Mudavadi opposes referendum calls, says push 'a recipe for chaos'

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi has opposed calls for a national referendum, saying it was a recipe for chaos.

In his New Year message delivered when he addressed some 300 leaders from western region at his Mululu home in Sabatia, Vihiga County, Mr Mudavadi said the Constitution need not be altered while still being implemented.

Currently, three different factions have proposed to alter the Constitution through a national referendum, ahead of the 2017 General Elections.

Okoa Kenya, Punguza Mzigo and another push by a section of Jubilee MPs are the current clarion calls by different leaders seeking to amend the Constitution.

"The multiple calls for referendum could be a recipe for chaos if not well managed. It is clear that calls for referendum are ignited by political competition rather than a genuine desire to
reset the Constitution," said the former deputy Prime Minister.

He went on, "If these political leaders are allowed to run their course without proper management, their selfish calls could shuttle the country to precipice of chaos in an election period."

Mudavadi instead reiterated there was need for a national constitutional conference to audit implementation of the Constitution.

He noted that through the conference, the country could collectively agree on issues that need amendments, if necessary.

DERAILING DEVOLUTION

He cited the clarion call dubbed Punguza Mzigo, being fronted by Gatundu South legislator Moses Kuria, and termed it an initiative aimed at derailing the steps achieved by devolution since 2013.

"What does he intend to reduce, if not killing devolution fought for by many Kenyans? Where will he take that which he wants reduced? He posed.

The former Sabatia lawmaker said devolution was the preferred choice for Kenyans as it aimed at reducing the burden in the central government and decentralising service provision.

Mr Mudavadi also took issue with Mr Kuria's calls to cut down the number of counties and wondered which counties the young politician intends to have reduced.

He asked, "Does he want Vihiga, Kakamega, Bungoma, Busia and Trans-Nzoia scraped or is it Murang'a and Kiambu?"

Present during the leadership meeting was Sabatia MP Alfred Agoi, his Vihiga counterpart Yusuf Chanzu, Lugari's Ayub Savula, Hamisi MP Charles Gimose, Vihiga County government officials and several members of the county assembly.

The former chairman of the defunct Boundaries Review Commission, Mr Andrew Ligale, also attended.

The ANC leader, who has recently become a major critic of the Jubilee administration, also complained that President Uhuru Kenyatta's regime intends to "steal the coming elections through manipulation of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)".

DANGEROUS SCHEME

"The government has embarked on a dangerous scheme to starve IEBC of money needed for voter registration," he said.

He added, "Already Jubilee support bases have achieved registration targets. This is stealing an election by connivance and Kenyans should not allow this to happen."

Mr Mudavadi complained that more than 800,000 people from the former Western Province had not been registered by voters because the government had underfunded IEBC.

He said if the said persons were registered, the figures at IEBC could largely alter the figures said to have been registered in Jubilee strongholds.

Mudavadi, who ran for presidency in 2013, noted that there was need for a regime change in 2017 on grounds that the country was currently facing an uncertain future.

"2016 is a campaign year. The government has missed economic, political and social targets that would have laid the foundation for Kenyans to prosper in 2016. The coming year must therefore be a year of reflection on what type of leaders we need in 2017," he said.

He said the economy was hard on Kenyans, with taxation on essential goods raised beyond manageable scales.

In addition, he said corruption was rife in government, with the latest concerns revolving around the unexplained use of Eurobond, and the government had resorted to too much borrowing and hastily implementing grandiose projects.

The leaders who attended the meeting offered their support for the ANC leader and asked him to fight on.