The Kenyan constitutional referendum has been a waste of resources for a long time. The government spent so much money in the defeated referendum in November 2005. Again, leading to this upcoming referendum, the government finds itself in a situation where they have spent so much resource to put the draft together and even campaign for the draft itself. Surely, we have got to move on from these YES and NO’s .There is nothing worse in life than failing to make a decision, and this is what we have certainly been witnessing over the last few years. Sometimes it’s even better to make a decision that’s wrong and build on that to make a correct one. For us to remain discussing the same issues on the constitution without making a step forward is weak and being stagnant. We need to be aware that every time there is a contentious issue in place, it’s always hard to bring the parties involved to agree, what Kenyans need to do for now is to let us have the new constititution and then any amendments can be made once we have it in place.
If I was given the opportunity to be the decision maker, in this case the executive, I would convince parliament to debate and isolate the contentious issues and put them aside. Once we put this issues aside, we can have the rest of the draft implemented into a constitution. Am assuming that once we set aside the contentious issues, we will have a 100% YES vote. Once the constitution has been put in place, the other issues can be reviewed and debated and then a later date for those issues to be voted for or against can be set, probably sometime next year. I believe that this will foster national unity and ensure that no further funds are wasted. We have to be aware that whether the constitution draft passes or fails on august 4th, 2010, some of the contentious issues in the draft can only be amended via a referendum. Which again will call for funds and of course further wasted funds.
Surely, twenty years is a long time for a democratic country like Kenya, with enough educated individuals. It’s a shame that 20 years on we are still searching for a new constitution. Whether we hold this referendum today, tomorrow or even 100 years, I believe that there is no way that we will come to a consensus on ALL the issues or clauses, In my view, let’s have it as it is for now and we can continue to amend those issues on a pay as you go basis. Let’s have this constitution and move on. So from me it’s a YES with no strings attached. August 4th, 2010, one word….YES..
