Editor's Review

Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has urged President William Ruto and Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga to meet. 

Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli has urged President William Ruto and Azimio la Umoja leader Raila Odinga to meet and discuss Kenyan matters

Speaking on Thursday, May 25, Atwoli stated that the bi-partisan talks between the Government and the opposition don’t have any meaning.

“The bi-partisan committee doesn’t have any meaning. President William Ruto and Raila Odinga should meet because they are stakeholders in this country.

“The bipartisan committee members are people of a small rank and cannot advise the two leaders. They can find a solution if they meet. It not a must for there to be a handshake, it’s for the interest and common good of this country,” said Atwoli.

File image of COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli.

The COTU boss noted that East African countries depend on the Kenyan economy and will be affected if it collapses.

“Tanzania, Burundi, Uganda, and Somalia all depend on the Kenyan economy, if it collapses, the entire East Africa region will also collapse. There is no way people in the government or the opposition will benefit alone if they don’t come together for the interest of the country,” he stated.

Atwoli further warned that the Kenyan shilling will continue falling against the dollar if Azimio and Kenya kwanza do not bury their differences and focus on reviving the economy.

“Kenya Kwanza and Azimio should bury their differences and look for a solution to revive the Kenyan economy. If they don’t, the Kenyan shilling will continue falling and might go up to Ksh 200 against one dollar,” Atwoli added.

His remarks come days after the Azimio la Umoja coalition suspend bi-partisan talks for a week accusing the Kenya Kwanza side of being insincere.

The Raila-led camp claimed that the government was not keen on lowering the cost of unga, preservation of the election servers, suspension of IEBC reconstitution, and for them to leave Jubilee alone.