Aukot optimistic Punguza Mizigo bill will sail through
ThirdWay Alliance leader Ekuru Aukot is optimistic that his Punguza Mizigo bill will sail through despite facing major setbacks.
So far, the initiative has only been approved by one county—Uasin Gishu—but rejected by three counties out of the seven that have discussed it.
Aukot has only 14 days to ensure he has garnered at least 24 counties to give the bill approval.
While giving the status of the bill yesterday in Nairobi, Aukot said he is upbeat that MCAs countrywide will give a nod to the bill which aims at shrinking the size of the executive to tame the ballooning wage bill.
His remarks come a fortnight after the County Assemblies Forum unanimously agreed to disregard the Building Bridges Initiative’s report to focus on the bill.
Last month, MCAs drawn from all counties also suspended Punguza Mzigo debates to enable them conduct public participation.
“On October 15, all County Assemblies will either pass or reject the bill in accordance to the public responses that will have received from across the country,” the forum’s secretary general Kipkirui Chepkwony said.
“It is imperative that MCAs do as is required by Article 257 of the Constitution.
They should not allow themselves to be intimidated, coerced, compromised in order to satisfy the demands and assuage the fears expressed by opponents of the bill,” said Aukot.
He alleged that in Kiambu, MCAs were bribed with Sh100,000, Kisumu Sh250,000 and in Murang’a Sh4.5 million was used to entice the leaders to reject the bill.
The former presidential candidate declared that whatever the bill’s outcome, he was glad he had galvanised public discourse around an important issue touching lives of many Kenyans.
If it fails, Aukot said he was weighing the option of both going to court to seek extension of time that will compel county speakers to debate the bill, talk to politicians and seek backing or wait for the time to lapse and start a fresh.
