Homa Bay Town Member of Parliament Peter Kaluma has issued two demands to President William Ruto just a few days after the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

In a statement on social media on Tuesday, the ODM MP noted that significant changes needed to be made in the national government to prove that the ODM party was indeed working with the government.

"We are either in government or not! It can’t be said we are in government, and yet our people are nowhere in public service," MP Kaluma stated.

His first concern was about teachers from the region who go unemployed by the Teachers Service Commission (TSC) until they get to their retirement age.

A photo of Homa Bay Town MP George Peter Kaluma.

Photo

Peter Kaluma

Second was the concern that there are barely any leaders from the Nyanza region who work in public service roles like principal secretaries (PSs), chief executive officers (CEOs), managing directors (MDs) or chairpersons parastatals, commissioners, county commissioners, or deputy county commissioners (DCCs).

"It is Canaan with milk and honey, or no Canaan! We demand no more than our proportionate and fair share of resources and opportunities in Kenya. We can no longer fight for good governance for the sake of it—our people must benefit from our struggles," he stated.

The diehard Odinga supporter is among the lawmakers who have reacted after the two former rivals inked the agreement at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Friday.

Although Nyanza region Governors Anyang Nyong'o and Gladys Wanga have denied claims that the MoU is meant to benefit the two parties only, Kaluma, in his statement, asserted that more positions needed to be given to the region to cement the agreement.

Speaking during a funeral service in Kiambu County on Tuesday, the ODM Party Leader Raila Odinga raised concerns of his own over the Kenya Kwanza government, especially on the Social Health Authority.

He added that he had also raised concern about the high taxation of Kenyans to President Ruto, which he claimed was torturous for most salaried individuals.

"I have told Ruto that SHA has a problem; it must be corrected. The taxes being imposed on Kenyans are also high, especially one on the houses," Raila stated.

He further clarified that the collaboration had been initiated by Ruto approaching him and not the other way around, saying, “I have heard people saying that I have joined President William Ruto. I want to say that I never approached Ruto; it was Ruto who approached me. My stand remains the same."

Opposition Leader Raila Odinga follows on during a meeting with representatives of Kenyans in the diaspora at his office in Nairobi on November 19, 2024.

Raila Odinga