RESOLUTIONS OF OKOA KENYA MOVEMENT MEETING, AUGUST 13, 2014

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RESOLUTIONS OF OKOA KENYA MOVEMENT MEETING, AUGUST 13, 2014:

From time to time, progressive forces have met here at Ufungamano to plan and organize what eventually emerged as the most important freedoms we as a people enjoy today, including our new constitution.

That is the spirit in which we met today. This meeting is the culmination of an intense series of prior consultations involving civil society, professionals and political leaders representing all shades of political leanings and opinions. The consultations shall continue.

The meeting today is deliberate effort on the part of civil society, political parties, professionals and other sectors to create synergies and work together to confront the problems facing us today, and they are many.

We reiterate that Okoa Kenya Movement is independent of any single political party or grouping. Wherever we are, whatever we do, whomever we are, we are called upon to stop the watching and analyzing and blame game and join hands to rescue our country.

Most pressing are insecurity, corruption, spiraling cost of living, deepening inequality which has turned us into two big tribes - one tiny, rich and isolated from reality and the other, gigantic youthful and angry.

We live with the ideology of tribalism which continues to hold sway in public affairs. It is poisoning our politics and undermining all efforts at nation building.
We are stuck in a rut with regard to land reforms. Decades old injustices risk being ignored again despite the new constitutions and numerous reports, including that of the TJRC that spell out how to deal with this matter.

We are caught in the era of wasteful spending and and reckless borrowing by national government. The debt will be paid by our children and their children.

Our security has never been this poor. Devolved units which are the hope of long marginalized people of Kenya, are facing troubled kick off because the people at the top of National Government want to retain over centralization and the policy of marginalization. We have lingering and undying uncertainty over elections refereeing in our country.

We have resolved to stand together as political actors regardless of party, religious leaders, civil society, professionals and all Kenyans of goodwill to collectively take a stand against all these reversals we have witnessed. We agree to forge a bond to rescue our country.
For purposes of this referendum, we have resolved to focus on:

1: Devolution: Here we intend to raise money to counties from the current 15 per cent to 45 per cent. Higher funding for counties will not only make the units meet their obligations, it will also ensure the heavy taxation of citizens which counties have been forced to resort to to make ends meet, come down. We also want some security functions to be performed by county governments to ensure security for our people.

2: Land: Here, we resolve to work together to strengthen the National a Land Commission to enable it play its role. We seek to remove all stumbling blocks to addressing the issue of land which remains a thorn in the national flesh more than fifty years after independence.

We agree that we cannot, must not postpone land reform one more time. We must not again wait for people to be butchered before we can accept that time is running out for land reform. Land that was illegally acquired must be returned to the people through a well spelt out legal provision for restitution.

3: Electoral Reforms: We resolve that elections must never be mini civil wars in our country again. The coming of elections must never again be a period of uncertainty and fear that makes investors hold back or leave our country waiting to see how it goes.

Voting and tallying of results in Kenya must not be an exercise that runs for weeks. Kenya is too advanced for that. And elections must not end in more questions than answers as 2013 did or in tears and death as 2007 did.

Kenyans deserve a lean, efficient, independent and transparent electoral body that enjoys the confidence of all, that allocates registration kits equally to all parts of the country and that goes out of its way to ensure every eligible voter registers and votes. That is far from what we have today. That is what we must have before the next election.

4: Inclusivity and Equality: We have resolved to stand with our National Anthem. The National Anthem says, Haki Iwe Ngao na Mlinzi. Natukae na undugu, Amani na Uhuru. Raha tupate na ustawi. We agree that we cannot realize these hallowed dreams when a section of Kenyans are in the room celebrating while another half is locked out of opportunities. Inclusivity and Equality must reign in Kenya. We must address imbalances between regions, communities in access to opportunities. We must strengthen the law for the actualization of equality and ensuring the public sector reflects the face of Kenya. We want to institutionalize our national character in public service.

From today, we embark on collection of signatures, which we will later forward to the IEBC for onward transmission to county assemblies for approval and submission to Parliament for approval. If not approved, we will take it to the people.

We invite all Kenyans of good will to take this rare opportunity, provided by a constitution we fought long and hard to get and participate in this once in a life time chance to show and exercise their sovereignty.