Former Prime Minister and Azimio La Umoja coalition presidential flagbearer, Raila Odinga, has outlined his plan for Kenya should he clinch the presidency when Kenyans go to the polls on August 9.
In his acceptance speech, on Saturday, March 12, Raila - who is contesting for the country’s top office for the fifth time, said that his presidency will be people-oriented and will primarily focus on offering solutions to many problems that the country faces.
One of the issues he gave prominence in his speech was that of corruption. Raila highlighted that his government will tackle without fear or favour. In handling this, Raila stated that he will apply the three don’ts in his approach.
“In tackling corruption, I will apply the principle of three don’ts; Don't Want, Don’t Do, Don’t Dare,” he stated.
In this maxim, Don’t Want refers to one’s ability to say no to giving or receiving bribes; Don’t Do is the ability of one to refuse to give a bribe; while Don’t Dare is an expressway of showing repercussions awaits one should they engage in corrupt practices.
Raila, who has been at the forefront in pointing out corruption cases in the country, will seek to succeed where President Uhuru Kenyatta has registered minimal success.
It will be remembered that Raila was the whistleblower in the first National Youth Service (NYS) scandal where the country lost over Ksh1.2 billion. He was also the whistleblower behind the Afya House scandal among others.
On employment, the former Prime Minister promised to eradicate the high cases of unemployment and underemployment, especially amongst the youth.
Raila stated that his government will focus on job creation by offering incentives to the youth to set up businesses and create a conducive environment for them to thrive.
He also highlighted the issue of unity, stating that under his regime, there will be zero tolerance to negative ethnicity and tribalism.
"Under my watch, Kenyans will regard each other as brothers, sisters and friends, not rivals and competitors. I need your support, I need your help, I will not fail you," Raila made his case to Kenyans.
The ODM strongman, who will face Kenya Kwanza’s William Samoei Ruto in the polls, made a raft of promises to Kenyans with the hope of bagging their votes.
His presidential ambitions were boosted by Kalonzo Musyoka’s agreement to join the Azimio La Umoja coalition in a deal that was brokered by President Kenyatta.
“Thank you Kalonzo Musyoka, we had issues but we talked today, we greeted each other and we said we will walk together,” Raila stated in his address to the NDC.
“I also thank President Uhuru, we will walk together, I am not his project and he is not my project, we are walking together.”
