Nasa policy and strategy Chief David Ndii. He has 'stirred the hornet's nest' by secession talk. [Photo: nairobiwire.com]Veteran Journalist and columnist Macharia Gaitho has come to the defence of Nasa strategy and policy chief David Ndii whom he says has 'stirred the hornet's nest' by introducing the secession talk.Gaitho says that beyond Jubilee versus Nasa or the age-old Kenyatta versus Odinga dynastic feuds, there are serious unresolved issues that define politics competition in Kenya."While David Ndii provoked the outrage and generated the sound bites that had him trending on Twitter, it must have been lost in all the frenzied arguments that he was raising issues of legitimate political discourse," Gaitho writes on Thursday's Daily Nation.He notes that both the Jubilee and Nasa manifestoes make pledges towards realisation of cohesion, reconciliation, national unity, and peace; a fair share for all regions and population groups; fair distribution of development resources; special attention for marginalised and disadvantaged groups and regions; equal access to employment, education and health services; and fair representation of all groups in leadership and government.A reading of the two manifestoes, he says, reveals that Jubilee and Nasa are actually in accord on diagnosing the unresolved issues that must be fixed to make a truly united Kenya."Where they differ is on the prescription, and that is where the ideological gulf emerges.The Jubilee approach emphasises economic growth, infrastructural development and rapid expansion of health, education and other social services. It gives only fleeting mention to righting past wrongs.""Nasa, by contrast, rejects ‘trickle-down’ economics and obsession with GDP growth, focussing on redress for historical injustices and addressing old ethnic grievances through the implementation of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission Report; land reform; and shifting of development resources to neglected regions," he writes.Gaitho further notes that Jubilee offers a forward looking model that prefers not to re-open old wounds while Nasa sees the old wounds as still open and in need of stitching and dressing lest they continue 'festering'.

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