Top in Raila's agenda if he secures victory in polls
Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga enjoys time with his granddaughter Senayi at The Hub in Karen on August 6, 2017. He said he will ensure police officers are well remunerated. PHOTO | KANYIRI WAHITO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Odinga promised to ensure that Kenya is safe from both internal and external threats to peace.
- Nasa is also planning to withdraw Kenya Defence Forces from Somalia.
National Super Alliance flagbearer Raila Odinga has pledged to start dealing with the high cost of living and corruption immediately if he wins Tuesday’s elections.
Mr Odinga, who on Sunday enjoyed a family day at Karen shopping centre, Nairobi, also promised to fight ethnic exclusion, youth unemployment, and provide free education and monthly stipends to single mothers and the elderly.
Speaking at the Hub, he said that the cost of living is too high and should be addressed before it gets out of hand.
EDUCATION
The presidential candidate also said that graft is haemorrhaging the economy, taking away “a lot of our resources from the public to private pockets”.
“Majority [of] Kenyans don’t feel that they are being treated equally in their society.
"They feel they have been alienated. The Nasa government will address this immediately to ensure that they are dignified in their country,” Mr Odinga said.
He also noted that free education will be implemented effective September, from nursery to secondary school.
HELB
Concerning university education, he said that Nasa plans to ensure that the education loan, Helb, is given to students without any conditions and that when they leave university, they don’t have to begin repaying until they are gainfully employed.
On matters corruption, Mr Odinga promised to strengthen institutions charged with the fight against the vice such as the anti-corruption commission, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary, among others, through legislation, provision of adequate resources and political goodwill.
CORRUPTION
This, according to the politician, will enable them perform their constitutional mandate without political interference, something he said is missing in the current administration.
“We know where the corruption is and we will deal with it head-on. Look at what they did in Tanzania and you will know what I am talking about,” he said.
“But I don’t want to scare anyone, we are not going to victimize anybody.
"We will deal with it in a fairly civilized manner. We will enable institutions that deal with corruption to function without executive interference,” the presidential candidate said.
POLICE OFFICERS
He also promised to ensure that Kenya is safe from both internal and external threats to peace.
To ensure this, Mr Odinga said, they have planned to revise the curriculum for police officers as well as retrain them.
Nasa also plans to remunerate the officers well, provide facilities in terms of proper housing, modern equipment and vehicles among others to deal with threats.
KDF SOLDIERS
Nasa has blamed Jubilee government for the high number of officers killed in the line of duty, saying such instances would have been avoided had they been provided with the right equipment.
For instance, along the border of Kenya and Somalia and in Lamu, many police officers have died from improvised explosive device attacks.
This is despite the government acquiring armoured personnel carriers (APCs) for police and the military.
Nasa is also planning to withdraw Kenya Defence Forces from Somalia on the basis that its presence in the neighbouring country has largely contributed to internal security issues.
Nasa maintains that KDF should instead be stationed along the borders.
