Eyeing MCA seat on ODM ticket? Go back to school

Aspirants seeking to clinch the ward representative seat on an Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) ticket in 2022 will have to meet certain academic qualifications, party national chairman John Mbadi has said.

The proposal comes after two failed attempts by the National Assembly — in 2012 and 2016 — to compel those vying for MP and MCA seats to have degree certificates.

However, Mr Mbadi said the party would consider education qualifications when electing and nominating ward reps in 2022.

Lack of or poor education qualifications among some MCAs is said to contribute to the low quality of debates and chaos witnessed in county assemblies.

“Those who are not learned will not be nominated or sponsored by the party. Somebody cannot be sitting in the Budget Committee, for instance, yet he or she understands absolutely nothing about the subject,” said Mr Mbadi.

Recent chaos

Speaking on a Luo vernacular radio station where he commented about the recent chaos at the Homa Bay County Assembly, he said setting minimum education qualifications would help bring sanity in some counties.

“What we are witnessing in county assemblies like Homa Bay is pure greed by MCAs who change the leadership of the House to suit their individual interests. Their focus is the millions of shillings in mortgages and other perks; this is why we have been witnessing such chaos,” he said.

Mr Mbadi said it is high time the party cracked the whip to stop the MCAs’ unbecoming behaviour.

On Wednesday, chaos erupted at the Homa Bay county assembly during a motion to oust assembly clerk Daniel Kaudo.

During the fracas, Deputy Speaker Godfrey Anyango was stripped down to his underwear.

It was not the first time such hooliganism was playing out in the House and others within Nyanza or outside.

Reconciliation

"We have tried reconciliation of the Homa Bay MCAs for a very long time. I quit after they felt that my candidature for the governorship would interfere with the process," he said.

The National Assembly in 2012 amended several sections of the Political Parties Act and other electoral laws ahead of the 2013 General Election but this was suspended. MPs and their counterparts in the counties only needed to have a three-month post-secondary certificate to be eligible to contest in 2013.

In 2016, there were some proposed amendments by Justice and Legal Affairs Committee chairman Samuel Chepkong’a to put a minimum qualification of a degree or a diploma certificate for those contesting for the MCA seat. Although this was passed, its implementation was suspended to 2022.

The current law only requires MCA candidates to have at least a Form Four certificate.

Low education has been cited for the poor quality of debates in the House, weak legislation and oversight.

When minimum education was proposed, many MCAs went back to school fearing they would be locked out of the 2017 polls.

Many in Kisumu County, for instance, enrolled for courses ranging from accountancy, community development, media and communications to development and governance in various institutions in the city.

It is not clear whether ODM will push for the proposal through Parliament or just implement it during party primaries.

This could lock out many hopefuls without university degrees.

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