NASA Manifesto 2017: Highlights of Raila Odinga’s Promise To Kenyans

The opposition NASA flag bearer Raila Odinga has unveiled his party’s plan for Kenya should he get elected to the nation’s highest office come August 8. The NASA Manifesto 2017 was launched at the Ngong Racecourse, Nairobi on the evening of Tuesday 27th June with NASA bigwigs in attendance.

The main opposition party grouped its priorities into 5 major objectives, namely;

• To promote national unity.
• To uphold, guard and respect the dignity of all individuals and communities.
• To return the country to the path of constitutional and democratic development.
• End the culture of impunity.
• Restore sanity in the management of the economy and public affairs of our nation.

In the 48-page document, the alliance promised to deliver most of its promises within 100 days of election into office.

“The Nasa government will work to build a stronger nation committed to nurturing and protecting the well-being of the individual, the family, communities and the nation in accordance with the Constitution,” the manifesto document reads.

NASA promised a constitutional and systems overhaul, in order to establish a feasible plan that would yield desired results.

BuzzKenya has analysed the opposition party’s manifesto and has come up with the highlights in the key sectors of the nation.

NASA Manifesto 2017 Highlights

Agriculture And Food

NASA said it would prioritise on Agriculture by eliminating middlemen in the marketing and production chain. It pledges to restructure the Agricultural Finance Corporation and the Agricultural Development Corporation much to the benefit of farmers.

NASA promises to develop a national crop and livestock insurance system. Also, to begin a warehouse receipting that would allow grain farmers use stocks as collateral to obtain loans.

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Healthcare

NASA said it would introduce the Universal Health Service Fund (UHSF) which will make medical bills more affordable to Kenyans.

This new fund would see Kenyans pay for a small part of the bill while the rest would be taken care of by the government.

It said that the health budget would be held within a fund rather than distributed to hospitals.

2% of the healthcare budget would be chaelled towards Medical research to promote professional development among Kenyan doctors.

“The public will contribute a minimal amount, which will entitle them to free services in designated health facilities. [The facilities] will bill the fund for every patient they treat just as they do for patients with NHIF cards and private health insurance,” the manifesto reads.

NASA said it would ensure that Kenyans, no matter their financial level, have access to good quality healthcare. The coalition noted that hospitals that offer poor services would no longer be guaranteed of a budget.

“Facilities will have to be responsive to patients, because failing to do so will mean loss of revenue, unlike today when public health facilities are assured of budget whether they provide good services or not.”

NASA said it would employ more doctors and nurses to achieve the target of 1:6,000 doctor-patient ratio in ten years. Raila promised to ensure prompt salary payment to avoid the frequent strikes that have almost become a norm in the country.

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Education

NASA has promised free primary and secondary school education across the country and to increase infrastructure in secondary schools.

It promised to scrap Uhuru’s multi-billion-shilling laptop project and instead chael the funds towards the building of libraries and computer laboratories in all schools.

NASA promised to hire more teachers, at least 20,000 aually bringing the total number to 90,000 teachers within the first term.

It also promised to revive the Kenya a National Integrated Civic Education Programme.

The coalition promised more funding for higher education for student study loans via the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB). It said it will push the commencement of the repayment of the HELB loan to 18 months after graduation.

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Job Creation And Salary

NASA said HELB loan interest would be waived for graduates who join the civil service. Firms that employ graduates from Kenya tertiary institutions would benefit from tax reliefs.

Interns’ allowances and stipends would NOT be taxed. NASA said it would create more jobs for the youths.

Civil servants would see a raise in salary.

Security

Within the first 90 days, NASA promises to pull out the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) from Somalia and tighten the Kenya-Somalia border.

Police officers within the ranks of constable and chief inspector would enjoy a pay raise.

In order to curb “discriminatory practices targeting youths,” each police station would be assigned an officer skilled in handling police-youth relations.

“We shall develop a national plan to address regional security challenges. Through a consultative process, we shall address peace and security challenges that have bedeviled certain regions from colonial times, including northern region, parts of eastern, Coast and Rift Valley,” the manifesto says.

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Housing

Raila promised to amend the Rent Restriction Act in order to control rents. To host a national forum to involve the private sector in the provision of affordable yet quality housing.

County Allocation

County governments would receive 45% raise in allocation.

Consitution Change

NASA promises to restructure the constitution to ensure gender parity in governance. The constitutional change would also see ministers selected from Member of Parliaments and change the way senators are elected.

NASA would implement a version of the Bomas draft to enhance cohesion.

Per the manifesto; “A hybrid parliamentary system based on the Bomas draft will not only allow individuals from smaller communities to rise to the highest office in the land but also encourage an inclusive system of power sharing.”

Corruption

NASA says all of its elected and appointed members would sign an anti-corruption contract. They will also be required to take responsibility for any misconduct.

Also, they would be barred from doing business with the government to avoid conflict of interest.

NASA says it would revamp the corrupt IFMIS payment system and introduce another system that would use a Three-Way Match.

NASA would set-up within the National Intelligence Service a specialised department with a focus on corruption surveillance.