Expect radical changes in law soon, says Raila

African Union envoy Raila Odinga speaking after a meeting with ODM delegates at Posta grounds in Kisumu on December 7th 2018. (Collins Oduor, Standard)

Opposition leader Raila Odinga has told Kenyans to brace for radical constitutional changes next year aimed at improving governance and service delivery.

Raila said he was not happy that eight years after the promulgation of the Constitution in 2010, the laws have failed to ensure unity of Kenyans, equity and tame corruption.

“We have not yet crossed the bridge even after we enacted new laws which were expected to put an end to repression and exclusion,” he said in Kisumu on Friday. Raila wondered why some leaders were focused on the next General Election when the teething problems that cause electoral chaos had not been resolved.

“We cannot assume that the electoral laws and the executive structure is good enough to go into another election, without foreseeing any trouble,” he said.

He said some leaders pursue fame and fortune relentlessly but are blind to the pitfalls that lay before them.

“But if we understand that retreating is another way to progress, we can simply turn around and take another route. By taking one step back, the horizon becomes more wide and open,” he said.

He announced that they will look into reasons that spark chaos every General Election cycle.

“We cannot do the same thing, the same way all the times and expect similar results. We have to retreat, retrace our steps and make necessary changes,” the NASA leader added. To date, the envisaged law reforms are yet to take place due to differences in the two levels of government.

While Articles 6 and 189 provide for co-operation and consultation between the national and counties on sharing national resources and administration, this is not running well.

Raila has proposed the establishment of a three-tier government to address challenges posed by devolution.

The NASA leader explained that one of the reasons that compelled him and President Uhuru Kenyatta to shake hands for the sake of unity was constitutional reforms.

He urged residents to turn up in large numbers next week to welcome the President who will be visiting Kisumu to launch Universal Health Care (UHC) project.

Kisumu is one of the counties picked to pilot the UHC programme. So far, Governor Peter Anyang Nyong’o said they had registered 240,000 people. “This marks a major milestone in our quest to boost primary health care,” Prof Nyong’o said.  

[email protected]