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Raila warns of mass action if govt fails to implement the two-thirds gender rule
Cord leader Raila Odinga with a delegation of women leaders who visited him at his Opoda home in Bondo, Siaya County on Saturday May 9, 2015. Mr Odinga said the Opposition will call for mass action if the government fails to implement the two-thirds gender rule by August 2015. PHOTO | NELCON ODHIAMBO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
By NELCON ODHIAMBO & DENNIS ODUNGA
[h=3]In Summary[/h]
The Opposition will call for mass action if the government fails to implement the two-thirds gender rule by August, Cord leader Raila Odinga has said.
Mr Odinga said that the current representation of women in the National Assembly and Senate was insufficient and affirmative action was the only solution.
He accused the Jubilee Government of denying women adequate representation in the countrys leadership by mutilating the Constitution in its favour.
We (Cord) will publicly launch a campaign next month to compel President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto to show their commitment towards implementation of the Constitution, he said at his Opoda home in Bondo, Siaya County on Saturday evening.
While addressing a womens delegation to his home, Mr Odinga said the government had no option but to implement the 2010 Constitution to the letter before the August deadline.
The month of August is fast approaching and we (Cord) would want to see a third of persons in the Assembly being women as opposed to the current situation. Cord has the solution for this stalemate but Jubilee turned down our offer, he said.
In a December 2012 ruling, the Supreme Court ordered the Senate and the National Assembly to enact laws to give effect to the requirement that not more than two-thirds of all elective and appointive positions come from one gender.
The chairperson of the ODM women league Mrs Beth Siengo who led the womens delegation condemned the government for coming up with laws that deny women a chance to get into leadership.
The government should be empowering them by ensuring that women work effectively and not step on their rights, she said.
Mrs Siengo called on women to remain united and fight for the same cause that will ensure they are equally represented in the National Assembly and in other elected positions.
FRUSTRATE QUEST FOR LEADERSHIP
Meanwhile, women MPs accused their male counterparts of hatching a plot to frustrate their quest for leadership under the guise of saving public funds.
The legislators led by Mrs Millie Odhiambo-Mabona (Mbita, ODM) said they would resist a proposal to indefinitely postpone implementation of the two thirds gender rule, terming the move, unconstitutional.
The chairman of Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Samuel Chepkonga (Ainabkoi, URP) is behind the Bill, following concerns that the gender requirement could not be realised by August 27, as envisioned in the Constitution.
Ms Mabona said it was improper for male leaders to plot on how to bring down women.
We have men who have never spoken in Parliament yet they are elected. Why should they target women? she said.
This was a constitutional requirement that has to be implemented and not a matter of whether the country could afford it, she added.
The MPs proposed that Parliament regulates the number of times its committees meet to save public funds.
This would help save resources to finance implementation of the gender parity principle.
Raila warns of mass action over rule - Politics | Daily Nation
Cord leader Raila Odinga with a delegation of women leaders who visited him at his Opoda home in Bondo, Siaya County on Saturday May 9, 2015. Mr Odinga said the Opposition will call for mass action if the government fails to implement the two-thirds gender rule by August 2015. PHOTO | NELCON ODHIAMBO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
By NELCON ODHIAMBO & DENNIS ODUNGA
[h=3]In Summary[/h]
- Mr Odinga said that the current representation of women in the National Assembly and Senate was insufficient and affirmative action was the only solution.
- Mr Odinga said the government had no option but to implement the 2010 Constitution to the letter before the August deadline.
- Mrs Millie Odhiambo-Mabona (Mbita, ODM) said they would resist a proposal to indefinitely postpone implementation of the two thirds gender rule.
The Opposition will call for mass action if the government fails to implement the two-thirds gender rule by August, Cord leader Raila Odinga has said.
Mr Odinga said that the current representation of women in the National Assembly and Senate was insufficient and affirmative action was the only solution.
He accused the Jubilee Government of denying women adequate representation in the countrys leadership by mutilating the Constitution in its favour.
We (Cord) will publicly launch a campaign next month to compel President Uhuru Kenyatta and his Deputy William Ruto to show their commitment towards implementation of the Constitution, he said at his Opoda home in Bondo, Siaya County on Saturday evening.
While addressing a womens delegation to his home, Mr Odinga said the government had no option but to implement the 2010 Constitution to the letter before the August deadline.
The month of August is fast approaching and we (Cord) would want to see a third of persons in the Assembly being women as opposed to the current situation. Cord has the solution for this stalemate but Jubilee turned down our offer, he said.
In a December 2012 ruling, the Supreme Court ordered the Senate and the National Assembly to enact laws to give effect to the requirement that not more than two-thirds of all elective and appointive positions come from one gender.
The chairperson of the ODM women league Mrs Beth Siengo who led the womens delegation condemned the government for coming up with laws that deny women a chance to get into leadership.
The government should be empowering them by ensuring that women work effectively and not step on their rights, she said.
Mrs Siengo called on women to remain united and fight for the same cause that will ensure they are equally represented in the National Assembly and in other elected positions.
FRUSTRATE QUEST FOR LEADERSHIP
Meanwhile, women MPs accused their male counterparts of hatching a plot to frustrate their quest for leadership under the guise of saving public funds.
The legislators led by Mrs Millie Odhiambo-Mabona (Mbita, ODM) said they would resist a proposal to indefinitely postpone implementation of the two thirds gender rule, terming the move, unconstitutional.
The chairman of Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Samuel Chepkonga (Ainabkoi, URP) is behind the Bill, following concerns that the gender requirement could not be realised by August 27, as envisioned in the Constitution.
Ms Mabona said it was improper for male leaders to plot on how to bring down women.
We have men who have never spoken in Parliament yet they are elected. Why should they target women? she said.
This was a constitutional requirement that has to be implemented and not a matter of whether the country could afford it, she added.
The MPs proposed that Parliament regulates the number of times its committees meet to save public funds.
This would help save resources to finance implementation of the gender parity principle.
Raila warns of mass action over rule - Politics | Daily Nation