Former British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli once said: “That all power is a trust; that we are accountable for its exercise; that from the people and for the people all springs, and all must exist.”
Those who run any nation must be constantly asking the people for their trust and support to continue wielding power, and if not, then they must be replaced by those more deserving. This is the basis of any representative democracy.
The problem with many democracies is that elections come around relatively rarely and politicians do not feel the need to seek the opinion of the people.
We cannot have elections frequently because of the cost. Nevertheless, there are other instruments that can be used to gauge the public’s opinion on certain subjects.
One such instrument is a referendum. However, referenda often seek to tackle complex questions with a simple “yes” and “no” answer.
The British have recently seen this challenge over the Brexit debate. Beyond these relatively limited instruments, there are very few opportunities for a leader to take the pulse of the public, especially over constitutional reforms that could have massive ramifications for a nation.
President Uhuru Kenyatta wants to deal with the most pressing issues that have blighted our country for far too long.
Rather than just dictate his ideas to the people, he did something arguably unprecedented and unique among democracies across the world.
While having the majority in parliament to implement any reform or law he wished, he reached to his arch rival Raila Odinga and together they joined hands in a rare demonstration of unity.
They collated nine points, making up our greatest challenges; ethnic antagonism and competition, divisive elections, corruption, a lack of a national ethos, inclusivity, devolution, safety and security, shared prosperity and responsibilities and rights.
The Building Bridges Initiative team traversed the country speaking with thousands of people to seek their views.
The BBI report released at the Bomas of Kenya last month is a direct result of these efforts.
When President Kenyatta was handed the report by the BBI team, this was the first time he or Mr Odinga or any of the other executive saw it.
The President made it clear that in releasing the BBI report in full, he was hoping every citizen to reads it.
Once the document has been read, there will be another opportunity for the people to amend it.
Only then, when the document has been finely tuned, will it be decided whether to adopt it through a referendum or parliamentary initiative.
Regardless of which route is taken, Kenya can be proud of a process that will be the envy of the world.
The BBI report is about giving power to the people.
