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Monday, August 11, 2008

Secret Agenda For Uhuru Succession Team?

In the wake of the raging Kibaki succession, whatever one Uhuru Muigai Kenyatta says is important. Whether Kenyans like it or not all the old money in Kenya is on Uhuru becoming the fourth president of the republic of Kenya. I know it is unfair but then money makes the world go round does it not?

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But don’t panic folks, especially if you are not a Uhuru supporter, you just need to remember what happened last December to realize that although money is important, it will certainly not be the only deciding factor on who the next occupant of State house will be.

Now the main thrust of this post are the remarks that I am told Uhuru made earlier today in Tigania Meru. The deputy prime minister said that a review of constituency boundaries was of utmost importance and should be made top priority.

Well, well. Sounds familiar? Of course it does. In the run up to the general elections of last year the government sponsored a bill that would have seen a review of constituency boundaries increasing them in number just before the elections. The bill was resoundingly defeated despite the clever strategy of trying to sugar-coat it with a clause that would have ensured that dozens of women legislators would now be seating in the 10th parliament.

The next question we need to ask ourselves is why was the government in such a hurry to pass such critical bills when the general elections were only a few months away? The answer to that question will also give you the answer to the question why Uhuru and his cronies are bringing it up now, even as the momentum of the Kibaki succession race continues to pick up speed.

Folks, even if the topic of constituency boundaries bores you to tears you had better sit up and pay attention because this is an issue that will certainly not go away. And it is one that will greatly affect the future of Kenya.

For a long time now, leading central province politicians have strongly felt that there is urgent need for the number of constituencies to be increased on the basis of looking at numbers rather than just geography. If this plan were to be followed the immediate result would be more power to the big communities and in the current set up, it would give PNU strongholds many more parliamentary seats than they have at the moment.

In other words somebody somewhere is already casting his eyes into the post-Kibaki era where there will be no coalition government and they want to ensure that their principal has the teeth in parliament to be able to govern.

In any case, the Bomas draft (which we have been told is the basis of the new initiative for a new constitution) is essentially a parliamentary democracy meaning that the leader of government will emerge from the party that produces the majority MPs. So number of MPs one who wants to govern has, is very critical.

But Kenyans must not lose the downside of this push for more constituencies. The most obvious disadvantages have to do with budgetary constraints. At a time when the country is reeling from the burden of the huge coalition government cabinet, what we are saying here is that we want to further increase the costs of government even more steeply with the 11th parliament set to have well over 300 members. It also means that smaller communities and minority interests will most probably be drowned by the sheer numbers of those communities with very high populations.

Is this what we want?


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50 comments:

  1. Guess this is how the hate begins, preying upon the unjustified fears of some. In your playbook, exterminating the 'majority' and extinguishing their rights to representation and/or voice is OK.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Am I the only one thar does not see any leadership qualities in Uhuru?

    Where does the succession plan leave flower girl wiper?

    ReplyDelete
  3. chris, you are a dissapointment even to yourself. u harped about how u would expose corruption of the big guys across the political divide and ended up talking of only Kikuyu's,
    now today to keep on with u'r tribal hatred of kikuyus that kumekucha seem to perpetuate u post this!
    'For a long time now, leading central province politicians have strongly felt that there is urgent need for the number of constituencies to be increased on the basis of looking at numbers rather than just geography. If this plan were to be followed the immediate result would be more power to the big communities and in the current set up, it would give PNU strongholds many more parliamentary seats than they have at the moment'

    this is kikuyu hatred,

    someone said Kumekucha had started becoming neutral and taabu started the road with detribalising article. now it seems u are taking us back.

    as they say, every action has a consequence.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Anon 6:19, makes two of us

    ReplyDelete
  5. Awful post, really. Drop that majority-swallowing-minority babble. Doesnt sell.
    But 100% with you on Uhuru's
    (in)capabilities. Its hard to squeeze blood out of a stone--not even with mega chums. Dont they get it?
    Miracle boy has more appeal. Wish him luck.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Ivy/Anon 6.19,
    Just come to think of it, maybe UK has some LATENT TALENTS that he will unleash once the coast is clear. You know Jomo Jnr has it in the blood (leader) and all he needs is your support all else he has in plenty.

    BTW myabe Jomo Jnr will throw the biggest bash to squaters and IDPs by donating part of his PROVINCE to settle them. In these shores of ours nothing except the depth of the pockets appeal.

    ReplyDelete
  7. The issue of increasing the # of constituencies has been there for a long time. In the early 90's, Moi added constituencies in places that did not need to and thus added his parliamentary numerical strength. We however need to look at it on a different manner. Let's take Embakasi for example. This is one constituency that needs to be split. The amount of votes a councillor get here is what one MP say in upper North Eastern needs to be voted in. The MP of Embakasi is seriously overloaded in terms of delivering service to his constituents and to bring those services closer to the mwananchi, a split would go a long way. It's not just a central province issue, am sure u will notice other constituencies all over will need to be split.

    The issue of splitting the constituencies will need to be very delicate though. The number of voters in the area should not be the only issue to look at. I mean if we look at the # of voters then we will end up with 1000 constituencies and that will burden the tax payer even more. I dont have a solution to that issue but am sure one of your good commentators here will come up with one very soon.

    ReplyDelete
  8. They normally say time is a healer. Time is also the only variable that will tell the true character of someone. I remember I had a chat with a colleague about Kibaki's leadership skills just after winning the 2002 elections. The guys could not just lead and she wondered probably Uhuru might have done better. I tended to agree then but now Uhuru's true character was just unveiled. The guys had no leadership qualities whatsoever. Kenya is bound to suffer under this guy. Kalooser is no better. Leaders in Kenya are slowly emerging and will soon sweep these goons aside. Who knew of Adabu Namwamba before?

    ReplyDelete
  9. The 2012 plan is that uhuru will be sworn kibaki & mugabe style and there'll be no protests or killing of his supporters coz unlike Dec 2007 they're ready for you this time. You'll be six feet under before you say "haki yetu".

    ReplyDelete
  10. Chris,

    This article of yours is just an alarmist exercise in futility!

    In arguements, if you start with the wrong premise you automatically end up with a flawed conclusion. In your post you start with the premise that some people want to make Uhuru president and you end up convincing yourself that proportional representation is wrong.

    First, no serious person in central province is really losing sleep thinking of Uhuru taking over from Kibaki. Plus even if such people existed, it would be well within their democratic right to imagine, plan, organize, and vote for Uhuru. That is their shauri.

    Second, and more importantly, proportional representation is an idea whose time has already come if we, as a nation, want to move to a true parliamentary democracy as opposed to a presidential.

    Being opposed to proportional representation simply because the idea is floated by someone from central province is like those who oppose parliamentary system simply because it is proposed by Raila. That type of approach to national issues is purely myopic tribal lunacy - the type that kills others because they voted their choice in an election. Next time you will propose to curve out Masai Mara and make it a constituency simply because there are a couple of game wardens and we need to consider geography insted of number of people in your tribal representation!!!!!!

    ReplyDelete
  11. Papi,

    I share your disappointment. While I agree that Ababu is emerging as an astute parliamentary debater, I wouldn't bet on him as a presidential candidate - at least for now.

    I think it's okay to gamble and pick a novice politician as an mp, but the leader of a country like kenya needs much more than the qualities I have seen in Ababu and the other young first-time mps.
    I would probably have a different view if our institutions were not as rotten as the are, and such a leader didn't have to micro-manage to ensure everything works.

    In my view, our country needs someone who knows the 'sharks and their feeding and breeding grounds', and not someone who knows about them from heresay or second opinion.

    Ababu is quickly learning the ropes and am not completely writing him off.

    As for jomo jr, the less said about him the better.

    Taabu, jomo jr may have royal blood alright - so what are these qualities that make him stand out as a possible presidential candidate?

    ReplyDelete
  12. It appears many of us are yapping here because they feel a very strong attachment to their tribe such that they would not even allow Chris to insinuate some imagined of hate against them.

    As a matter of principle, I do not buy the idea that constituencies should be divided based on population. The reason why I disagree with this argument is because many contributors here are still embedded on this old notion that an MP takes care of the "pocket needs" of his/her constituents. As far as I am concerned a MP's role is suppose to be lobbying for the constituency's infrastructural, social and moral development needs. For example take Embakasi that everyone keeps citing here, the MP should make sure that the constituency has infrastructure, social amenities etc to make them live comfortably but not making sure that he contributes to every fella who has gone to join his maker. But if I use the argument advanced by a contributor here that a councilor in Embakasi gets more votes than an MP in NE province, then such an argument continues to give credence to the fact that an MP's sole business is to earn a salary and act as a charitable organization to his/her constituency.

    Those who have expressed fear for the big community syndrome are also justified because we all know what that would do if all the smaller tribes are made a minority in parliament. From experience we already know that our MPs align themselves based on which part of the country they come from thus making them some of the most dangerous tribal gangs. It is my belief that lack of proper foresight on this matter may eventually lead to perpetuation of tribal gangsterism is parliament.

    Lastly, I agree with the conclusion that further division of these so called large/populous constituencies needs to be handled with much care.

    ReplyDelete
  13. GO OBAKO!

    It's okay to 'bolt after the horse has left the stable', but this is a sign that you and the PM are indeed reading from the same script. BTW forget about Uhuru as your successor - he aint worth it.



    President Mwai Kibaki has Monday directed the implementation of a 24hrs 7 day week service delivery at the port of Mombasa and border entry points at Lunga Lunga, Taveta, Namanga, Isabenia and Malaba. All the relevant government organs have one week to fully implement the directive.

    ReplyDelete
  14. Anon at 9.04,

    I used Adabu's name just to show the kind of politics young blood can bring to parliament not to imply that he is president material. I still believe that we have capable people both in Kenya and in the diaspora who can give a better alternative leadership replete with sound economic and social policies. I am convinced that we have people who can lead Kenya to the promised land and not necessarily the politicians we have as of now. We need to start a drive to send the current politicians home if they don't deliver!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Papi - I tend to concur with your idea that we need to drive most of the current MPs out of parliament if we are to achieve any meaningful development but what has been elusive to many of us is the modus operandi. The big question has been how do we achieve this considering the nature of our current electorate fraternity compost of many people who still want to view things through the prism of tribe in this 21st century?

    On who would make a good president I believe anybody can be one as long as he/she has the country at heart. Our main problem right now is the skewed system of governance that seems to corrupt/illegitimize anyone who takes up leadership. What we need is a new constitutional dispensation that empowers you and I more to direct good governance. Apart from that I still think that even Ababu or anyone like him can make a good leader except that we need more time to know them better like we have come to know Jomo jr.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Quite agree, I don't see any leadership quality in Uhuru I am for Kalonzo. The best man for the job!

    Hey, ladies check out my webblog.

    ReplyDelete
  17. Thank you for pointing out the facts to kenyans

    YOU SEE YET AGAIN CENTRAL LESOTHO IS TRYING TO PLAY A FIRST ONE HERE AND THEIR PURPOSE YET AGAIN WILL BE DEFEATED SOUNDLY!!

    who the heck do they think will pass that bill increasing the # of constituencies ??

    DO THEY SINCERELY THINK KENYANS ARE BLIND OR FOOLS??

    can't they see what happened in 2007 as a wake up call??

    DON'T WORRY KENYANS - OUR BACK BENCHERS (mp)ARE IN PARLIAMENT AND IT WILL NOT PASS(Yes)
    MINORITY TRIBES MUST ALSO BE PRESENTED IN PARLIAMENT - NO MORE BEING THROWN AT BONES WITHOUT MEAT !!

    ReplyDelete
  18. UHURU WHAT??

    YEAH YEAH!! HE CAN TALK ALL HE WANTS BUT HE WILL NOT GET MORE CONSTITUENCIES ADDED IN CENTRAL TO GIVE HIM AN UPPER HAND

    SHAME ON THIS UHURU WARLORD GOON DRUNKARD WITHOUT BRAINS..
    IF HE COULDN'T HACK IT WHEN MOI GAVE HIM THE GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY TO ENTER STATEHOUSE THEN HE SHOULD FORGET

    MARTHA KARUA HAS A BETTER CHANCE.... IN 2018 THAN UHURU WILL EVER HAVE IN A LIFE-TIME.

    YANI FINISHING THE YOUTH USING MUNGIKI WON'T EVEN HELP HIM OTHER TRIBES HAVE THE NUMBERS EVEN AFTER YOU UHURU AND KIBAKI SLAUGHTERED MANY DAY AND NIGHT USING THE POLICE THE ARMY AND MUNGIKI MURDEROUS GANGS (GENOCIDE) BY YOU MURDERERS!!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Population must be considered a major factor when drawing constituency lines. If Central has a higher population, they must follow with more constituencies. Any body in love with democracy must accept that. In fact we must support UK in this endeavor. Democracy is math by the way….lets us be fair.

    I say; Let us not waste time in reinventing the wheel. The greatest equalizer is by far the formation of a senate. Yes folks, a bicameral legislature is the only way to ensure 'equal' representation for all. Let us protect the interests of the North Eastern province in the same way we do those of Central province.

    What do you think of four senators per province alongside whatever number of constituencies provided they have approximately the same population. Of course the Senate will be the sober house whereas the parliament house will be of acrimony……with MPs serving a maximum of three years.

    ReplyDelete
  20. ANON8:17 AM

    AAAHAH
    the plot thickens , no wonder uhuru on BBC hardtalk was in full support of the mungiki murderous gangs, which all kenyans know uhuru is the founding godfather and funds them to be head and slaughter innocent kenyans for uhuru's , kibaki and mt. kenya elite's political gain...


    MY FRIEND IF UHURU TRIES TO BE SWORN IN MUGABE STYLE THEN THERE WILL NOT BE A PROVINCE CALLED CENTRAL PROVINCE:):) I GUESS YOU DO NOT KNOW AS YET WHO YOU ARE DEALING WITH IN KENYA..... KIKUYU TRIBE WILL CEASE TO EXIST MARK MY WORDS-


    CENTRAL PROVINCE VS THE REST OF KENYA??? NO CHANCE MY FRIEND- WAKE UP AND SMELL THE BLOOD!!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Kalamari- If your support lies with the number then why don't we have "sub-states" with their elected legislatures. I think bicameral system may just be a good idea but as long as the senate's role is well defined without clogging the governance system.

    ReplyDelete
  22. WHY TALK ABOUT UHURU NOW! YOU CAN ALSO BE PREZZO, KWANI WHATS WRONG WITH THAT. UHURU,RAILA,KIBAKIS AND YOU CAN BE ALL PRESIDENTS AT THE SAME TIME. AMA! LETS FOCUS ON OLYMPICS. FOR NOW.

    ReplyDelete
  23. anon10:01 AM

    Lets do that after carrying out the true censors counting of the kenya population/

    facts are kenya population according to government source have not been correct since the 80's when Moi was in power- this individual was one of the heads of the exercise...
    sorry to disappoint you kikuyu's are not the largest population in kenya- those are facts

    before you post here propaganda on documentation by incompetent governments since 80's to 2007

    let the right censors be done and get those shocking facts.

    no extra constituency will be added in central mark my words according to the new kenya population count.... so don't hold your breath:)

    ReplyDelete
  24. anon10:10 AM

    you are one of those people abroad who does not care about what has happened to our IDP's from all tribes who have yet to be settled(kenya climate cold as it is)

    ati you want us to forget discussions here and talk about the Olympics??? shame on you..

    on top of that we have Government officers former and current who have looted the country dry ANOTHER ANGLO LEASING IN THE MAKING "

    RIFT VALLEY RAILWAYS "RVR" HOW THE HELL -did they get to own share and was KIBAKI INVOLVED?? or they used his name MOi style those days??

    kenyans is reeling with scandals one after the other all on corruption while the normal wanaichi's are suffering stack paying taxes when the government is being controlled by thieves and thugs who are looting it dry!!!

    AND YOU ARE SUGGESTING WE DISCUSS THE OLYMPICS?? when same kenyans already have their electricity shut off for known payments (can't watch) olympics- because they are paying big taxes to a crooked government???

    and you want us to talk about the olympics you are selfish goon....with no care.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Anon 10:13,

    Your first paragraph is a stark reminder that we have a long way to go. That we even 'cook' census figures is the height of stupidity, and clearly explains the pathetic state we are in. Should we expect better when some semi-illiterate political appointees are given such responsibilities?. Do you think they understand that the census is not just about numbers?

    Finally, I think most of us are in agreement that UK would not provide the kind of leadership that we need.

    What if Uhuru is pitted against a much stronger candidate who happens to belong to a party/community that you despise, who would you vote for?

    ReplyDelete
  26. Fear of the unknown.

    As far as I am concerned, the clamour for the review of constituency boundaries has not been started by UK.We have had our constituency boundaries reviewed (read number of constituencies increased) every 10 years. The last time that happened was 1997. It was due again last year, but due to the same fears about electoral defeats, the same insecurities Chris and his students are raising here, combined with Mwai Kibaki's weak leadership, that never happened. My opinion is that Kibaki has spent way too much time trying to appear good.

    When Kiraitu Murungi rekindled this debate last year, he talked about two criteria being followed; the population as well as geographical vastness. Nobody is suggesting that population should be the only guiding factor in the reviews (although it is the most democratic). We all should agree that Embakasi deserves a split pretty much the same way Turkana central and North Horr do.It does not make sense when the MP for North Horr represents a constituency the size of Western province (represented by 24 members of parliament). On the same breadth, it does not make sense for Hon Waititu to represent 50 times more people than the MP for Wajir west.

    If you look at the election of 1992, you will agree that it was a very close rae between President Moi and ken Matiba (1.8 M vs 1.3M). Now look at the number of parliamentary seats their parties got. Moi got 109 and Matiba got 31 seats. Is that what anybody would consider representative democracy? The same thing happened again between then president Moi and President kibaki in 1997. All this while the opposition kept complaining that they were getting a raw deal due to the skewed nature of the constituencies. It is why Moi kept getting less than 40% of the national vote but still controlled large majorities in parliament. The argument the opposition had in 1992 and 1997 was valid then, it is valid today.

    The fellow that gives the example of Embakasi and says the population should not matter because the job of an MP is to line the pockets of their constituencies, I have one thing for you, buddy; Yours is a ridiculous argument. If they are building a dispensary, a school or a mortuary in any constituency, dont they look at the number of people expected to be served by these facilities? Do you honestly think a waste disposal facility in Embakasi should get as little attention as the one in Kitui? How many wards should a health centre in Kikuyu constituency have vis-a-vis the one in Garsen?

    About the leadership qualities of UK and his 'dim' chances of ascending to the presidency, if we trully believe what we say,why do we spend all our time talking about it? Kenya is a democracy and Uhuru has the democratic right to position himself for any electoral leadership role he wants.It is upto the people to vote for him or to reject him. people talk as if he is a Somali national seeking office in Kenya. Go ahead and vote for whoever you think will make a better president than uhuru. Uhuru has not declared he will be running for president but if and when he finally does, those who consider him good will vote for him. Please dont if you dont approve of his leadership qualities. The same thing goes for Kalonzo, Martha, Raila and whoever else you have in mind. What's the big deal?

    ReplyDelete
  27. Vikii,

    Good arguments,

    In your last statement you asked what the big deal is. Well, i would like to tie this to your beginning headline - fear of the unknown.
    We are all aware that without strong systems and institutions in place, we have to have a real fear about th outcome of any election. I'm an optimist, but also acutely aware of the possibility that we may have a leader 'shoved down our throats'.
    My fear as I wrote an earlier post is that, what if this 'leader' happens to be Uhuru,should we just live with it because it was his democratic right to stand and he 'won and was declared winner?'

    ReplyDelete
  28. Vikii - don't be dismissive of people who are expressing their dislikes of Uhuru's leadership qualities because that is the same thing you have always done against Raila.

    Everyone here has a right to discuss the pros and cons of their potential future leaders. Don't play monopoly of ideas with us

    ReplyDelete
  29. Vikii,

    Who would you vote for if you had to choose between

    1.Raila and Uhuru

    2. Raila and Kalonzo

    3. Uhuru and Kalonzo

    ReplyDelete
  30. I guess Kumekucha will do and say anything to remain in the light. This article is the lowest version any blogging site can allow. Fear....fear..... fear is all you preach. Now I must hand it down to the site for creating an avenue during for information sharing during the post election period. But nothing solid has come from the site since.

    Stop preaching fear and hate.

    ReplyDelete
  31. It is noble to make an argument for considering all aspects of potential effects dividing the so called populous constituencies. I still stand by my point that we should desist from making such a serious decision based on how an MP can give individualized attention to his constituents but on how best he/she can lobby for resources that would enhance the whole community's development.

    We should not forget that by electing an MP, constituents are finding someone who can represent their voice on national agenda but if we are looking for micro-representation, then we better find other ways to enhance local representation that would feed into the MP's role at the national level. As someone once said here, if we were to consider all the different interest groups in the name of democracy then we may end up with 1000 MPs.

    ReplyDelete
  32. For the jamaa that writes in caps. Me and a whole lot of people would really appreciate if you tone it down. Your comments however seriously make us think u r shouting and while it's yr democratic right to shout, you are not the only one in this blog. Tone it down kidogo and we might take you more seriously.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Anon@11:17- At times exhibiting fear is appropriate if there is a concern that your reason to exist is being challenged. How you address the challenge is what will differentiate you from others.

    Talking of hate hear is unprecedented because the gist of the post is a serious matter that must be addressed. Mere dismissal of it with telling us where you are coming from and heading to does help. It is men who can discuss their differences and reach a compromise but being dismissive is just worse as the hate your strongly dislike.

    ReplyDelete
  34. Anon 11:24, you just took those words from my mind. yes, I share the same sentiment with you, why do people here like using caps. Is that how you were taught to write in school? Whenever I see any comment in caps, i just jump over to the next comment.

    ReplyDelete
  35. talking about the constituency reviews. in this context we will be lying if we ignore that the primary push by kiraitu and co is purely for numerical parliamentary strength (read control of PM post and any other parliamentary business). but having said that there probably is some good cause to review constituency boundaries whether it means add new constituencies or reduce.

    to understand this better it needs to come from the MPs and the constituents. i.e the purpose of these admin boundaries is first to group or cluster these communities whether by culture, geography or other criteria but most important is the service delivery and a word being used loosely i.e representation.

    if an MP has been heard to claim that he is unable to effectively serve (represent) his constituents and then list the reasons such as reach (geographic or cultural limitation) or time (too many requests perhaps due to large population) then this would certainly among other criteria justify evaluation the administrative boundaries. at the same time this needs to be evaluated against efficiency of representation as well as service delivery methods and explore alternatives. for instance for a resource rich constituency (generating sufficient revenue) it may make more sense to channel some of the resources towards establishing more admin boundaries. it would be foolish to create more admin structures just because of geography or whatever other criteria if there isn't sufficient resources to sustain such and this would lead to even more expenses on an already over-burdened central govt.

    we all know for a fact that by improving on efficiencies and where possible making use of fairly basic technology, service delivery (and representation) to a very large population is easily achievable and with increased technology geographic boundaries are no longer an insurmountable obstacle or limitation. i have always wondered why a lot of effort was made to provide MPs with offices adjacent to parliament building and almost no effort has been made to construct or provide offices in the local district or constituency offices. so wananchi usually try very hard to catch the MP either at home, public functions, roadsides etc. no wonder psycophants rule the world as they grant or block access to these guys.

    ReplyDelete
  36. Anon, 11.14, is it my personal preferences you want? Well, I will give you that anytime. The answers to your three questions are as follows:
    1. Uhuru
    2. Kalonzo
    3. Kalonzo.

    If you have any other question, feel freee to ask.

    Urxlnc,my understanding of the cdf act is not puncture-proof. But one thing I know is that MPs are authorized, by law, to spend 2% of their budget allocation on their local offices. Taking the average of kshs 30 million that every constituency gets, it means any constituency that does not have an office running already should seriously consider its priorities. I do not get what your point on this is and I want to hope you are not suggesting continental-style wall-to wall carpet and state-of-the-art offices in isiolo and Mwea.

    ReplyDelete
  37. we are not a monarchy/dynasty and so the issue of succession should not arise.

    people who want express interest to lead, need to present their case to the electorate, i quite agree with vikii on that.

    if there are behind the scenes lobbying and leveraging or otherwise manipulating incumbency resources then that is not a succession fight, its dictatorship and electoral fraud. i think all kenyans are aware of the implications and are not ready for that, no matter who is involved. its the same stupidity as wekesa announcement in the newspaper that PNU and ODM are working on a grand coalition 2012, these are the empty politicians who want to fool people so that they remain in govt/MP till death.

    ReplyDelete
  38. vikii

    you know as well as i do that most MPs do not have consituency offices, which is where they should spend a considerable amount of time complete with an appointment calendar. the more proactive MPs who also run businesses will typically see those they can from their business offices

    as for the exact ammenities and comforts of the offfice, i would leave that to the constituents to decide, its their money. but my point is that MPS should be mandated to sit in a local office for at least 30% of the calendar year to meet with constituents, spend another 30% in parliament and the remaining 40% between public functions, vacation and other ad-hoc duties and committees.

    cabinet ministers of course can adjust these %ages.

    ReplyDelete
  39. Anon 11:14 Raila ni shetani, asindwe toto ya malaya mbaya!

    ReplyDelete
  40. There is nothing like a behind-the-scenes maneuver that is not within the acceptable democratic space of every leader going on anywhere. I am yet to see anything that Hon Kibaki has done to unfairly grant Uhuru an edge in the coming polls. He is a kenyan who has preferences like all of us. Unless he uses his position as president to undemocratically propel Uhuru, then I will say he is entitled to his choice. I am also sure Raila Odinga has a preference (probably himself). Everybody else does.

    I honestly do not understand the flack that UK has been getting. Martha Karua and her people have been demonising him left, right and centre and he is yet to declare interest in the presidency. In fact he doesnt criss-cross the country as much as Raila, Kalonzo and Martha do. He is not campaigning for anything. Even if he were, what would be wrong with that? The fact that his father was president does not disqualify him from beng one as well. Let us not selectively put "dynasty" tags on people. If we want to do that, then let us understand what it really means first.

    Urxlnc, any constituency that does not have an office six years after the inception of the CDF, then it has a very valid case before the KACC or the AG. Otherwise, where should the publc meet the MP? In their homes/bar/marketplace? All I am saying is, this is not a problem created by the central government. The treasury has released money for that role. It is up to the respective Constituency Development Committees to get their act together.

    ReplyDelete
  41. Can somebody tell me where I can find a list of all the Kenyan athletes in Beijing including their respective sport?

    ReplyDelete
  42. andy capp @ 1:33 why do you need list of athletes for???

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  43. Vikii - do not mislead us from the obvious fact that politics is played both in abstract and public domain. Kibaki doesn't have to make public pronouncements supporting Uhuru. By mere making of gestures to the effect of re-aligning political under-currents does not help exonerate him. Moi did it and we all know the end result yet people like tried very hard to mislead the electorate away from the ultimate goal of project uhuru.

    Personally I believe it is within uhuru's democratic right to harbor leadership ambition as from 2012 but on the same premise it's justified for people contributing to this post to express their misgivings about his leadership abilities. After all I thought that is what politics is all about and that gives people like Karua the right to play their political trumpets.

    At least I respect you because you justify every observation you make unlike many of anonymouses here who are outrightly dismissive and slanderous without without showing cause.

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  44. Vikii,

    You mean Uhuru can make a better president than Raila? Please share some of these qualities that some of us have been looking for since 2002.

    Again, rather than dismiss others' views and fears, why not first admit that you are a tribalist to the core.

    Anon 12:42, am always suspicious of those that call others malaya - are you in the same trade? Have you been Raila' client? I understand you people are very organized and do not despise or call each other names unless one encroaches into the other's territory.
    Whatever the case, keep your dirty secrets to yourself.

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  45. Heeeheheee Vikii,

    Between Raila and Kukubo, I bet you would choose the latter for president. Loathe him with a passion, the man is igniting flames where non existed before. Understandably, RAILAPHOBICS like you are panicking because - it's business unsusual.
    It's okay he won't bite....hard (GRRRRRRRR)

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  46. vikii

    would you be so kind to point me to any example of a local MP office built with or without CDF funds

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  47. Bwana Kumekucha, obviously, you cannot live up to your name and it has yet to DAWN on you that Kenya is about to change. Being a dedicated ODM lightning rod whose job it is to spread negative propaganda, the fear, frustration and sheer terror within ODM ranks coming through from your post is palpable.
    There is now an apparent REALISATION, to ODM's horror, that Kibaki is indeed crafting a strategy for making Kalonzo his successor in a strategy that makes sure that the interests of the GEMA communities are taken care of post 2012 through a partnership with Uhuru. The focus by blogs such as this one and newspapers like the Standard on Uhuru and insisting on lies that he will be a Presidential candidate in 2012 is but a cynical attempt to sow mistrust in the increasingly potent alliance between the Akamba and GEMA. The other stories by the media that Kibaki is working on a joint succession plan for 2012 with ODM to handover power to Raila, the Bondo Bumpkin, are just that, stories. Even if they were true, Kibaki would be left alone by the GEMA rank and file with his "project". How ironical that would be? mmh?
    Uhuru himself has said repeatedly that GEMA should not have a Presidential candidate in 2012 but should back someone from another community, and so have many GEMA MPs, the latest appeal being over the last weekend.
    The attempts at sowing seeds of discord are therefore no surprise and are a mere expression of the REALISATION that the path to the ultimate prize for the Bondo Bumpkin will be extremely difficult, even more so than in 2007.
    Also, the sudden REALISATION that the insistence on equal parliamentary representation by GEMA communities whereby we must have as equitable representation as possible across the country based not only on population size but also on land expanse, is bound to advantage the PNU alliance far more than ODM. Those insisting that there will be no such constituency review are wasting their time farting in a hurricane. The boundary review WILL happen, or you can forget about a new constitution. Whether there is a parliamentary system or a Presidential system, its advantage PNU alliance. As we have repeatedly said on these pages, the Bondo Bumpkin WILL NEVER win the absolute power he craves. What a relief.

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  48. Urxlnc, that is besides the point. I am not the one to prioritize programs for constituencies. I already tackled this subject when I told you that 2% of the fund should cater for "office expenses". Talk to your member of parliament or the chairman of your Constituency Development Committee and ask them why one is missing. My constituency has an office.

    My point was that providing MPs with offices at Continental house has absolutely nothing to do with lack of offices at the constituency level. It is not a question of "either or". They are not mutually exclusive!

    2.22, I will not waste my confirming or denying that I am a tribalist. If having a serious dislike for Raila is the true measure of a tribalist, then I want to be made chairman of that club of tribalists. I will proudly put that hat on.

    2.31, you are very right. I prefer Kukubo to Raila. His party is in fact an affiliate of mine.

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  49. Kalamari and Vikii,

    You are right on the population factor. It is in fact in the constitution - read the chapter on parliament.

    Shifting power to parliament thru' Bomas or whatever will obviously require a review of the constituencies. Any one saying "no" wants power thru' unfair means. But I do not see an agreement on the distribution of new constituencies happening. So the presidential sytem will probably remain.

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  50. lest notforget Naivasha PEV,this man belongs to hague

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