Kenya: People's manifesto launched

The Nation (Kenya),

by Samwel Kumba - December 11, 2007.

Nairobi (Kenya) – Access to education, security, smooth roads, free media and affordable health are among the demands Kenyan voters have of their political candidates.

Other demands are respect and protection of peoples' rights to actively participate in governance, the right to vote in members to local committees and determine which projects are prioritised. All these and more constitute the manifesto launched yesterday by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) dubbed, "National People's Manifesto, From Party Promises to People's Demands", and which contains a collection of peoples' views from 55 constituencies across the country. The launch coincided with the International Human Rights Day.

The collection, validation and engagement of the electorate to compile the manifesto is thought to be instrumental in shaping the choice of a leader from among the candidates who will battle it out in the ballot box later this month. Launching the manifesto, the executive director of KHRC, Ms Muthoni Wanyeki, appealed to the leaders to respect the people's right to utilising decentralised funds in an accountable and transparent way as well as promoting human rights.

"This is the first time in Kenya's history that people have demystified power and spoken truth to it. They have delegitimised the party manifestos and formulated their own, debunked party promises by placing demands on political parties and candidates and exercised their right to determine their own destiny," Ms Wanyeki said. The People's Manifesto is founded to bring about transformation before, during and after the electoral process, Mr Tom Kagwe, a researcher at KHRC said. The views were collected from various regions including the Rift Valley, Northern Region, Coast, Eastern Region and Western Region.

Across these areas, people felt that elected leaders should continuously lobby relevant government authorities for construction of roads, schools and dams besides them (leaders) spending time in their constituencies and wards. "Elected leaders should lobby their respective political parties to have a third female membership and leadership as well as nominate women to both Parliament and the councils, aim to upgrade and tarmac roads, ensure better utilisation of rural electrification funds, liaise with municipal councils to ensure hawkers are allocated designated areas and lobby the Ministry of Lands to settle squatters," the manifesto reads in part.

Other projects that the electorate is lobbying for include construction of dispensaries, tertiary colleges and centres for adult learning, completion of the constitutional review process and nurturing the empowerment of women. The various regions also had their own unique sanctions to ensure that the elected leaders performed. In Rift Valley, the people called for a 'moot recall' of elected leaders where the people shall elect acting leaders to replace duly elected ones if they fail to honour demands made.

In the Northern Region, the electorate sought to pile pressure on elected leaders to deliver on their promises through mobilisation of voters to sign up a petition calling for improved performance. In Coast, the citizenry will be mobilised to sign petitions demanding improved performance and demonstrate against non-performing elected leaders. In Eastern, the people will boycott all functions organised by elected leaders who under-perform and form a task force to ensure elected leaders implement the constituency-based people's manifesto. And in Western, the electorate preferred to sue leaders for misuse of public resources and call for the amendment of the constitution to allow for a recall clause.