Kiambu leaders urge Uhuru to leave the revenue sharing formula as a legacy
Public Service and Gender Chief Administrative Secretary(CAS) Rachel Shebesh and two Kiambu legislators have said that the one man, one vote, one shilling revenue sharing formula will be the best legacy President Uhuru Kenyatta will leave for the country.
Shebesh alongside Kiambu woman representative Gathoni Wamuchomba and Githunguri MP Gabriel Kago said that the formula will ensure fair sharing of the national cake.
She said that the formula will not only harness devolution but also ensure that no region is marginalized irrespective of who becomes President in future.
'The next time we shall have a Kikuyu President will be a long time coming. We shall become more secure when the one man, one vote, one shilling becomes law no matter who becomes President," she said.
"The formula is a win-win scenario because even as we talk, all marginalized regions receive Equalization Fund and hence those opposing it are either ignorant or playing politics," said the CAS.
Echoing her, Gathoni accused a section of senators of 'playing to the gallery' and politicizing the revenue distribution issues and prevailed upon them to be realistic and patriotic.
"The national cake should be shared based on population and not landmass and it should dawn on those opposed to the parameters that revenue is collectedness from people, not forests," she said.
She added, "It seems that some senators are yet to understand the content of the Bill or are merely ignorant of the debate we have witnessed at senate recently is anything to go by".
She condemned the senate for oftenly failing to reach a consensus and urged them to deliberate on the Bill soberly.
'The debate is very crucial and calls for sobriety and timely passage for the country to move forward in development,' she said adding that it's unfortunate to see senators playing games and yet counties are at the verge of 'closure'.
The leaders said the formula will ensure equity and fairness because money will be distributed proportionally in respective regions and this will be a major breakthrough in realising actual devolution.
Kago who hosted the duo during the issuance of Women Enterprise Fund cheques to women groups drawn from across the country urged senators to stop 'sideshows' at the expense of development.
"The revenue allocation debacle has been triggered by regional politics. It's a high time we shall know our true friends," he said.
Failure to vote for the matter means county governments will wait a little longer before they start receiving revenue allocation from the national government.
The politicians said the delayed passage of the bill is making locals to suffer since a lot of projects had stalled.
Kago observed that the recent change of guard in the Senate and in the National Assembly had created a political wedge between members and some bills such as this are likely to be hurt.
“All we need is the adoption of a one-man, one vote, one shilling formula. We shall feel well catered for," said adding that the 2022 politics should not be sneaked into the matter.
Some senators and MPs are opposed to the formula of sharing revenue according to the number of people living in respective regions, arguing that the move will erode the gains of devolution in marginalised areas.
