Governors want 9 BBI clauses passed through parliament
The Council of Governors now wants nine clauses in the BBI Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020, passed through Parliament.
Speaking at their headquarters in Nairobi, Meru Governor Kiraitu Murungi who is the Chairman of the Council of Governors Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee said they will explore the Parliamentary way to keep a section of BBI proposals alive.
The nine clauses include Article 202 on equitable sharing of the national revenue, Article 203 on equitable share and other financial laws, Article 204 on equalization fund, Article 207 on revenue funds for county governments, Article 215 on the composition of the commission on revenue allocation, Article 206 A on constituency development fund, Article 207 A on the ward development fund, Amendment to HELB Act and Amendment to the micro and small enterprises Act, 2012.
"COG will work with other stakeholders including the Legal Affairs Committees of both houses of parliament to ensure that these amendments are passed," Kiraitu said.
"It was envisaged that through these amendments, county governments would have an increase in their equitable share from the current 16.9% to not less than 35% of the total revenue collected. We will explore alternative avenues to ensure that revenue to counties increases to at least 35% of the sharable revenue," he added.
He added that the Council of Governors is still in support of the BBI and its dream of ending divisive elections that occasion electoral violence, ethnic antagonism and competition and the fight against corruption.
Kiraitu said the council is keen to see inclusivity among the Kenyan people as well as increased allocation of resources in the counties to spur development.
The Court of Appeal on Friday, August 20, upheld the High Court judgement declaring the BBI referendum unconstitutional, null and void.
The Seven-judge bench ruling meant the BBI referendum through the popular initiative will be an impossible exercise given that the remaining period to the next General Elections is less than a year.
