It's too early to campaign Kimemia tells politicians

Written By:Martin Mwanje,    Posted: Sun, Feb 12, 2012

Kimemia called for ethnic tolerance saying that the government was working towards uniting all communities in the country through peace and reconciliation forums between all communities. Acting Head of Public Service Francis Kimemia has called on politicians to stop premature campaigns ahead of the forthcoming general election and instead focus on development oriented issues. Kimemia says it's unnecessary to put the country into the campaign mood yet the general election is still many months away. He wants the political elite to redirect their energies on development issues. "It's too early to start political campaigns now. We have a long way to the elections and in the meantime let's focus on the development agenda as early campaigns will derail our development goals." He advised. The date of the forthcoming general election is not known but politicians have already engaged the campaign gear, traversing every part of the country to solicit for votes. Kimemia who spoke in Ol-Kalou and Nyeri said poor leadership is to blame for the myriad of problems facing the country. Kimemia has also warned politicians against engaging in hate campaigns that might spark ethnic animosity. He said even though it was the right of the political class to meet Kenyans in any capacity acts of hate campaigns will not be tolerated. "We would not wish to have a repeat of what happened after the year 2007 elections and that why the government has put in place all the necessary precautions to avert a similar situation as electioneering time approaches." He said. Kimemia who was until his elevation into the powerful post of Head of Civil service was the Internal Security Permanent Secretary also revealed that the government's peace and reconciliation efforts will culminate in a National Peace Conference that will be attended by President Mwai Kibaki.