CS Murkomen calls for truce between President Ruto and Raila Odinga

Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has called for reconciliation between President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga for the sake of the country's economic stability.

Mr Murkomen said the political bickering between the two leaders will have a negative impact on the country's economy.

The CS said Kenyans have gone through a lot of economic instability and any attempt to derail the government's plans could worsen the situation. 

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Mr Murkomen said he was ready to mediate between President Ruto and Mr Odinga.

He argued that he could organise a venue for the two leaders to meet and discuss nation-building.

"There is no way we can succeed as a country if we are fighting each other. Raila and President Ruto should agree and meet and I am ready to organise the venue," he said.

He added: "This is the only way hustlers will get job opportunities." 

Mr Murkomen also criticised the former PM for opposing the Finance Bill, arguing that he would have implemented the same recommendations had he won the presidency.

The CS said the former PM should not castigate the Bill because he was among politicians who campaigned for similar proposals in the document during the 2022 presidential campaigns.

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He claimed that the ODM leader had included some of the issues in the Bill in his manifesto and President Ruto could have just borrowed some of them to run his government.

One of the contentious issues in the Bill is the housing levy, which is to be deducted from workers to fund the construction of affordable houses.

It is one of the issues that Mr Odinga has opposed and wants opposition MPs to reject the bill in its entirety.

But according to Mr Murkomen, the housing levy was first proposed by the former Prime Minister and was in his manifesto.

"Political parties have the same policies and ideologies. Some of the things that were in the ODM manifesto, including the housing levy, were the same things that the UDA had," Mr Murkomen said.

According to the CS, he watched video clips of Mr Odinga and confirmed that he had similar intentions of taxing Kenyans to build affordable houses had he won the election.

"The only difference is that President Ruto won the election and wants to implement his proposals but Raila did not win and cannot do the same. It is therefore wrong for the opposition leader to push for the rejection of the Bill," he said.

Mr Murkomen was speaking at Kabunde airstrip in Homa Bay town on Monday as he boarded a Renegade Air flight on its maiden trip from Nairobi to South Nyanza.

He was accompanied by Homa Bay Governor Gladys Wanga.

Suba South MP Caroli Omondi, his Homa Bay Town counterpart Peter Kaluma and Rangwe MP Lilian Gogo who were at the event, steered clear of politics.

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The CS said Kenya was recovering from many challenges and any attempt to stop it would not be good for the economy.

According to Mr Murkomen, the drought that has ravaged parts of the country in recent months and other economic challenges have made life unbearable for some Kenyans.

"We cannot build the country if we are fighting each other. We have gone through difficult moments like the drought and we need time to recover and build our nation," he said.

Mr Odinga has called on the government to reduce the cost of living.

He called for anti-government protests when some of his demands were not met. The protests were stopped for a while.

However, the opposition has vowed to resume anti-government protests if the Finance Bill is passed. 

Mr Murkomen told the opposition party leaders and supporters that he once worked with the ODM leader.

He added that President Ruto acquired his political knowledge from the former Prime Minister and some of the successes the President has had are based on the skills he acquired from the opposition leader.

He therefore said the Head of State and the ODM leader should not compete politically but share ideas on how to run the country.

"It is every teacher's dream to see his students succeed. So if you see President Ruto standing tall, it is because he is standing on the shoulders of Raila," the CS said.

The Transport minister used the opportunity to defend his development record, saying the current political wars between the government and the opposition would not stop him from developing the county through the construction of roads and other infrastructure.

In Homa Bay, the government had started several road projects before they stalled for unknown reasons.

The roads include the Kanyadhiang'-Pala-Kadel bypass in Rachuonyo North, Mbita-Sindo-Magunga road in Mbita and Suba South, Namba-Karabok-Adiedo in Karachuonyo and Rangwe, and Marindi-Magina-Pala in Ndhiwa.

All of them are expected to have tarmac.

Mr Murkomen announced that he had instructed contractors to go to the various sites and continue with the projects.

"You should see the resumption of construction soon. We want to open up the region for development," he said.

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