The much hyped Raila Odinga with his Azimio team and William Ruto with KK getting together to have sensible dialogue for the sake of the country is just about to begin and from the looks of things, those talks are doomed and so is the country.
Already the Ruto point man for the talks the usually noisy, Kimani Ichung’wah, is busy having talks with himself and giving conditions about the talks. All that to himself. If what Ichung’wah says is what is in Ruto KK plan then please for the sake of the country don’t waste time even starting the talks.
Let the battles go on and the country will sort itself out. You cannot give conditions and for God’s sake let Obasanjo speak for himself because he is very capable of doing so. Don’t pretend that you are now Obasanjo’s representative.
Here is what the KK big boy talking to himself in the media about the talks with Azimio.
National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichun’gwah (UDA) who will lead the ruling coalition’s team in the dialogue said the Opposition breached a condition by Obasanjo not to mention him in public statements.
“Honouring the request by former Nigerian President Obasanjo not to be mentioned in any public statement, we regret the lack of decency by Azimio in not respecting this request,” Ichung’wah said in a dispatch on Wednesday.
The Ichung’wah-led team includes Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot (UDA), Embu Governor and UDA Party Chairperson Cecily Mbarire, EALA MP Hassan Omar (UDA) and Bungoma Woman Representative Catherine Wambilanga (Ford Kenya).
Kenya Kwanza constituted its team days after Azimio accused the government side of being dishonest on envisaged talks and deliberate misrepresentation of “facts”.
Ichung’wah’s team listed a five-point agenda including reconstitution of IEBC, implementation of the two-thirds gender rule, entrenchment of Constituency Development Fund, establishment the Office of the Leader of the Opposition and embedding the Office of Prime Cabinet Secretary in statute.
“For the avoidance of doubt.As Agreed, violence shall no longer and shall never be part of our nation’s political discourse. As agreed, there shall be no discussion of whatever nature on matters handshake or nusu mkate,” Ichung’wad said.
The Azimio side has a different approach which quite frankly makes more sense. They are saying no side will decide for the other which issues to put on the table. For them Azimio will bring the issues that they feel concern Kenyans want to be on the table for discussion and resolution and KK can do the same.
If KK wants to have talks about things that are not important to Kenyans then forget it and the talks will collapse before they are started and it is just back to the streets.
Which brings us to the cost of living issue. Just as some people are so desperate to avoid any discussions on the cost of living, President Ruto himself announced to Kenyans today that the prices for sugar has hit the roof.
Speaking at State House on Wednesday, he acknowledged the cost of sugar had skyrocketed since he took the oath of office.
“I agree that there is concern around sugar. We have had confusion and chaos in the whole sugar subsector. Many companies have closed shop because there is no cane to harvest, ” Ruto said.
“We have been reluctant to import sugar to avoid working against our farmers, but now, in the next two weeks, you will see a difference as we have ordered imports from outside the COMESA market,” he added.
The President also attributed the high prices of the commodity to a shortage of cane in the local market.
“It is true prices have gone up. We have been reluctant to work against farmers by opening importation. It has always been a problem in Kenya. Sometimes it has been used to destroy the sugar industry,” he said
Kenya’s sugar industry contributes 15% to Agricultural GDP and 2.75% of National GDP. Additionally, the industry contributes to food security, employment creation by providing direct and indirect employment to 500,000 workers , regional development and improved livelihoods for more than eight million Kenyans.
The industry relies on approximately 270,000 small-scale sugarcane farmers spread across 14 counties including Bungoma, Busia, Kwale, Trans Nzoia, Uasin Gishu, Siaya, Kisii, Kisumu, Homabay, Migori, Kakamega, Kericho, Nandi and Narok.
Two things are clear from Ruto’s statement. Discussion and resolution around the cost of living is inevitable in his talks with Raila and Azimio. You cannot ignore that big elephant not just in the tent but on the table. What else are you going to talk about until you move that cost of living elephant from the table?
The other strange thing Ruto talked about is that the sugar prices are skyrocketing because his government did not want to import sugar because that would hurt Kenyan sugar farmers and then at the same time Ruto says there are no sugarcanes to harvest in Kenya and that is why there is no sugar production.
Mr. President, how the heck do you protect sugarcane farmers when there is no sugarcane to harvest in Kenya? And you just realized that now after one year in office? The reason there is no sugarcane in the farms is because sugarcane farming and industry has been in a mess in Kenya for years and that is what the country leaders have to address and the time to do so is right now.
Two things are clear from Ruto’s statement. Discussion and resolution around the cost of living is inevitable in his talks with Raila and Azimio. You cannot run around that big elephant not just in the tent but on the table. What else are going to talk about until you move that cost of living elephant from the table?
Possibly Ruto and KK can solve the whole sugar problem by asking Kenyans to go for Sukari Nguru and forget sugar altogether. But maybe you still need to grow sugarcane to get Sukari Nguru. Damn it. That could be a problem for Ruto and his government.
Forget this.
The other strange thing Ruto talked about is that the sugar prices are skyrocketing because his government did not want to import sugar because that would hurt Kenyan sugar farmers and then at the same time Ruto says there are no sugar canes to harvest in Kenya and that is why there is no sugar production.
Mr. President, how the heck do you protect sugarcane farmers when there is no sugarcane to harvest in Kenya? And you just realized that now after one year in office? The reason there is no sugarcane in the farms is because the sugarcane farming in Kenya is in a complete mess.
Kenyans are abandoning sugarcane farming because of complete structural failures in the whole industry from farming itself to manufacturing with every government sugar manufacturers from Mumias, Muhoroni, Trans-Nzoia, and everywhere all crashing to the floor.
How is the Ruto government dealing with that? Wishful thinking and trips to sugarcane farmers and manufacturing factories is not working? Is importing sugar going to solve the whole problem? Sensibly and effectively reviving the sugar industry from farming to manufacturing has to be one of the issues that have to be discussed in the Ruto and Raila talks for the country. That is just one practical piece of their agenda.
“For the avoidance of doubt” let all Kenyans make it clear to Ruto, Raila, Ichung’wah and everybody else involved that the Peace Talks in Kenya are not about them or any other politician. It is about Kenyans and their country. Kapish.
