The pesa mfukoni (Inua Jamii a social protection programme) has been one of Azimio’s programs that gets a lot of heat from Ruto and his UDA who claim there is no money for that and it will lead to bigger debts and financial problems for the country. Of course, there is no money for that if you are stealing all of it from the Treasury.
According to the justreleased Azimio manifesto, they will indeed provide subsistence allowance of Kshs. 6,000 per month to 2 million Kenyans who need it. This is a very smart idea because unlike the loans we get on Eurobonds and others which is stolen by people like Henry Rotich, a Ruto appointee to the Treasury, this money goes to Kenyans who will spend it to support themselves.
That money goes to the economy right off the bat. That is how you generate economic activity and everybody benefits instead of the stolen money which is stashed in Dubai and Kenyans still have to pay for it for the next twenty years.
If the government gives something like this to my niece who right now runs a business in Nakuru after ten months she may not even need it. She will be fully on her own running her business and doing a lot of good for our economy.
It has to be streamlined properly so there is no waste and corrupt operations where money is given to dead people or anything like that. Keep the MPs away from that project otherwise, they will do the same thing they are doing with CDF.
Let that project be run by the national government and let Kenyans hold them accountable for every penny spent. We need to do that for everything in the next government and that is why Kenyans will not allow William Ruto anywhere close to that government.
Azimio 10-point agenda
1. Azimio la Ugatuzi
2. Azimio la Jitihada
3. Azimio la Kina Mama
4. Azimio la Ukulima
5. Azimio la Viwanda
6. Azimio la Wananchi
7. Azimio la Uwajibikaji
8. “Waste not a Single Child”
9. Maji Kwa Kila Boma
10. ‘Baba Care’
1.’One County, One Product’
The programme, according to Raila, is premised on manufacturing as the engine for wealth creation and employment to achieve double-digit economic growth rate.
At the implementation level, the National Government will provide material and technical support to each county’s government for vibrant industrialization.
It will also focus on increasing devolved resources to transform counties by advancing a ‘One County One Product’ program
2. ‘Kazi Kwa Wote’
The Azimio Government plants to have manufacturing as the driver of the government’s economic revolution is envisaged to spur growth of all sectors of the economy resulting in employment and wealth creation.
The AZIMIO government will support the growth of MSMEs, including the JuaKali sector through improved productivity and efficiency to spearhead the ‘Made in Kenya’ products.
3. ‘Fukuza Njaa’
The objective of the Fukuza Njaa agenda, according to Raila, is to feed the people and generate agricultural bounty that Kenya has the potential to produce.
According to Raila, his government will create an enabling environment for smart agriculture, improved livestock farming and growth of the blue economy.
4. ‘Inua Jamii, Pesa kwa jamii’
Pesa kwa Jamii (universal basic income) is a social protection programme that will give Ksh.6,000 to 2 million needy households across the nation.
According to Raila, the money is not a handout but an investment and a foundation for a new transformational value chain that will also trigger massive economic activity and create thousands of localized small-scale businesses and enterprises across the country. This will lead to millions of jobs and the eventual development of a thriving middle class.
5. ‘Azimio La Kina Mama’
Under this agenda, the Azimio La Umoja government will focus on the true multipliers of wealth in the Kenyan community; the women.
The programme plans to unlock access to financing for women-led businesses and provide support for women on other enabling factors such as access to assets for production, land tenure and proportional representation at all levels of government
6. ‘Hashtag Inawezekana’
According to Raila, the AZIMIO government recognizes that the youth are the engine of the country’s long term growth and development.
The Hashtag Inawezekana programme will equip the youth with the mindset, skills, funds and technology to enable them to innovate and even surpass their global counterparts.
The government will also provide ‘Baba Connect’ countrywide.
7. ‘Baba care’
BabaCare which seeks to address matters health in the country will ensure access to quality healthcare services by all Kenyans as per need and, provided by motivated health professionals.
The programme will also provide medical Insurance for retired public servants.
8. “Waste not a Single Child”
This programme, according to Raila, will be an aggressive scheme to ensure that all, not some of Kenya’s children, get rightful access to quality education.
The government under Raila also plans to deploy motivated teachers to deliver quality education.
9. ‘Maji Kwa Kila Boma’
Under this programme, Raila’s government will implement the Maji Kwa Kila Boma programme to radically reverse the shortages and high cost of water and ensure access by all, particularly for the poor.
10. ‘Administrative Continuity’
The Raila-led government plans to build up on and improve on the gains made by the exiting government.
According to Raila, Africa suffers from a retrogressive mindset of starting afresh, instead of advancing existing accomplishments.
During his manifesto launch, Raila said the AZIMIO government will reinvigorate and ensure the actualization of Vision 2030 by improving on gains made by the current government.
There are a lot of those Ruto whiners out there who tell us Raila is talking about eradicating poverty, disease, and ignorance and they say those were problems in 1963 and not now. I don’t know where they live but they can keep their ignorance as the next government gets rid of disease and poverty for tens of millions of Kenyans.
Healthcare services in Kenya are now a privilege for the rich and so is education and good normal life. Kenyans need better and they will get it if they vote Azimio to be their next government. That is their choice to make.
Now is time for Azimio to take their manifesto to Kenyans and talk to them about it. The PR stuff is done and now it is how Kenyans identify with this manifesto that is going to matter. Azimio should pay no attention to internet noisemakers like me. Take your ideas and programs to Kenyans. End of story.
Azimio did Kenyans and themselves a great favour. They did not come up with a 50-page document of slogans. It is one page. It is practical. It deals with what Kenyans need now and it is doable.
Take it to Kenyans and you win this election. And then implement it very carefully and thoughtfully. That is what the country and Kenyans have been fighting and waiting for in a few generations since 1896 when we became a colony of the British Empire. It is now or never. Simple as that.
The kind of structures Azimio is putting on the ground is very good. The Women Power for Azimio is already a big game-changer.
Kenyan women love their country too and they want to run it. And they are going to do it because they are not taking a back seat. They want to be involved in the governance of their country. Nobody is going to stop them.
Adongo Ogony is a Human Rights Activist and a Writer who lives in Toronto, Canada
