•Someone is playing Kenyans.
Image: FAITH MUTEGI
At some point, we Kenyans must be frank to ourselves . While the intention of the handshake was to unite Kenyans after the polarising 2017 presidential election, it seem to be mutating into a political animal that needs to be tamed.
The Building Bridges Initiative task force submitted their report and instead of implementing it, we are out again nagging Kenyans to give more views.
Who are these Kenyans who were left out?
What is happening is part of taking Kenyans in circles. The very same people who wrote the the Building Bridges Initiative report are the same ones who have been told to expand the views of Kenyans.
Which Kenyans, yet they went round the country - all the 47 counties collecting the views from members of the public on the nine issues that had been identified. They told us they had wide consultations with Kenyans of varied religion, political party affiliations, the civil society, farmers and professional bodies, now we are being told that the team should expand the views.
Someone is playing Kenyans. What should be happening now is the implementation modalities- are we taking it directly to the people or through the elected representatives? Which other consultations is needed?
The report should be handed over to a different team altogether to come up with ways in which the report will be implemented. This report is now out and it should be a people’s driven implementation not the manner in which we seem to trying to control and commandeer how it is rolled out.
It is unfortunate that the team has been told to collect more views yet millions of Kenyans are yet to read the initial report that was launched some weeks ago. If members of the public were to give more views, how will they be incorporated into the final report?
Will the report be relaunched again? What are the terms and conditions of the task force whose mandate has been extended? These are some of the questions that need answers so that we do not set the country in fresh politics around BBI.
Expanding the Executive is not a bad idea but it should not be done with some people in mind . It should be about Kenyans and not politicians scheming on who will take this or that position.
The ANC nominated senator spoke to the Star