ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga (left) and Jubilee Party
presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta. PHOTOS | FILE | NATION MEDIA
GROUP
President Uhuru Kenyatta and his main challenger Raila Odinga
are promising what their parties say will be unique manifestos in their
bid to win this year's General Election.
While
the Jubilee government has crafted its plan around a united country, an
inclusive government that rolled out equitable developments, the
opposition National Super Alliance (Nasa) says its manifesto will focus
on social transformation with tenets on efficient economic management,
good governance, inclusivity, and strong support for devolution
structures that they said were lacking under the current administration.
VISION
Though
manifestos have long been said to be “lazy” documents which are almost
always “copy and pastes” of each other, the teams working on the two
documents told the Nation on Tuesday that this year’s will clearly lay out what they plan to do if elected.
“Our
manifesto is a work in progress and we will unveil it as a contract and
bond with the people of Kenya just when the campaigns start,” Nasa
coordinating committee co-chair James Orengo said.
The
campaigns were officially launched on Sunday and Nasa is expected to
launch its campaigns in Kakamega on Saturday and explain its plans for
Kenyans.
Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju, who is leading a team of
local and foreign experts to come up with the party’s blueprint, said
the manifesto will ride on the success of the first five years and
promise hope in the next five.
“Our
vision is a sharp contrast from the opposition’s politics of
grievances, despondency, ethnic mobilisation and lies. We will be
talking about championing inclusion of Kenyans through Jubilee, which
has embraced many parties and people from all counties,” said Mr Tuju.
“In some cases, we developed it internally. In others, we hired people who have expert knowledge to review it for us.”
The
Jubilee manifesto, sources said, will be an improvement of the 2013
document in which an ambitious Mr Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto
promised what they said would be a digital government, but with
additions on what projects will spill over to their next term.
In
2013, Mr Kenyatta, among other things, promised one million jobs every
year, free laptops to all Standard One pupils, a double digit economic
growth, five state-of-the-art stadiums in five counties, and a “truly”
free primary and secondary education, as well as the irrigation of one
million hectares to ensure food security.
NATIONAL TEAM
The
opposition manifesto, on the other hand, has been placed under the
national campaign team chaired by ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi.
The
Nasa team has crafted its manifesto around its much hyped 9-point
agenda, which was later reduced to the seven-points that Mr Mudavadi
alluded to when he unveiled the Nasa lineup at Uhuru Park late last
month.
The seven points are:
Promotion of devolution, with Nasa promising to devolve half of the
country’s resources to the 47 counties, proper and affordable
healthcare, food security, proper management of the economy, free
education from nursery to secondary school, eradication of corruption,
and security within Kenya’s borders.
“We
promise efficient economic management; good governance and rule of law,
inclusivity, and strong anti-corruption and support for devolution
strictures,” the Nasa document reads in part.
According
to Mr Tuju, the government’s completion of the standard gauge railway,
construction of roads, opening up of new airports and promotion of
foreign direct investment were a step in the right direction.
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