Photo/FILE Youth at past rally in Nakuru.
By KNA
Posted Tuesday, August 2 2011 at 18:46
Posted Tuesday, August 2 2011 at 18:46
Politicians have been accused of turning jobless young professionals into paupers who depend on cash handouts.
Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) member Ken Nyaundi said these professionals were being misused by politicians who gave them cash to spend on leisure during campaigns, but let them lapse back into poverty after the elections.
He said that to mount a successful campaign, an aspiring MP required more than Sh15 million.
Addressing a civic education forum at Tom Mboya Labour College in Kisumu on Tuesday, Mr Nyaundi said political campaigns in Kenya “had been turned into a matter of life and death but the new Constitution will help restore discipline and order in the way we do politics”.
IIEC official Arthur Osiya said the era of youths providing security for politicians must end.
“Such youths make it difficult for political aspirants to be challenged by the electorate to explain what they plan to achieve if they are elected to the county assembly, Parliament or senate and even the presidency,” Mr Osiya said.
He urged Kenyans to participate actively in governance issues and determine who gets elected to the various levels of devolved government.
“In the 1980s, something went wrong. The best people were not elected to Parliament, but this round, Kenyans must change their attitudes and ensure that the right people who are morally upright, tested elsewhere and will not allow themselves to be corrupted are mandated to lead the country,” he said.
Mr Nyaundi called for the establishment of a County Loans Authority to facilitate development as anticipated by a majority Kenyans.
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