NEW DEMOCRATS

Visionary, progressive& prosperous

MANIFESTO.

‘Our case is simple that Kenya can and must be better’

‘The vision is one of national renewal, a country with drive, purpose and energy’

‘In each area of policy a new and distinctive approach has been mapped out, one that differs from the current thinking of older political parties. This is why New Democrats is New’

‘New Democrats is a party of ideas and ideals but not of outdated ideology. What counts is what works. The objectives are radical. The means will be modern.’

‘This is our contract with the people’

We believe in Kenya. It is a great country with a great history. The Kenyan people are great people. But we believe Kenya can and must be better :better schools, better hospitals, better ways of tackling crime, of building a modern welfare state, of equipping ourselves for a new world economy.

We want a Kenya that is one nation, with shared values and purpose, where merit comes before privilege; run for the many not the few, strong and sure of it at home and abroad. We want a Kenya that does not shuffle further into the new millennium afraid of the future, but strides into it with confidence. We want to renew our country’s faith in the ability of its government and politics to deliver this new Kenya. We want to do it by making a limited set of important promises and achieving them. This is the purpose of the bond of trust we set out at the end of this introduction, in which specific commitments are put before you, hold us to them. They are our covenant with you.

We want to renew faith in politics by being honest about the past. Some things the current parties got right. We will not change them. It is where they got things wrong that we will make the change. We have no intention or desire to replace one set of dogmas by another. We want to renew faith in politics through a government that will govern in the interest of the many, the broad majority of people who work hard, play by the rules ,pay their dues and feel let down by a political system that gives the breaks to the few, increasingly out of touch with the rest of us. And we want, above all, to govern in a way that brings our country together, that unites our nation in tough and dangerous challenges of the new economy and changed society in which we must live. We want a Kenya which we all feel part of; in which we all have a stake.

New politics

The reason for having created New Democrats is to meet the challenges of a different world. The millennium symbolizes a new era opening up for Kenya. We are confident about our future prosperity, even optimistic, if we have the courage to change and use it to build a better Kenya. To accomplish this means more than just a change of political platforms. Our aim is on a new course for the future.

People are cynical about politics and distrustful of political promises. That is hardly surprising,

 Economic policy, industry, power, telecommunication, health, crime, education, sleaze-the broken promises are strewn across the country’s memory. The broken promises of the past few years have tainted all politics. That is why we have made it our guiding rule not to promise what we cannot deliver; and to deliver what we promise. What follows is not the politics of 100days that dazzles for a time, and then fizzles out. It is not the politics of a revolution, but of a fresh start, the patient rebuilding and renewing of this country; renewal that can take root and build over time. Building a political party from the ground up over time. That is one way in which

politics in Kenya will gain new lease of life. But there is another. We aim at putting behind us the bitter political struggles of tribe and religion that have torn our country apart for too many decades. Many of these conflicts have no relevance whatsoever to the modern world. It is time for this country to move on and move forward. We are proud of our history, proud of what we have achieved-but we must learn from our history, not be chained to it.

Why New Democrats (ND)?

The purpose of New Democrats is to give Kenya a different political choice: the choice between failed political platforms; exhausted and divided in everything other than its desire to cling on to power, a new and revitalized New Democrats that is resolute in transforming itself into a party of the future. We want to rewrite the way our country has been run in the past several years, to put a commitment to enterprise alongside the commitment to justice. We want to change the way we make policy, and put our relations with the military and trade unions on a modern footing where they accept they can get fairness but no favors from a New Democrats government. We submit that New Democrats means new life for Kenya.

The vision

We are broad based movement for progress and justice. New Democrats is the political arm of none-other than Kenyan professionals and the Kenya people as a whole. Our values are the same: the equal worth of all, with no one cast aside; fairness and justice within strong communities, and economy. But we have liberated these values from outdated dogma or doctrine, and we have applied these values to the modern world. We want a country in which people get on, do well, and make successful entrepreneurs, not fewer of them. But these life chances should be for all the people. And we want a society in which ambition and compassion are seen as partners not opposites-where we have public service as well as material wealth.

New Democrats believes in a society where we do not simply pursue our own individual aims, but where we hold many aims in common and work together to achieve them. How we build the industry and employment opportunities of the future; how we tackle the division and inequality in our society: how we care for and enhance our environment and quality of life; how we develop modern education, technology and health services; how we create communities that are safe, where mutual respect and tolerance are the order of the day, and how we keep empowering the youth and women on a sustainable basis. These are things we must achieve together as a country .The vision is one of national renewal, a country with drive, purpose and energy. A Kenya equipped to prosper in a global economy of technological change; with a modern welfare state; its political more accountable; and confident of its place in the world.

Program: A new centre and centre-left politics.

In each area of policy a new and distinctive approach has been mapped out, one that differs from the old ways. This is why New Democrats is new. Government and industry must work together to achieve key objectives aimed at enhancing the dynamism of the market, not undermining it. In our Mombassa Declaration and research termed Untapped Potentials we have identified the following problems with the Kenyan nation for which we proffer solutions. An economy sapped by corruption resulting in too much economic stagnation and instability, too little investment in education and skills, and in the application of new technologies, too few opportunities to find jobs, start new businesses or become self-employed, too narrow an industrial base and too little sense of common purpose in the work place or across the nation, and finally too much crime.

Our bond of trust with Kenyans, our contract with the people is this: tough on crime, achieve 8-10%GDP growth, set tough inflation targets, invest in education and agriculture, create jobs and investment opportunities, form a new and efficient National Health Service, and significantly invest in technology and skills training. TOGETHER KENYA WILL AND MUST DO BETTER: