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BBI will resolve historical injustices, says Raila

 

ODM chief Raila Odinga has said Kenyans will have to deal with the same problems bedevilling them should they go to the ballot in 2022 with the Constitution as it is.

Raila, who met Muslim faithful led by Sheikh Juma Ngao at Wild Waters Complex, said on Sunday should the BBI fail to pass, many of the issues that Coast residents have been crying about will remain unaddressed.

“If we don’t pass this BBI, many of these problems will remain the same. If we go to the elections with the Constitution as it is, there will be no difference,” he warned.

Sheikh Ngao, the Kenya Muslim National Advisory Council chair, said the BBI has the same ideals that Islam teaches and will bring peace and understating to the country.

“Peace is the most fundamental issue in this BBI. Islam is peace,” he said.

The cleric has been a staunch proponent of the BBI in the Coast region, wooing about five million Muslims in the region to support the initiative.

Raila said ethnicity, which the BBI is fighting, is a disease of the elite, who are always competing for resources.

The ODM chief said historical injustices that the Coast leaders have been complaining about are issues that are addressed in the BBI through the ‘Legal Action’ pillar of the document.

The BBI, he said, has not been understood by many people, and it is not only about amending the Constitution.

It has three pillars – Administrative, Legal and Social.

The Administrative Action pillar involves those things that the government ought to have implemented but has not including the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission, the Ndung’u and the Kriegler reports, which he said will be implemented within a specified period once the BBI passes.

Raila said the Legal and Administrative Actions pillar involves aligning laws that were developed in the colonial era to the current state.

He said it is through this pillar that historical injustices will be addressed.

“Already, bills have been drawn, and they only need to be taken to Parliament for debate and passing. That is in the BBI,” Raila said.

He said the third pillar, and the most important, is the amendment of parts of the Constitution to suit the current demands of justice and social living.

Raila said devolution has been enhanced in the BBI and counties will receive more funds.

Currently, counties receive 15 per cent of the revenue collected in the last financial year, but the BBI proposes 35 per cent.

He defended governors, saying many times they are blamed for different issues, including lack of desired development at the county level but in truth, it is not their fault.

“The money that comes to the counties is so little, most of it is used for recurrent expenditure, mostly paying salaries. The money left for development is so little, nothing much can be done,” he said.

The BBI, he said, gives women a chance to have their voices heard.

He once again hit out at Deputy President William Ruto, who has blamed him for stalled Jubilee projects.

Ruto said they were doing well implementing projects their administration had started before Raila came into the picture through the handshake.

However, Raila said Ruto is crying wolf.

“Now those who did crime are now shifting blame saying Raila is the crime doer,” he said.

Raila said together with Uhuru, he has only been trying to implement the projects that they agreed on through the handshake.

“But his deputy of eight years now says he is not responsible for BBI, yet he is drawing salary from and getting protected by the government, the same one he is now condemning. Hypocrisy!” Raila said.

He likened Ruto to a spouse, who after a child has been born claims the child is not theirs, yet they are the only two people in the house.

“Whose government is this? Isn’t it for Uhuru and Ruto? How come he says this baby is Raila’s?” the ODM party leader posed.

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