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National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) yesterday began its retreat at a Naivasha resort amid sharp differences over the cost of living and electoral reforms.

The retreat to Naivasha is expected to allow the 10-member team from Kenya Kwanza and Azimio with their technical teams to find and define ways on how the high cost of living should be addressed and how the August 2022 presidential election results should be audited.

While Azimio has maintained a stoic stance that the cost of living is an issue that must urgently be addressed, Kenya Kwanza luminaries have insisted that it is the function of the government of the day to address the plight of its citizens.

In addition, Kenya Kwanza has vehemently opposed the audit of last year’s presidential vote, charging that the matter was concluded with the ruling of the Supreme Court, which upheld the win, by President William Ruto and his Deputy Rigathi Gachagua.

Presidential poll audit

Yesterday, sources told People Daily that Azimio was keen to have the audit of the presidential polls agreed on by the parties in the dialogue team.

“We have always maintained that we must audit the Presidential elections of last year. If we do not do that, then it will be pointless going to another elections in 2027 with clouds of doubt still hanging over our heads,” said a source from the committee who sought anonymity.

This is after both the National Assembly and Senate in a procedural motion voted to extend the committee’s time with another 30 days.

Leader of Minority in the National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi while supporting the extension the committee said that the real negotiations started just a fortnight ago, and would require humble time to complete the bipartisan talks.

“We started the real issues the other week. That is when we had real negotiations happening because previously, we had to listen to the public, agencies and groups. Real negotiations have just started and the speed at which we are moving is highly encouraging,” said Wandayi while seeking the extension of time for the committee.

He went on: “Even the matter of the cost of living, which is captured under Article 43 issues, is an issue that the Committee is properly seized of. I have always said this Committee will not complete its work without addressing itself to the matter of the cost of living.”

Compile final report

Kitui Senator Enock Wambua on his part urged the committee to compile the report within the extended time but should focus on the cost of living.

“The committee only need a little time to compile their report and present it to the Parliament and the principals of the two coalitions. My appeal to this team is to consider three things in this order. Number one is the cost of living. Number two is the cost of living and number three is the cost of living,” said Wambua.

“If item number one fails, they should try item number two. If item number two fails, they should try item number three. If that fails, they revert to item number one. This country is bleeding. Kenyans cannot bear the high cost of living anymore. The cost of fuel is rising almost every week. The cost of maize flour is too much. The cost of school fees for children is unbearable. The cost of living in this Country is unbearable to a great majority of Kenyans.”

According to Wambua, one of the things that the Azimio Coalition has been pushing is the cost of living, adding that even if the team is unable for whatever reason to achieve anything else, at least the cost of living must be handled.

While moving the motion at the Senate to extend the time, Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni who is also a member of NADCO charged that there are a number of issues including issues of cost of living, checks and balances which touch on the relationship between the Senate and the National Assembly.

“We took submissions from more than 704 stakeholders and we received more than 60 presentations from stakeholders who appeared from various groups including constitutional commissions. There are also general issues about governance and outstanding constitutional issues. It is the wish of the committee that we get more time to deliberate this matter,” said Omogeni.

According to Omogeni, the committee has so far tackled a number of issues and almost agreed on issues of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), entrenching the office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary, fidelity to political parties and multipartism.