Raila wrong on Ruto's endorsement of Sonko

Nasa presidential nominee Raila Odinga in Kisumu on May 21, 2017. PHOTO | TONNY OMONDI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has had the last four-and-a-half years to demonstrate leadership in the major counties of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, all under his party the Orange Democratic Movement.

  • I can categorically state without fear of contradiction that these counties have failed the country and mocked devolution.

  • What we have witnessed is utter failure in management and theft of public resources.

Nasa presidential nominee Raila Odinga was reported in the media on May 19 to have said that Deputy President William Ruto’s endorsement of Senator Mike Mbuvi Sonko for Nairobi governor in this year’s elections is inconsequential. I disagree with his sentiment. More importantly, I wish to emphasise the value and weight of gaining the endorsement of a top national figure such as the Deputy President in the county political race.

It is absurd and imprudent of Mr Odinga to make such remarks. The former Prime Minister has had the last four-and-a-half years to demonstrate leadership in the major counties of Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, all under his party, ODM. I can categorically state without fear of contradiction that these counties have failed the country and mocked devolution. What we have witnessed is utter failure in management and theft of public resources. Mr Odinga claims that the national government has failed to remit Sh50 billion to Nairobi County. This is misleading as he fails to indicate that out of that amount, some Sh46 billion accounts for some disputed land in Embakasi. The Kenya Defence Forces currently occupies the land and during my time as the Town Clerk, I took the matter to court with the objective of reclaiming it or getting fair compensation. The matter is still in court. He also claims that the national government has withheld money meant for devolution. Instead, Mr Odinga should demand accountability from the governor who should explain how he has used the Sh60 billion allocated to the county in the past four years.

POLYCARP IGATHE

Mr Odinga also claims that the Jubilee leadership pressured Senator Sonko into picking business executive Polycarp Igathe as his running mate. Jubilee’s internal politics should not concern ODM. The choice of Mr Igathe as Mr Sonko’s running mate is meant to bolster service delivery should they be elected. This speculation only serves to distract the public from the poor performance of Nairobi under ODM.

He states that Nairobians will give Governor Evans Kidero a second term to “complete projects”. Voters should critically examine the administration. Mr Kidero has delivered few, if any, of his campaign promises. His administration disregarded strategies and projects I had initiated. We had laid a solid foundation for an urban renewal project, asset management, an ICT and financial management strategy, a solid waste management scheme with Jica, an integrated mass bus system with the World Bank, and a physical address system, yet Mr Kidero failed the simple task of execution.

In 2013, Mr Kidero presented his campaign bid based on his “success” at Mumias Sugar Company as qualifying him to manage Nairobi. In 2015, news of a scandal at Mumias broke and resulted in a Sh2.3 billion government bailout.

The national government would later pump in another Sh5 billion to prevent its collapse, as this would have adversely affected more than 100,000 families. Mr Kidero’s poor performance as Mumias CEO and as also the first governor of Nairobi should give a good feedback on his re-election chances.

PARTY MANIFESTOS

Mr Kidero alleges that ODM will clinch Nairobi with 1.5 million voters, and deliver 13 parliamentary seats and 53 MCAs. Regrettably, our politics is tribally based and only 10 per cent of the electorate will vote based on manifestos. The voting bloc constitutes of the Kikuyu at 0.8 million, the Luhya, 0.45 million, the Luo, 0.35 million and the Kamba at 0.2 million. It is highly improbable that ODM will win, as 10 per cent of the voters (middle class) are unlikely to support Mr Kidero.

The governor claims to have “signed deals” worth Sh600 billion. This is questionable as the money was meant for a renewal project. This is a ploy to create an inflated sense of the administration’s “outstanding” performance to convince voters to re-elect Mr Kidero. When my administration conceptualised the ‘Eastlands Urban Renewal’, project, we envisioned building a city along the Pretoria model rather than just constructing houses and “signing deals”.

Mr Odinga’s remark that “Jogoo la shamba haliwiki mjini”, alluding to the DP’s rural upbringing over his endorsement of Mr Sonko, is wrong. Leadership is not determined by one’s locality, but based on capability, competence and qualification. I wish to remind him that he, too, has village roots.

Philip Kisia is a Nairobi-based politician and a former Nairobi Town Clerk.