The Star 03/29/2017

ODM leader Raila Odinga has for the first time signalled how the opposition intends to protect its presidential votes - it will have 450,000 agents across the country. Raila, who wants to be the NASA flagbearer, yesterday said the opposition will have at least 10 agents in every poling station. The strategy dubbed “adopt a poling station” will ensure all the opposition’s supporters vote. Raila said this will “stop Jubilee from rigging the election”. “You are soon going to get information on how to adopt a polling station,” he told members of the Bunge La Mwananchi caucus. There were claims Cord failed to deploy agents in Jubilee strongholds in 2013, creating room for manipulation of results. Raila said the agents will be in constant communication with a central command team…

PEOPLE WITH DISABILITY To be exempted from tax About 349,000 Kenyans have been registered as disabled, making them eligible for free government services. The listing is a joint effort by the National Council for Persons with Disabilities and the Ministry of Health. Chief physiotherapist Titus Kilika yesterday said the 349,000 will be exempted from taxation. See Page 14 LOSERS IN PRIMARIES Can run as independents The IEBC has opened a window for aspirants who lose at the primaries to run as independent candidates. On March 17, the commission published notices in the Kenya Gazette for the six levels of election and listed the deadlines candidates must meet. Parties are to complete their primaries for all seats by April 26. See Page 9 WAFULA CHEBUKATI Activist wants him jailed An activist…

The Jubilee Party will not use smartcards to verify its registered members during nominations scheduled for April. National Elections Board vice chairperson Esther Kangogo yesterday said the party will use its register. She spoke at Murang’a Teachers College during the selection of members of the County Elections Board. Individual aspirants will have to mobilise their supporters to register as Jubilee members and participate in the primaries. Most aspirants had hoped the party would use the IEBC register in the county because many voters do not have smartcards. Kangogo said the party will provide a list of all registered members in every polling station on the nomination day. The party will provide enough ballot papers for every polling station to ensure nobody is locked out of the exercise. The nominations will…

CAMPAIGNERS and strategists for Kericho Governor Paul Chepkwony (pictured) are an unhappy lot. Reason? One of them is said to be behind a well-oiled propaganda machine deployed by one of his competitors for the Jubilee ticket. The man, who is now referred to as a mole, is said to be behind the printing of T-shirts and reflectors with images of Chepkwony indicating that he will be defending his seat on a Kanu ticket. As of yesterday, Team Chepkwony was still busy firefighting the propaganda. They want Chepkwony to order investigations and the man fired forthwith from the campaign team. TWO NASA-allied legislators were yesterday overheard at Parliament Buildings celebrating the predicament Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho finds himself in over his academic papers. The two vocal MPs, one from Nyanza and…

 The Treasury has cleared the way for MPs — the world’s second most highly paid lawmakers — to award themselves a golden handshake of Sh2.5 billion for eight months of no work. THE PSC BUDGET SHOWS ALLOWANCES PAID TO MPS WILL JUMP FROM SH4.5 BILLION IN THE CURRENT YEAR TO SH7.2 BILLION IN THE YEAR STARTING THIS JULY That’s the length of time by which their five-year terms will be cut short by the General Election on August 8. The total sendoff package would be Sh12.9 million for each of the 349 members of the National Assembly and the 62 members of the Senate. Treasury has said the MPs can be paid the millions they have been demanding as long as it’s within Parliament’s Sh36 billion allocation for 2017-18. Parliament’s…

MEMBERS of the 11th Parliament will go into annals of infamy as the most expensive burden of legislators for the struggling Kenyan taxpayer ever. Parliamentarians have allocated themselves close to Sh2.5 billion in the national Budget to be unveiled Thursday as severance pay and compensation for the reduced term. They have struck a severance deal with Treasury to cover the eight-month reduction of the usual five-year term that should ideally have ended in March 2018. Clearly, the MPs will be paid for no work done. Their action will be an affront to Article 232(1)(b) as violation of the value and principle of public service requiring efficient, effective and economic use of resources. The helpless National Treasury will need the very MPs to pass the Finance Bill 2017 – which can…