Mukalo Kwayera @kwayeram

Amani National Congress (ANC) leader Musalia Mudavadi has cautioned those pushing for the government of national unity saying it is no panacea for the country’s current economic woes.

He says though he supports the principle of inclusivity in governance, the haste by the political elite to cobble together coalitions for purposes of sharing power is “retrogressive and insensitive” to the challenges facing the common mwananchi.

The ANC leader says instead of striking such pacts, ahead of the 2022 poll, President Uhuru Kenyatta should trim his government to ease the economic on the taxpayer. 

Mudavadi, who spoke to the People Daily yesterday, urged the political elite to focus their time, minds and energies on helping the country overcome the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, which has hit the country that is still struggling to cope with the challenges of slow economic growth, locusts menace, flooding and corruption.

The former Finance minister said Kenya’s economy was in a precarious state and needs quick measures to resuscitate it.

“We should rally behind the President in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and helping him revive the economy.

There are those who are jumping into coalitions because they want to be dished with positions.

I am not and I shall not be one of them. If they were to listen to me, my advice to the President and his advisors would be that they keep their eyes on the ball.

The problems facing Kenya today are too huge to be distracted by myopic politics of personal aggrandizement,” he said. 

Mudavadi also reiterated his call to the President to “urgently and carefully” form a broad-based economic recovery advisory council composed of the best minds in all sectors of the economy, devoid of political actors and activists, to explore the most effective ways of taking the country’s economy back on track after the Covid-19 pandemic.

He promised to comprehensively respond to the President’s eight-point agenda rolled out on Saturday to revive the economy. 

However, Mudavadi ruled out the possibility of him entering into a post-2017 election pact with any other political outfit for the sake of being in government. 

“Let us not kid ourselves. What miracle can one go and perform in government right now to stabilise matters overnight. Uhuru must juggle his priorities right and remain awake to the many challenges facing the country at the moment.

He has to look for the most pragmatic methods of rescuing our economy from the doldrums,” said the former Vice President.

However, Mudavadi said he and other like-minded leaders are ready to support efforts by Uhuru and his government to fight the coronavirus pandemic, corruption, address the biting economic crisis and other challenges, including the locust menace and flooding.

Key players

He cautioned persons reading too much into his meeting with Uasin Gishu Governor Jackson Mandago last Friday, saying the second-term county chief was one of the key players who have been paying him courtesy calls in the recent past.

He added he is meeting and listening to more Kenyans on the challenges facing the country.

He also distanced himself from a notion that he or his party stand to benefit from the whip-cracking in Jubilee, stating: “Far from it.

What the country needs now is unity of purpose and not unity to run from challenges facing the ordinary citizen.”