What Kenya needs in the discussion on change constitution
Over the past 56 years, Kenya as a nation has grown both in population and economic Development. This has been captured in various statistic that have always attributed this to political stability this nation has achieved over the period of time. Well, sometimes it's not easy to find the margin of error in all this reports as most of them are either released by the government in power or biased civil society for its own agenda.
In Kenya today, like any other third world country, we are faced by challenges that we highlighted in June 1 1963. We are yet to ensure that disease is combated fully, we are yet to narrow the margin between the rich and the poor and finally we are yet to have quality education system that would not only produce job seekers but also job creators. All in all, the country has made tremendous progress in all the major goals were set by our founding fathers of our nation.
Kenya has had a hard time getting out of an election period. For the record, we as a nation are the only ones who talk about elections everyday without putting into consideration that it's a single day event that should not hold our nation in hostage. I believe President Uhuru Kenyatta and Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga did set a good example for the future that we all strive to build a better Kenya for all.
Well, with that said, it's now to join in the agenda that is in the air. I chose to remain silent in the entire change constitution debate because at the time I didn't believe that it was actually the best time to do it. Now that there is no turning back, I wish to put forward my opinion about the issue.
To begin with, Kenya like any other sovereign nation, the issue about the legitimacy of its sovereign head of state is always a closely defined matter. This is because Kenya is a diverse nation and therefore the election of the sovereign head of state is a matter which the drafters of the Kenya Constitution of 2010 didn't really put in close consideration.
So let's go back in history and define Kenya from its inception. The colonial masters found Kenya as a country with no central governance and each and every community has its form of leadership. Others like the Akamba relied mostly on clan leadership that was closely monitored my an umbrella of leaders. When we gained independence in 1963, the monarch retained the head of state and we had a parliamentary system with the Prime Minister as it's head of Government. We hurriedly wanted to do away with the monarch and gave Kenyatta the presidency. Today when the matter of election of the president arises, we go back home. That is what I call it.
So the drafters of the constitution failed to address the issue about equality, inclusiveness and liberties in matters of the election of the occupant of the house on the hill. To date, we have always been fighting to retain the presidency based on the most stupid but iconic statement, tyranny of numbers.
As a nation with over 45 ethnic groups, with 47 administrative units who together with the Central government form the Government of Kenya, we have to find a way to kill the tyranny bullshit and embark on president for all.
This can be achieved by first, devolving IEBC and second by each County legislating on a form of electing the president of the republic. Third we need to strengthen our senate to play a role as a unifying factor in our country. And finally, we need introduction of electoral collage to safeguard our presidency from regional domination hence having a chief executive officer who represents the interests of 47 counties not just areas with huge population. In other words, we should kill tribal politics and embark on Kenya as nation.
With that said, we need also to address the issue of huge wage bill that our nation is going through. We need to first do away with the provincial administration, Speakersof the County Assemblies, Nominated members of parliament and County Assemblies and finally move women representatives from national assembly to senate and name them as women Senator who should be elected in a staggered 3 phases and serve for 6 yrs with no term limits. I propose, the deputy president to be the president of the senate and cease from being a member of the cabinet hence will work closely with the senate as their speaker and with no vote on any matter on the floor of the senate.
I propose the Deputy governors to do the same in the 47 counties and therefore ensure we got no idle people in our system.
To sum up, I do not support parliamentary system of governance, I support a good checked presidential system with a vibrant parliament that has a speaker elected from among members of the national assembly and him retaining his parliamentary seat.
With all that said, I am just glad to be back to share my opinion with you on several matters.
Don't hesitate to share your thoughts with me on Twitter.com/starkolix.
In Kenya today, like any other third world country, we are faced by challenges that we highlighted in June 1 1963. We are yet to ensure that disease is combated fully, we are yet to narrow the margin between the rich and the poor and finally we are yet to have quality education system that would not only produce job seekers but also job creators. All in all, the country has made tremendous progress in all the major goals were set by our founding fathers of our nation.
Kenya has had a hard time getting out of an election period. For the record, we as a nation are the only ones who talk about elections everyday without putting into consideration that it's a single day event that should not hold our nation in hostage. I believe President Uhuru Kenyatta and Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga did set a good example for the future that we all strive to build a better Kenya for all.
Well, with that said, it's now to join in the agenda that is in the air. I chose to remain silent in the entire change constitution debate because at the time I didn't believe that it was actually the best time to do it. Now that there is no turning back, I wish to put forward my opinion about the issue.
To begin with, Kenya like any other sovereign nation, the issue about the legitimacy of its sovereign head of state is always a closely defined matter. This is because Kenya is a diverse nation and therefore the election of the sovereign head of state is a matter which the drafters of the Kenya Constitution of 2010 didn't really put in close consideration.
So let's go back in history and define Kenya from its inception. The colonial masters found Kenya as a country with no central governance and each and every community has its form of leadership. Others like the Akamba relied mostly on clan leadership that was closely monitored my an umbrella of leaders. When we gained independence in 1963, the monarch retained the head of state and we had a parliamentary system with the Prime Minister as it's head of Government. We hurriedly wanted to do away with the monarch and gave Kenyatta the presidency. Today when the matter of election of the president arises, we go back home. That is what I call it.
So the drafters of the constitution failed to address the issue about equality, inclusiveness and liberties in matters of the election of the occupant of the house on the hill. To date, we have always been fighting to retain the presidency based on the most stupid but iconic statement, tyranny of numbers.
As a nation with over 45 ethnic groups, with 47 administrative units who together with the Central government form the Government of Kenya, we have to find a way to kill the tyranny bullshit and embark on president for all.
This can be achieved by first, devolving IEBC and second by each County legislating on a form of electing the president of the republic. Third we need to strengthen our senate to play a role as a unifying factor in our country. And finally, we need introduction of electoral collage to safeguard our presidency from regional domination hence having a chief executive officer who represents the interests of 47 counties not just areas with huge population. In other words, we should kill tribal politics and embark on Kenya as nation.
With that said, we need also to address the issue of huge wage bill that our nation is going through. We need to first do away with the provincial administration, Speakersof the County Assemblies, Nominated members of parliament and County Assemblies and finally move women representatives from national assembly to senate and name them as women Senator who should be elected in a staggered 3 phases and serve for 6 yrs with no term limits. I propose, the deputy president to be the president of the senate and cease from being a member of the cabinet hence will work closely with the senate as their speaker and with no vote on any matter on the floor of the senate.
I propose the Deputy governors to do the same in the 47 counties and therefore ensure we got no idle people in our system.
To sum up, I do not support parliamentary system of governance, I support a good checked presidential system with a vibrant parliament that has a speaker elected from among members of the national assembly and him retaining his parliamentary seat.
With all that said, I am just glad to be back to share my opinion with you on several matters.
Don't hesitate to share your thoughts with me on Twitter.com/starkolix.
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