ODM leader Raila Odinga yesterday hinted at the possibility of reopening talks on the Building Bridges Initiative report before a vote is taken as allies of Deputy President William Ruto welcomed the gesture in a dramatic day of political give-and-take.
Mr Odinga met the Pastoralists Parliament Group (PPG) and the leadership of the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC) in Nairobi where he brokered a deal with them on their issues of concern.
He later told the group to identify three people who will meet with the BBI technical team to iron out the contentious issues, interpreted to mean the report has room for amendment.
“The issues they have raised on revenue sharing, equalisation fund, and a livestock marketing authority will be taken on board because livestock is the mainstay of the economy of the region. We have agreed to have three representatives from here appointed to sit down with the BBI technical team to iron out some of those issues.”
The meeting was attended by Treasury CS Ukur Yatani, his Petroleum and Mining counterpart John Munyes, Senate Majority Leader Samuel Poghisio, PPG chairman Alois Lentoimanga, Mandera Governor Ali Roba, Jubilee Parliamentary Group Secretary Adan Keynan and a host of MPs, and comes just a week after the group made 11 demands they said had to be met before they could support the BBI.
“I have no doubt in my mind that our issues will be taken care of. We have formed a small technical team that will liaise with the BBI technical team. I have no doubt that we will not be left out of the national conversation,” Mr Keynan said.
In a quick response on Twitter, Dr Ruto said the petition by pastoralists and Mr Odinga’s response is an indication that BBI will be amended.
“The public commitment to amend BBI to include these proposals is a welcome step towards consensus,” he said. “With this and other petitions accepted, a non-contested discourse is in the horizon,” the DP added.
Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, a key Ruto ally, said with Mr Odinga’s commitment to the pastoralists, the document should now be opened to all that want it edited.
“Well done. Glad Raila has rescinded his earlier hardline position that the BBI won’t be amended. Now let’s amend the document to capture concerns of pastoralists, devolutionists, Judiciary ... We don’t want and us-versus-them attitude. Let’s reason together as Kenyans,” Mr Murkomen said. Questions to Mr Odinga and his spokesman on how the pastoralists’ resubmissions will be done were not answered by the time of going to press.
Allies of Mr Odinga and President Uhuru Kenyatta have previously slammed the door shut on any suggestion to reopen the report. Jubilee vice- chairman David Murathe, in a previous interview, said reopening the report would lead to unending submissions and it will not be possible to enact reforms by 2022 .Pressure is mounting on the President and Mr Odinga to reopen the report for amendments.
Dr Ruto, Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi, the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), The Service Party (TSP) leader Mwangi Kiunjuri, the Senate, a section of women leaders, the pastoralists group, governors, and ward representatives have all either called for various amendments to the document or asked for a push for a national consensus in what they said will accord Kenya a non-contested referendum.
Emboldened by the win-win scenario in the revenue sharing debate where senators allied to him rejected a formula amid grandstanding that led to a deal that saw no county lose its share, Dr Ruto has insisted that the BBI document should be opened up for debate, and the contentious issues ironed out.
“It is a contradiction to want to amend the Constitution while refusing to amend a mere report, the BBI. It is defeatist to build walls to shut others out while purporting to build bridges,” Dr Ruto said on Twitter.
Alarmed by the growing concerns among different players, a fact that would give Dr Ruto leverage over the BBI proponents, the Head of State and Mr Odinga have lined up a series of fire-fighting meetings to ease disquiet and assure all actors that their voices will be listened to.
Today, the President and Mr Odinga are expected to rally governors and the leadership of the MCAs to support the document at Enashipai Resort in Naivasha.
Mr Odinga yesterday denied that the county chiefs had given him an ultimatum over their proposals last week.
The pastoralists — whose population is about 10 million in 15 counties and 109 constituencies covering a massive 80 per cent of the country’s land mass — have rejected the pegging of revenue allocation on population and demanded the formation of a Livestock Marketing Authority with the capacity to export live animals to a competitive market.
The group also wants the 20-year sunset clause in the Equalization Fund deleted and started afresh. They want the localisation of recruitment of teachers, alleging discrimination by the Teachers Service Commission.
“This document is meant to deal with critical issues affecting our country. It has taken a long time as the team was appointed in 2018, first report received in November last year and the validation process followed leading to the launch at Bomas in November this year. It has taken two years on this journey,” Mr Odinga told journalists yesterday.
Mr Mudavadi is optimistic that the consultations President Kenyatta has opened with various stakeholders might open a window for amendments to the BBI.
“There is a consultation process that was chaired by President Kenyatta and the spirit of those consultations was good. Let us allow it to play out,” Mr Mudavadi told journalists on Sunday.
Mr Mudavadi was part of a meeting last Wednesday at State House, Nairobi, and which was also reportedly attended by Mr Odinga, Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka, his Ford Kenya counterpart Moses Wetang’ula and Kanu secretary-general Nick Salat.
“Our meeting with President Kenyatta was positive. He said he will consult further and we look forward to closing ranks,” Mr Mudavadi said, refusing to divulge more on the closed-door meeting.
Last week, he said: “Nothing is cast in stone. The only thing we cannot change is the 10 commandments in the Bible. If there are two or three things that require amendments, this is the time. We should get good experts and within a very short time, they will have synchronised these things and we will have a good document.”
Dr Ruto wants discussions on the involvement of political parties in the nomination of electoral commissioners, the independence of the police service and the Judiciary (citing the Kenya Police Council and the Judiciary Ombudsman, both headed by presidential appointees), and the Senate made the Upper House.
Mr Mudavadi yesterday called on politicians to tone down their political rhetoric on the BBI, saying the heightened debate might end up dividing the country further.
