Mt Kenya caucus to discuss crucial Jubilee matters

Mt Kenya political caucus has announced plans to converge at the Methodist University in Meru to ventilate burning regional political and economic development issues after a bruising double election marathon in 2017.

Support for President Uhuru Kenyatta in his final term and Deputy President William Ruto’s 2022 succession plans are expected to feature, with debate about political and economic bargains and horse trading for the region in exchange for votes.

After crafting the Cabinet, Jubilee Party elections are next in line.

The centrality of the party affairs is indicated by the appointment of Jubilee Party secretary-general Raphael Tuju as Cabinet secretary without portfolio, a designation that insiders say is expected to align and direct Cabinet decisions, ministerial actions and feedback with Jubilee Party agenda at the highest level.

PARTY POSITIONS
Mr David Murathe, Jubilee’s interim vice chair who has since emerged as the de facto party chairman, says President Kenyatta’s legacy and a strong Jubilee Party are one and the same.

“His legacy is Jubilee Party. He is keen on a strong mass movement to steer the country to the next level.

"Once the election calendar is out, all positions will be up for grabs apart from the party leader and deputy leader positions. Initial timetable was for elections to rollout 90 days after the general elections, but unforeseen hitches postponed it,” he said.

The distribution of party positions and the process of identifying candidates and delegates and supervision is expected to feature at the Meru Meeting organised by the Mt Kenya Foundation (MKF).

Mr Tuju’s position as secretary-general, among others, has not been embraced fully by some in the Mt Kenya, the region that is still smarting from the controversial party nominations of April and May last year, which left many bitter after widespread fraud and divisions that destroyed careers.

DEVELOPMENT
Regional economic development, resource allocation and forthcoming national census are also expected to feature at the two-day meeting.

Last week, Nyandarua Governor Francis Kimemia used the funeral of retired President Kibaki Kibaki’s nephew to announce that the region is looking forward to the next edition of national census with keen interest.

“Leaders from our region should prepare properly for critical events like next year’s national census, boundaries and administrative review exercise.

"This would help us fight and overcome the marginalisation debate, overcome poverty and ensure proportional resource allocations to our region” he said.

Mr Kimemia is the current chairman of the Mt Kenya and Aberdare Counties Economic Bloc.

The next round of boundaries review has assumed a higher significance in Mt Kenya’s political dynamics, and ranks highly among bargaining chips in the Kenyatta-William Ruto succession negotiations.

BOUNDARIES
The equality of the vote and representation is a perennial political gripe in the region, but which has always been relegated by electoral exigencies of the moment each time it reared its head.

Among hard bargains the region plans to make in exchange for supporting Kenyatta-Ruto succession project is correction of the historical under-representation in Parliament due to what is perceived to be a lopsided electoral map and past gerrymandering that carved out more electoral units in sparsely populated regions than in densely ones across the region.

However, the 2010 Constitution provided a formula for boundaries review, but which is a political hot potato to implement as it requires creation of new constituencies and administrative units and merging of smaller ones that do not meet the population threshold.

Ndaragwa MP and chairman of the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) Jeremiah Kioni said while boundaries review and national census is a critical national undertaking, suggestions can only be made within the constitutional framework.

“Boundaries review falls under the purview of CIOC’s functions and leadership in Parliament and the committee will give directions on the way forward when time comes,” he said.

ECONOMY
Mt Kenya Foundation vice chairman Titus Ibwii confirmed the lobby is planning for the conference in partnership with the governors’ and parliamentarians’ caucuses in the region with a view to coordinating resource allocation and setting priorities for the region’s economic turn around.

“The focus is zoning counties in the region according to their comparative advantages in setting infrastructure development priorities to revamp social-economic growth.

"For instance, Kiambu has been marked as a centre for excellence in educational infrastructure while Nyeri County is targeted for investment in health sector facilities. Each county has been analysed and a needs matrix developed that leaders will debate and enrich,” Mr Ibwii said.