Deputy President William Ruto on Saturday, November 28, doubled down on his apparent u-turn on the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) proposals.
In a statement, the DP stated that his growing support of various sections of the BBI process was based on his job description as the second in command.
“I have a constitutional duty to assist my boss, the President. We have made improvements to the BBI report after the Bomas event,” he stated.
I've CONSTITUTIONAL duty to assist my boss,the PRESIDENT.We've made IMPROVEMENTS to BBI post bomas. Now working on CONSENSUS for kenyans to have REAL CHOICES to decide/vote while avoiding yes/no,all/nothing DIVISION.We avoided lose-lose we can overcome win-lose to achieve WIN-WIN
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) November 28, 2020
He noted that the goal should be to get a consensus for Kenyans to have real choices to decide on
“We need to avoid yes/no, all/nothing division. We avoided lose-lose we can overcome win-lose to achieve win-win,” he added.
He further noted that he had received overwhelming feedback from Kenyans following his comment showing his support for amendments made.
He stated that a divisive referendum was what some political players were pushing for, accusing some unnamed individuals of working hard to frustrate consensus.
In an unprecedented move, Ruto praised the introduction of a minor section of the Constitution Amendment Bill that was launched at the KICC for the signature collection phase.
In a tweet on Friday, November 27, the deputy president welcomed the proposed enforcement of the shared economic values into the final Constitution Amendment Bill 2020.
NEW article 11A in the BBI Constitution bill INTRODUCED AFTER Bomas will ANCHOR the ORDINARY PEOPLES' Hustler economics of wheelbarrow, boda×2, mamamboga, pastoralists/butchers & GUARANTEED MINIMUM RETURNS on coffee, tea,korosho,sukari,maize. BOTTOM UP NOT TRICKLE DOWN ECONOMICS. pic.twitter.com/kg13czjNNU
— William Samoei Ruto, PhD (@WilliamsRuto) November 27, 2020
The proposed amendment recognises the need for an economic system that provides equitable opportunities for everyone to benefit from economic growth in a comprehensive, fair and sustainable manner.
The statement has been interpreted as the DP warming up to a process which he has in the past two years been opposed to.
