Karua Opposes Ruto-Raila Committee Report

Azimio co-principal Martha Karua has declined to accept the National Dialogue Committee's (NADCO) report which was released on November 25.

Karua has voiced her discontent with the committee's report led by Kalonzo Musyoka and Kimani Ichung’wah, deeming it unacceptable. A week before the report's publication, Karua had already made it clear that she would refuse to endorse it unless it adequately addressed the matter of the soaring cost of living. Furthermore, she stressed the importance of the report addressing electoral fairness and the encroachment on political parties' independence.

On the other hand, Azimio's figurehead Raila Odinga recently regarded the report as "incomplete and flawed." Defying his negative assessment, Raila dubbed the report a promising launch pad. Raila claimed that they had put forward sensible proposals that could effectively tackle the problem of inflating expenses. He however mentioned that the response from the administration was not encouraging with the UDA faction claiming full responsibility and the privilege given by Kenyan citizens to manifest their policies under the flagship of Kenya Kwanza economic plan.

The committee proposed various actionable measures, one of which involves increasing the Supreme Court's deadline for resolving presidential election petitions, expanding the time frame from 14 to 21 days. They also unanimously confirmed the necessity for the formation of an Official Opposition leader role comprising two deputies and designated the Prime Cabin Secretary post as a legal entity. Additionally, the transfer of all devolved responsibilities and necessary resources to the county governments was also approved.

NADCO has put forth a proposal to amend the Constitution, ensuring that County Governments receive an equitable share of not less than 20 per cent of all revenue collected by the National Government (up from the current 15 per cent), as well as the creation of the Ward Development Fund.