STATEMENT OF THE ODM CENTRAL MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE

;
AUGUST 11, 2015;

This has been a short but critical meeting of a critical organ of the party over equally critical party and national matters.

As some of you reported correctly, we deliberated on the fate of those who left the party for all sorts of reasons, but now feel they need to rejoin the party.

Fortunately, our party is clear on this matter. A resolution was therefore easy to arrive at. We will go by provisions of the party’s Election and Nomination Rules Section 8 (d). That should settle this matter once and for all. We are sorry to disappoint those who expected a blood bath over this matter.

The Central Committee has resolved to declare a blanket amnesty for all former members who may have left the Party for one reason or other. You are all welcome back home to fully participate in the Party elections and activities.

Those former members who may have contested any position on the ticket of other parties and now wish to seek leadership positions in ODM may apply to the Party National Elections Board (NEB) for clearance.

We also received a report on preparations for our grassroots elections and we are happy to report that there is excellent progress and preparations. Everything is on course. We remain the only party that holds elections and constantly tries to give the people a voice on the running of the party by deciding its leadership.

We have also deliberated on the planned Party Retreat scheduled for this weekend. The agenda for the retreat is a midterm review of the overall performance of our Party. We will also receive a report from our Strategy Team as part of Internal Strategic Planning.

With party matters dispensed with, we took a look at emerging matters of national importance. At this moment in our history, we took particular interest in information coming out to the effect that President Uhuru Kenyatta signed a deal with Uganda allowing Uganda to bring cheap sugar into Kenya. It is a shocker in its most negative sense.

Our Party Leader Rt. Hon Raila Odinga has just put out a statement on this, asking the President to come clean and explain himself to the people of Kenya.

This high organ of the party supports the Party Leader’s position and we will be speaking to you soon should the President fail to account to Kenyans.
We only wish to emphasise a challenge to the President to put National Interest above any other that he or the people around him, including his Cabinet, may harbour. It is scandalous to use your nation to seek personal gain on the international stage.

We take the position that the President must also not confuse national interest with the interests of the National Government. Deals over issues like agriculture, where sugar falls, need the input of county governments. Agriculture is a devolved function. We leave it there for now. But you will be hearing more from us on this matter.

Signed
Ababu Namwamba SG
Fb