Azimio promise: Raila’s 10-point manifesto explained

On Monday, June 6, 2022, Azimio la Umoja-One Kenya Alliance presidential candidate Raila Odinga launched his manifesto ahead of the August polls.

The manifesto focused on 10 key areas including manufacturing, education, health, agriculture, security, women, responsible leadership, water and sovereignty of the people.

The manifesto is divided into ten sections namely Azimio la Ugatuzi, Azimio la Jitihada, Azimio la Kina Mama, Azimio la Ukulima, Azimio la Viwanda, Azimio la Wananchi, Azimio la Uwajibikaji, Waste not a Single Child, Maji Kwa Kila Boma and Babacare.

Azimio la Ugatuzi

Azimio la Ugatuzi focuses on increasing devolved resources and advancing a “One County, One Product” programme.

According to the manifesto, the National Government will provide material and technical support to each county government for vibrant industrialization.

Azimio la Jitihada

Azimio la Jitihada is anchored on the manufacturing pillar, which Raila terms as the driver of economic revolution. The promise is envisaged to spur the growth of all sectors of the economy resulting in employment and wealth creation.

In the promise, Raila administration will adopt a policy of Recognition of Prior Learning certification program to award certificates to artisans, craftsmen and technicians who have obtained skills and knowledge through apprenticeship and work experience to enhance their employment opportunities, by empowering their efforts - “Shahada la Jitihada”.

The government will also encourage the signing of MOUs between Jua Kali Associations and TVETs to develop partnerships and incubation hubs.

Azimio la Kina Mama

Azimio la Kina Mama will focus on economically empowering women, who constitute of more than half of Kenya's population but are underrepresented in all sectors.

"The programme will unlock access to financing for women-led businesses and provide support for women on other enabling factors such as access to assets for production, land tenure and proportional representation at all levels of government," the manifesto reads.

The government will also address the plight of widows and single mothers through financial literacy programs, reduction in the cost of healthcare and education and offering support services to help cushion them from the hardships of their losses.

Raila, if elected, promised to focus on the capacity of young women in entrepreneurship, credit management, financial management, digital skills, mentorship, marketing and record keeping. He also promised to increase the uptake of TVET by young women in informal settlements and rural areas and also facilitate local manufacture of sanitary towels for school-going girls and ensure that every public school is provided with sanitary towels.

Azimio la Ukulima

In the promise which focuses on agriculture, Raila promises to facilitate climate-smart agriculture, agroprocessing, improved livestock farming and growth of the blue economy.

Azimio la Viwanda

Raila says in the manifesto that manufacturing will be complemented by agriculture, livestock, the blue economy, and ICT as the key engines for the envisaged economic revolution and the apparatus for development.

The manufacturing sector shall produce input materials like steel, copper, and glass for further processing into finished products, and secondary production of goods like engineering manufacturing machinery, transport and agricultural machinery, tools and implements to be applied in the mechanization and automation of agriculture, livestock, blue economy, mining and processing.

Azimio la Uwajibikaji

In the promise of responsible leadership, Raila says that he will fight corruption, and ensure efficiency and optimality in public service delivery.

Azimio la Wananchi

Azimio la Wananchi recognizes that whichever administration comes into power, the people remain sovereign and the government is theirs, and there should therefore be continuity and minimal disruption even as priorities are reviewed.

"The instruments of power do not change, only the custodians come and go. Similarly, public investments initiated on behalf of a sovereign people, should not be abandoned at the feet of the ambition of custodians of power. As stewards on behalf of the people, our duty is to highlight our priorities and our agenda, and align it with the gains already secured by previous administrations on behalf of the people," the manifesto read.

Waste not a single child

Raila, if elected, promises to deploy an affirmative action initiative dubbed, the Baba Kubadili Plan, for marginalized areas, especially Northern Kenya. A multi-agency body will spearhead the process to ensure no young Kenyan is locked out of the education system.

He also promised to employ enough and motivated teachers to ensure quality education.

Maji Kwa Kila Boma

The commitment is to make clean and safe water available to all Kenyans and also radically reverse the shortages and high cost of water and ensure access by all, particularly the poor.

Babacare

Baba Care primarily focuses on social protection and transformation, and secondly upscaling Universal Health Coverage to Universal health Care.

The programme will also entrench Inua Jamii, a social protection programme that will deliver Ksh6,000 per month to each of the two million most needy and vulnerable households. The money will not be delivered as a handout, but as an investment and a foundation for a new transformational value-chain that will also trigger economic activity and create thousands of localized small-scale businesses and enterprises across the country.