CORD has drawn up radical proposed
changes to the 2010 constitution, including entrenching the CDF in the
document, as well as an overhaul of election management.
The details emerged as opposition
chiefs Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula unveiled the Okoa
Kenya Referendum Bill at the historic Bomas of Kenya yesterday. Narc Kenya
leader Martha Karua, who hailed the Bill as “a perfect document”, also attended
the launch.
In what appears to be a strategy to
appeal to MPs to back the plebiscite bid, Cord now proposes that CDF – recently
declared unconstitutional by the High Court – be expressly entrenched in the
constitution.
“There is hereby established a Fund
to be known as the Constituency Development Fund. For every financial year, a
portion of revenue allocated to the National Government in the annual Budget
shall be paid into the Fund,” the Bill reads in part.
The Okoa Kenya Bill also tightens
accountability for the Governors by providing that they file quarterly reports
to the Senate, even as it seeks to increase budgetary allocations to the
counties from 15 per cent to 45 per cent of national revenue. “Each Governor
shall be required to file quarterly reports of county revenue, expenditures and
development priorities with the Senate and the respective county assemblies,”
the Bill proposes.
The Bill also increases from 14 to
60 days the timeline in which a Presidential petition is heard and determined.
Raila’s petition challenging the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta in March
2013 was heard in a record 14 days and his 800-paged evidence was thrown out
because it was time- barred.
The Bill also proposes that the
system of voter identification be electronic and that only electronically
identified persons be allowed to vote. It also provides that the Returning
Officer will ensure the vote results are announced publicly, through a video
link and beamed to the public through at least three accredited television
stations.
The Okoa Kenya Bill proposes that
the electoral body shall have seven commissioners who will be chosen by the
political parties in order of their numerical strength in Parliament. The
commissioners will elect their own chair, who shall not serve for more than a
year. To appeal to the Bench, the Okoa Kenya team proposes that judges retire
at the age of 75, but may opt to retire anytime after the age of 70. Cord has
also proposed a five per cent Ward Development Fund, to be managed by MCAs. The
fund could be crucial to the referendum’s success, as MCAs will have to vote to
approve the plebiscite.
Yesterday, Raila cautioned MCAs
against shooting down the Bill, saying they will be judged harshly by the
public. “I know you are going to be blackmailed, harassed and bribed to reject
this Bill. But please do it for the people of Kenya, because, if you don’t, you
will be judged harshly in the court of public opinion,” Raila said. The Bill
also makes it mandatory that no ethnic community shall have more than 15 per
cent of officials in any state organ, the national government and its agencies
– and this applies to all appointments
The proposed draft Bill also seeks
to make it mandatory for the government to issue identity cards to all eligible
Kenyans, streamlining land administration by defining the distinct roles of the
National Land Commission and the Lands ministry as well as a proposal to
enforce Chapter Six of the constitution on leadership and integrity.
