports to the two principals every two months.
The report will also be submitted quarterly to a joint Kenya Kwanza–ODM Parliamentary Group.
