The Constitutional Amendments Should Affix Good Governance and Accountability

The Constitution of Kenya 2010 at its preamble acknowledges the aspirations of all Kenyans for a government based on the essential values of human rights, equality, freedom, democracy, social justice and the rule of law.

The people exercise their sovereign power directly or through their democratically elected representatives.

The constitution organizes a government by distributing the powers of making, executing and interpreting the laws. The sovereign of the people is exercised at the national and county levels and is delegated to parliament and legislative assemblies, national executive and executive structures,the Judiciary and independent tribunals.

The underlying objective is to establish a government that embodies the ideals and desires of the people and promotes the common good. By and large this is fertile through good governance.

According to Dennis Wendo the Founder- Integrated Development Network (IDN) Good governance entails legitimate, accountable, and effective ways of obtaining and using public power and resources in the pursuit of widely-accepted social goals and is both the ideal and standard of a democratic government. It is premised on the values of democracy and the rule of law.

It calls for honesty and integrity in the public service as well as having positive and effective measures against graft and corruption. Public accountability is essential to good government. The primary duty of the government is to serve and protect the people, the people have the right to hold those in public office accountable for their acts.

“The Constitutional adjustments should be centred towards improving the structures of the government for it to be more responsive to the needs of the people in a challenging state of affairs. It is the people’s response to the crises, conflicts and controversies of the times” he stated

“Additionally Amendments should prioritize the promotion of better governance and public accountability, they should strengthen the democratic institutions for the better enjoyment of individual liberties and a more meaningful people’s participation in public affairs”.he added

The collapsed Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) identified nine issues whose resolution was spirited towards guaranteeing all Kenyans true citizenship and justice, thereby addressing and ending tribalism, corruption, impunity and electoral theft, nepotism, and politically skewed development and employment history in Kenya. It was to herald a new dawn for the nation, in which all citizens realize their fullest potential, especially the historically marginalized women, the youth, persons with disabilities, minorities, pastoralists and other vulnerable groups. The ultimate aim of the initiative was to forge a united, just and prosperous nation.

The clamour to review the supreme law has been revisited and talks are on-going courtesy of the National Dialogue Committee.

The NADCO report and recommendations should be courageously approached with honesty, open mind and a broader perspective of addressing the perennial social, economic and political challenges of the nation and its people.

Either way, through parliament or by referendum, an in-depth awareness of the proposed changes is critical to all. A clear ground plan should be in place to address existing unresolved grey areas of concern to avert political, electoral, tribal, regional and gender divisions.

The drivers of the reforms ought not to buttress secrets and hidden agenda, tilted in settling self-interests or reshaping the law to suit their future aspirations. The NADCO recommendations are largely holistic and time remains of essence in actualizing the report.

Embracing national dialogue is constructive and provides a platform for Kenyans to understand that an election is a process, they learn to accept election outcomes and become accommodative of even the losers.

“Let the amendments be guided by the principles of good governance. Upholding this, the Constitution will be of the people, by the people and for the people” said Wendo.