Ladies and gentlemen of the media. Tomorrow, Parliament will commence a two day special sitting to deliberate on a number of critical national issues. One of thee critical issues is the Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill 2020 or the BBI Bill as it is popularly known. I called you here to make clear the position of the orange Democratic Movement on that Bill and to advise all our MPs to align themselves accordingly. It is the party’s position that Parliament should pass the BBI Bill as it is, in it’s entirety.
This is therefore a rallying call to our members to align themselves accordingly with the party position. It is also an appeal to our members and supporters out there to prepare to vote for the Bill once it is presented to them in the referendum. Statecraft is an exercise in constant negotiations and give and take. In that process, you win some and lose some but you soldier on. That is the case with the BBI and the Bill it has produced.
As a party, we may not have got everything we had wished for. In fact, no party has got everything it wished for. But there are some very important gains in the BBI that we would not want to throw out just because we did not get everything. ODM has always advocated for strengthening of Devolved units and increased funding for those units. The BBI Bill increases funding to counties and extends funds to thewards. That is a gain we can’t throw away. ODM has been very vocal on fighting corruption.
The BBI Bill has some very practical and radical proposals on how to stop corruption from being a way of life in Kenya. We do not want to throw away those proposals. ODM has always stood up for equitable sharing of the wealth of the nation. Equity has been our rallying call as a party since our inception. The BBI has some very solid proposals on how to ensure shared prosperity in the country. We do not want to throw away those proposals. ODM supporters have borne the brunt of election violence in this country. We know what happened in 2007, 2013 and 2017. BBI has some solid proposals on how to end the culture of election violence and the winner takes all brand of our politics. We don’t want to lose those proposals.
The BBI Bill has some very solid proposals on how to help our youth and turn them into innovators and entrepreneurs, how to make them creators and not seekers of jobs, and how to make them self-reliant. We do not want to lose those gains. Even the gender representation question is getting resolved through the BBI. And for the first time, this country is confronting the question of how to ensure productivity through industrialization and enhanced manufacturing. That is a gain in the BBI that we cannot afford to lose. But tthese are just but a few among the many gains that comes with BBI.
ODM stands in full support of the Bill and calls for its passage in totality. And we stand solidly, side by side, with H.E President Uhuru Kenyatta and his brother Rt Hon Raila Odinga in their quest to fix Kenya through partnership and honest engagement. We urge President Kenyatta and the ODM leader Raila Odinga to soldier on. Mr President and Rt Hon Raila Odinga, get this assurance from us as a party: You have enough troops both behind you and by your sides to help you push this agenda through. Do not be afraid. Do not be distracted. Do not be blackmailed. We are in this battle together.
Thank you and God bless Kenya.
HON. CPA JOHN MBADI, EGH, MP NATIONAL CHAIRMAN,
ODM LEADER OF MINORITY PARTY,
NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF KENYA.
