President Mwai Kibaki arrives in parliament for its special opening on March 22,2011. PHOTO/HEZRON NJOROGE
By BERNARD NAMUNANE bnamunane@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Tuesday, March 22 2011 at 22:00
Posted Tuesday, March 22 2011 at 22:00
In Summary
- Leaders asked to focus on actualising the hopes awakened by new law
Speaker Kenneth Marende on Tuesday warned that Kenya was gradually losing its position as a regional development hub, thanks to the negative politics of its leaders.
The Speaker urged President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga to take advantage of the new Constitution, make timely decisions and guide MPs in their parties to pass laws which will spur development.
“We need to desist from sideshows, power games, retrogressive politics and posturing, that tend to delay our grand development plans. Let us be progressively flexible and avoid rigid positions,” he said.
Mr Marende said the new Constitution had awakened the hopes and expectations of Kenyans and required dedicated leadership to deliver.
“I appeal to you, the leaders of Kenya, to be at the forefront in providing a transformational leadership, a leadership fully committed to actualise the promises of the new Constitutional order,” he said.
Mr Marende spoke as Parliament resumed its sitting faced with a heavy reform agenda that has to be concluded before the next elections.
The reopening of the House comes against the backdrop of a heated political exchange between PNU and ODM — the Grand Coalition partners — over the fate of the Ocampo Six, who are expected to go to The Hague on April 7 and 8 for initial appearances before the pre-trial proceedings start.
There are fears that the House could be used to sustain the debate.
Mr Marende said Parliament had played its role by establishing the commissions that were key to the implementation of the Constitution.
He named them as the Constitution Implementation Commission, the Judicial Service Commission and Commission on Revenue Allocation.
The Speaker singled out the delayed implementation of decisions as the problem ailing the country.
He cited the failure to upgrade the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, as an example.
“We need to deliberately take steps to harness opportunities on time. There has been a tendency for us to take infinitely long to implement decisions that we make.
“We have examples of decisions that stayed on our tables for far too long until they were overtaken by events or considerably diminished in value by the time we implemented them.”
He urged the government to act fast and finalise the road linking Kenya to Ethiopia and Southern Sudan; to upgrade the Mombasa-Kisumu railway line and open up the Lamu port for sea transport.
“I urge that we move quickly to provide a quick transit corridor through Kenya to our neighbouring countries, and complete the proposed tourist cities across the country so that we attract more visitors,” he said.
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