Kimani Ichung’wah
The Kenya Kwanza government has proposed the new talks with the opposition to kick off on Thursday next week.
National Assembly Speaker Kimani Ichung’wah in a letter to Wiper Party Leader Kalonzo Musyoka on Friday, August 3 explained that the Kenya Kwanza coalition just formed its negotiation team and will need time to be ready for the talks.
“While appreciating the urgency to embark on the talks, it is worth noting that having just constituted our team, we had a scheduled debrief on Monday with our team in order to prepare for the talks and a further engagement with the Bi-Partisan team and their assisting counsels on Tuesday 8th August 2023,” said Ichung’wah.
“We, therefore, seek your kind indulgence and propose that we schedule a joint first meeting on Thursday 10th August 2023 at 10 am.”
The Kikuyu Member of Parliament also proposed the talks to take place at a public place as opposed to a hotel.
“We respectively request your team to allow the two teams to schedule our meetings at public venues such as County Hall which I would be happy to engage the Public Service Commission to make available or in the alternative at the School of Government -Kabete.
“It is our considered view that these are venues that will not occasion any additional expenditure to the public and which would otherwise be available for such public meetings at little or no cost to us or to the Kenyan taxpayers as opposed to the luxurious five star Serena Hotel- Nairobi,” Ichung’wah added.
This comes a day after the Azimio team led by Kalonzo invited the Kenya Kwaza camp to turn op for the commencement of the talks on Monday August 7, 2023 at Serena Hotel.
The opposition coalition noted that it took the step to set the date and venue because of the time factor adding that they want the talks to end by the beginning of September.
Also Read: Ichungwah’s Response To Azimio After They Set Date For Bipartisan Talks
