Raila Odinga has urged leaders to strike common ground ahead of the referendum to facilitate a constitutional dispensation before the next polls.
He asked leaders from rival camps to reach out to perceived political adversaries with a view to arrive at a consensus over contentious issues which derailed previous attempts to review the constitution of the country.
"We must strike a compromise ground this time round so that all leaders irrespective of their political leanings marshal fellow countrymen to endorse the document during the referendum" Odinga insisted.
Slum upgrading
He stressed that the coalition government was determined to institute the reform agenda adding that progress was made in the judiciary, police, boundary and other key governance structures that were earmarked for changes.
The premier told a funds drive towards empowerment of the Langata Youth Enterprise kitty that the country could not afford to head to the next election with the old constitution.
He however warned temporary land allottees in Kibera to stop undermining government effort to improve the living standards of slum dwellers with immediate effect.
He asked the reluctant allottees to honorably relinquish their ownership permit to give way for the ongoing slum upgrading project in the sprawling suburb instead of fighting to retain their land parcels contrary to the wishes of their tenants.
The Premier said the government had finalized modalities to fast track the second phase of the exercise for the good of the country and was not ready to be cowed by a few individuals purporting to be landlords in the slum.
He confirmed receipt of reports to the effect that some allottees in Laini Saba area where the occupants were recently relocated to create space for new housing units under the project were opposed to the plans.
Reports indicated that a section of private developers who acquired temporary and allotment permits had sought court orders to bar the government from pulling down their structures unless they were fully compensated.
"These so called landlords must tread cautiously over their attempts to rent the vacated structures to new occupants because as far as we know everybody in the area is a tenant since the government owns the land parcel" Odinga warned.
He told a funds raiser held at Kibera's Olympic Primary school that the permits the allottees were bragging about were on temporary lease and could not legitimize their claim for compensation in local courts.
The Premier announced that the proposed land reforms policy document which sailed through the cabinet and was headed to the house had provisions which could contain the runaway culture of land grabbing in the country.
He said the inception of the Saidia Jamii concept was to cushion vulnerable groups from the vagaries of harsh economic realities and revealed that a pilot phase may soon be rolled out before a full implementation was undertaken countrywide.
Odinga said the government had finally patched up the loopholes through which funds were misused under the Kazi Kwa Vijana programme and assured that the desired impact would be realized in the current phase.
He said preliminary audit of the first phase of the programme revealed that two thirds of the funds were spent on procurement of tools and equipment thereby beating the logical essence of the entire concept.
The Premier said the programme which was tailored to directly benefit the unemployed lot in the wake of economic recession was no longer serving the intended purpose and had to be restructured to meet the goal.
Cabinet Ministers Fred Gumo, Charity Ngilu, Paul Otuoma members of parliament and former Attorney General Charles Njonjo were among invited guests at the well attended function that realized at least Ksh 5.4 million
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