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DP Ruto pours cold water on calls for a referendum

The Deputy President said the BBI debate should be anchored on solving problems for Kenyans and not on creating positions for politicians/Courtesy

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 30 – Deputy President William Ruto has rubbished calls for a referendum over the Building Bridges Initiative report, setting the stage for a political showdown.

The Deputy President said the debate on the report that was made public on Wednesday should be anchored on solving problems for Kenyans and not on creating positions for politicians.

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga is for a referendum, but the DP on Saturday said after reading the report, he has seen no need to have one since most of the recommendations can be dealt with by various levels of Government.

Speaking when he attended a church service in Nairobi, the Deputy President, however, said he is open to expert’s opinions on how the report should be implemented.

“Let it not be that 99 per cent of Kenyan’s issues can be addressed by various sections of Government can be ignored to look for jobs for one per cent,” he said.

The Deputy President said the debate on the report that was made public on Wednesday should be anchored on solving problems for Kenyans and not on creating positions for politicians.

“If there are two or three men looking for a job, we can deal with that at a later stage,” he said. “The country cannot be paralyzed because some two or three men want a job. Our first job we must create is for the millions of Kenyans”

This comes hours after the DP called for sobriety while debating the report, saying it should not “be us versus them.”

“Friends, bravado, hubris, and threats not necessary. BBI is ours all. Let’s agree on the implementation matrix. Institutions, departments, Ministries, Commissions, Parliament and Judiciary will handle relevant sections. Those requiring referenda if any be taken to people. No need for us vs them,” he said in a viral tweet on Friday.

His sentiments were shared by Senate Majority leader Kipchumba Murkomen, who accompanied him to the church.

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Senator Murkomen said most of the recommendations are already covered within President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four agenda.

“The report says we must improve our economy, create jobs for employment, create a conducive environment for our small business persons…it now requires the Government to seat down, review the Jubilee manifesto, and establish has been implemented and what is pending,” the Senator said.

“We should not shift the focus on creating jobs for the big boys and the rich. We will have committed a big mistake to the people of this country.”

Legislators Victor Munyaka and Millicent Omanga said leaders should avoid shifting the burden to Kenyans, who are already grappling with the effects of an ailing economy.

The BBI report was released to the public on Tuesday, in a launch held at the Bomas of Kenya, by President Kenyatta and the former Prime Minister, in the presence of DP Ruto.

During the launch, Amani National Congress (ANC) party leader Musalia Mudavadi has called for sobriety while debating the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report, cautioning leaders against seeing it as out to create posts for leaders.

He said any attempt to hijack the report, will be falling on a trap “again by making it look like the BBI is about sharing political positions.”

“Let us not convert the BBI (report) to a political elite document. Everybody here is talking about sharing political seats, what about motivating the civil servants, teachers, the private sector?” he said. “We are here today because there is a moment, we can seize to correct the shortcoming that were there.”

What is in the report?

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The report covers on 7 thematic areas, that focus on empowering devolution, need for a lean government that invests on the people as the central mandate, inclusive and accountable politics that will see the creation of a ceremonial Prime Minister’s position, equitable distribution of resources and ways of empowering national ethics.

In an innovative approach to fight corruption, the single threat to Kenya’s unity, economy, and resources, the report proposes that whistleblowers are rewarded with 5 percent of recovered proceeds.

The report recommends 6 measures, that the 14-member committee believes that they will help in slaying the graft dragon, which has seen billions of taxpayer’s resources embezzled.

On protecting the Judiciary independence, the report recommends that there is an effort to ensure “Increased public confidence in the Judiciary, by recognizing that the core constitutional principles in Kenya are the separation of powers, between arms of Government, and accountability to the people of Kenya. The independence of the Judiciary must be protected as a fundamental principle, and it should also be accountable to the people of Kenya.”

On the creation of a Prime Minister’s seat, the BBI report reads that; “Within a set number of days following the summoning of Parliament after an election, the President shall appoint a Prime Minister, an elected Member of the National Assembly from a political party having a majority of Members in the National Assembly or, if no political party has a majority, one who appears to have the support of a majority of MPs.”

The report is an outcome of the March 2018 handshake between President Kenyatta and his then political archrival Odinga, following a disputed election.

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