Members of Parliament from the
Government and Opposition have formed a group to spearhead national
dialogue in the wake of the political stand-off between Jubilee and
Cord.
The Inter-party Parliamentary Caucus will
function along the lines of the Inter-party Parliament Group which
negotiated important constitutional reforms before the 1997 election.
Even
as MPs were closing ranks, Cord leaders were increasingly coming under
diplomatic pressure to drop their push for a rally on Monday.
The
MPs and diplomats are stepping in with just six days to the Saba Saba
day rally called by Cord Leader Raila Odinga to press for national
dialogue on security, alleged corruption, the cost of living, government
appointments and disbandment of the electoral commission.
President
Uhuru Kenyatta and the government have made it clear that dialogue
should be held through the people’s representatives in Parliament but
Cord insists that the issues are too weighty to be left to MPs.
Some
115 members from Cord and Jubilee are reported to support the
Inter-party Parliamentary Caucus and will hold their first meeting
today. The meeting is expected to form a steering committee with a
chairman to spearhead the talks.
“Anybody who has been
involved in the reform agenda will tell you that for us to make any
progress in terms of key issues affecting the country, you must work
with Parliament,” said the Rev Mutava Musyimi, who was instrumental in
the formation of the caucus.
The Rev Musyimi said the
process would best be guided by elected leaders and these are in
Parliament, where the caucus would handle the issues.
However,
he also said that given that there is a Constitution that addresses
issues of sharing of resources and devolution of power, it is difficult
to understand where the current agitation was coming from.
The
idea for Parliament to form a caucus was first mooted two weeks ago by
the Budget and Appropriations Committee, which the Mbeere South MP
chairs, following a war of words between Cord and Jubilee over
insecurity.
The committee proposed to the House to
have a 25-member ad hoc committee to work with religious leaders to
ensure MPs also take political responsibility.
However,
the House Business Committee rejected the proposal, saying the
suggestion could not be handled through a select committee.
The
Rev Musyimi thereafter successfully petitioned the Speaker of the
National Assembly to allow for the establishment of the caucus. The
Speaker approved it and promised support and facilitation from his
office after the MP presented the petition with 115 signatures from
members.
The idea is to have 16 members from Cord and 16 from Jubilee and a neutral chairperson.
Ainamoi MP Benjamin Langat said he supported dialogue within the National Assembly.
“This
is the House that should resolve the main issues affecting Kenyans. It
is wrong to say this is a House of small issues…let us sit and discuss
issues through a legally recognised process.”
DIALOGUE WITHIN PARLIAMENT
Majority Leader Aden Duale also said that dialogue should be within Parliament.
“It
cannot be done outside the confines of the institutions set by this
Constitution,” he said. “When I was told that the HBC had rejected the
proposal to form an ad hoc committee I asked myself how can we carry it
forward in a structured way and that is how I went for the petition,” he
said.
In the letter accompanying their petition
addressed to the Speaker, the 115 MPs said: “As representatives, we are
interested in establishing a caucus that permits and facilitates a
network on the prevailing antagonistic political situation in the
country. The caucus brings together legislators from all parties and
from all parts of the country to ensure that important issues are
adequately addressed through dialogue and policy.”
Mr
Muturi then approved the formation of the caucus. The issues to be
addressed are security, devolution and inclusive economic growth.
Yesterday, Mr Junet Mohammed (Suna East, ODM) said the Rev Musyimi was yet to communicate about the caucus to Cord.
“Cord
has to take it to their Parliamentary Group... and then when we have
approval from there, Cord MPs can take it from there,” he said.
Mr Agostino Neto (Ndhiwa, ODM) said without a clear idea of what the caucus was seeking to achieve, it would be a hard sell.
“The
last IPPG was for constitutional reform. What is the end result of this
particular interparty parliamentary committee? Is it talking for
talking’s sake?” he asked. “What do we hope to achieve? That is the most
important question. There needs to be a clear outcome.”
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