The National Executive Council of the Wiper Democratic Movement-Kenya (WDM-K) has elected Hon. Ambassador Chirau Ali Mwakwere as its Acting National Chairman and Mrs. Anne Kanyi as Acting National Vice-Chair.
This was during the conclusion of its retreat Sunday at the Kenya School of Law in Karen, Nairobi. The NEC also resolved that other vacant positions will be filled at a later date.
Speaking after the retreat, Ambassador Mwakwere said the election of the Chairman and Vice-Chair will be ratified at a National Delegates Conference whose date will be announced later.
Saying that they also resolved to support efforts to reform the Constitution and reiterated its unequivocal support for the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) which is nearing conclusion of its work.
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“We believe that the BBI offers the best and all-inclusive roadmap for Kenya’s democracy, prosperity and inclusivity. We, however, propose that the BBI should culminate in a Parliamentary-initiative-driven Referendum in the next 60 days.” Said Mwakwere
The WDM-K however opposed the Punguza Mzigo Bill for lack of public participation and urged all county assemblies to exercise caution and ensure that there is public participation before debate and voting.
“The Bill, in its current form, is poison offered in a golden chalice because, though it purports to offer a panacea to the high cost of running government, it in fact claws back on the gains of the 2010 Constitution concerning equitable representation at both County and Constituency levels by drastically reducing the number of elected representatives. But, more worrisome is the fact that Punguza Mzigo takes away from women, the youth and people with disabilities their right to equitable representation.” Added Mwakwere
They also lauded efforts by the Director of Criminal Investigations and the Director of Public Prosecutions in the fight against corruption and also the Chief Justice in his announcement of setting up a separate court to deal with corruption matters and his further direction, that all corruption-related cases will be heard on a day-to-day basis.
Mwakwere reiterated the party’s support for President Uhuru Kenyatta’s resolve in fighting corruption noting that the president is on the right path in his war against graft. They however urged the president to institute changes and reform in the Treasury at the earliest, in order to bring stability in the economy.
The Acting chair urged the Intergovernmental Framework to immediately initiate mediation processes to forestall financial crisis at counties in the ongoing dispute on Division of Revenue.
“WDM-K condemns all acts of corruption in counties and urges the DCI and DPP to move with speed to bring to book all persons who may have engaged in corruption in the counties. We urge Parliament to consider and debate the proposal to have Governors step aside in the event they are charged in corruption-related offences.” Said Mwakwere.
The party says it will embark on a mass membership registration exercise in the next one month.