IKI MUNUHE KENYA: A plot to transform the Jubilee coalition into a political party has outraged some member parties and added a new twist to the wrangles within The National Alliance (TNA). The matter would have been discussed at a TNA parliamentary group retreat planned for this weekend that has since been cancelled. The Standard On Saturday has established that the idea has divided President Uhuru Kenyatta’s party and upset some of his allies. A credible source in the alliance said the proposal has elicited a heated exchange between members of different parties within Jubilee who see it as aimed at crippling some parties. Some members see the move as part of a wider plot to bring funding from the Political Parties’ Fund under unified management. If the fund receives the amounts dictated by law, Jubilee could get upwards of Sh5 billion over the next five years. Largely opposed At the moment, the fund only has about Sh300 million allocated to it this year. The process through which such a structure would be constituted is itself controversial. “The bottom line is the disagreement on whether or not to transform the coalition into a political party,” said a source who cannot be named due to the sensitivity of the matter. “This proposal is largely opposed by top officials of different parties because they feel they will lose the opportunity to manage the political parties funding.” Further, a section of influential politicians have argued that transforming the coalition into a political party could effectively pose a political challenge in 2017 General Election, especially during nominations stage. “There some of us who have opposed the proposal on the basis that in the next general elections, it could create a problem,” he added. “For instance, there are areas where individual parties are more popular than the coalition itself. For this reason, we could end up having parallel candidates. Take for example in Rift Valley, URP maybe popular than Jubilee itself, the same case would apply for TNA in Central.” President Uhuru Kenyatta has remained quiet over the ensuing power wrangles within his political party even as it remains unclear how far the battles will persist. A press briefing scheduled for last Monday by TNA Interim officials was postponed on the last minute after some of the officials were summoned for a meeting at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi by a former security minister who is also a sitting MP. One of the officials who spoke to us confirmed that the meeting happened but declined to divulge further details. Details of the Monday meeting remain scanty but the officials later released a statement castigating ousted chairman Johnson Sakaja on contravening the law by ‘purporting’ to convene a meeting involving Parliamentary group, the party National Oversight Board (NOB) and the Secretariat of the party. Speaking to The Standard On Saturday yesterday, Mohammed Abdullahi who is a member of the TNA oversight board said the party still holds the position that the meeting called by Sakaja was illegal.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Jul 2013 14:58:03 +0000
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