Plans underway to merge Jubilee, Amani coalitions' manifestos

MIGORI, KENYA: Plans are underway to merge Jubilee and Amani coalitions’ manifestos for better development programmes in the country, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s chief political affairs adviser Joshua Kuttuny has said.

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Speaking in Migori County on Monday, Kuttuny said the move was to ensure that Kenyans end up with the best policies possible in a bid to move the country forward.
“We know that all the coalitions had good plans for the country and we cannot ignore their manifestos,” he said, adding that the initiative will see the government come up with one major plan which contains what is desired across the country.
He said the government would also look at the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy ( CORD) manifesto to ensure that they do not miss anything aimed at helping improve the lives of Kenyans.
At the same time, Kutuny defended the government against accusations by sections of leaders that it was not doing enough to aid devolution as envisioned in the constitution, saying the facts on the ground were that the government was actually doing more than what is said in the constitution.
“Let us look at what the president has already done for devolution within the past three months alone and know its commitment to devolution,” he said, adding that those saying the president was not for devolution were not being honest.
He at the same time urged the Governors to drop their demand for a referendum on devolution, saying there was no need for anyone to fear that devolution would be undermined.
According to the former Cherengany MP, although the constitution provided for 15 percent of the country’s budget to go to the counties, the government had actually taken more than double of that to the devolved governments.
“We are seeing over 30 percent going to the counties and we urge our Governors to be patient and let the government go on with devolution. More money will be channeled to the counties to undertake projects by the national governments,” he said.
On the youth fund, he insisted that the Sh6 billion cannot be given to Members of Parliament to distribute in their areas, saying the MP’s could not be trusted to be fair when giving out the money.
“There must be a body charged with the distribution of this fund because the legislators will only end up giving it to their friends and those who supported them,” he claimed.