President William Ruto has proposed the formation of a broad-based Parliamentary negotiating team to manage all NADCO legislation, saying the move will help fast-track reforms agreed under the 10-Point Agenda between UDA and ODM.
Speaking on Tuesday during a joint parliamentary group meeting in Nairobi, the President said the team would include members from both houses of Parliament and represent the broader political cooperation between the two parties.
He said the negotiating team would help resolve legislative disagreements and ensure the smooth passage of bills arising from the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) process.
“We will be recommending in this parliamentary group that we have a broad-based negotiating team, one that is going to sit with both houses of Parliament, comprising membership from both houses,” Ruto said.
Ruto argued that the coalition had sufficient parliamentary numbers to push through the legislation but said dialogue and coordination were necessary to avoid stalemates.
“If broad-based decides, Parliament will decide because we have the numbers to drive it through both houses,” he said.
The president said the team would also act as a mediation platform to coordinate lawmakers as they deliberate on reforms proposed in the NADCO report.
“I want us to raise the standard a bit so that we establish a broad-based negotiating committee or mediation committee to assist us on all the items that have been presented for legislation in Parliament by NADCO,” he added.
The proposals come as the government and opposition lawmakers continue implementing reforms agreed in the political pact between the ruling United Democratic Alliance and the Orange Democratic Movement.
Ruto said the commitments made under the 10-Point Agenda were voluntary and aimed at addressing long-standing political and economic challenges.
“The 10-Point Agenda was not imposed on us. It was our voluntary commitment between our parties in respect to the people of Kenya,” he explained.
The president said electoral reforms were among the key achievements so far, pointing to the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
“We all agree that one of the most pertinent issues in NADCO was the issue of electoral reforms, and especially the appointment of commissioners to the IEBC,” Ruto said..
“Today we have gone through the process, the court processes have been dispensed with, and today we have a functioning Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.”
He added that the commission had already conducted several by-elections, which he described as a sign of public confidence in the political cooperation.
Beyond electoral reforms, Ruto said the government had focused on tackling the cost of living through measures targeting food production, fuel prices, healthcare and education.
“We have deliberately dealt with matters that finally dictate cost of living,” he said.
“These include the cost of food, the cost of fuel, the cost Kenyans pay for health care and the cost Kenyans pay for their children to go to school.”
The president said increased agricultural production had helped stabilise food prices.
“We can confidently stand here and say over the last year or two years we have produced more maize, more tea, more coffee and more sugarcane,” said the Head of State.
“It is the reason why today the prices of unga are different from where they were in 2022.”
Ruto also highlighted employment initiatives, saying government programmes had created opportunities for young people across sectors including housing, digital work and overseas labour mobility.
“Today I report to this parliamentary group we have 1.8 million Kenyans who were not working in 2022 and today they are working,” he said.
He said the broad-based cooperation between UDA and ODM had helped stabilise the country’s political environment and enabled the government to implement its programmes without disruption.
“Our country today enjoys greater stability, and the partnership has created an environment in which government programs can proceed without unnecessary political disruption,” he concluded.