Ukambani wants Senate made Upper House, roots for PM post
Hillary Mageka @hillarymageka
Leaders and residents of Ukambani on Saturday backed a proposal to expand the Executive to accommodate a powerful premier with two deputies. They however, say the post should reflect gender balance.
The region also proposes the strengthening of the Senate to make it the Upper House with powers to supervise the National Assembly. This, they say, will help strengthen devolution.
In a memorandum to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) team, residents of Kitui, Machakos and Makueni counties also want the establishment of a third-tier government while maintaining the current 47 counties.
“The people of the three counties fully support the letter and spirit of BBI report and will whole-heartedly vote for its adoption once a referendum on the same is brought forth,” the residents said in resolutions read by Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana during the BBI meeting in Kitui on Saturday.
On the powerful Senate, the resolution was alluding to the powerful Senate as suggested by the Committee of Experts who drafted the 2010 Constitution.
Lawyer Nzamba Kitonga, who chaired the committee, told People Daily yesterday that the powerful Senate “which is a true upper House would have a supervisory role over the National Assembly.”
The lawyer said the proposal was bitterly fought by MPs who thought power was being taken away from them.
“It is interesting that some of the MPs later ended up as senators,” said Kitonga, in reference to Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula who during the 2010 Naivasha negotiations described creation of the Senate as a “waste of public funds.”
Kibwana said the region also wanted Cabinet ministers appointed from both elected politicians and technocrats at both National and County governments levels.
The residents also proposed that vast counties such as Kitui be divided to enhance service delivery.
“We propose carving out Mwingi as an independent county from Kitui,” the governor said.
In BBI consultations forums held in all three counties of Ukambani, Kibwana said the residents recommended that county allocation be increased from the proposed 35 per cent to 50 per cent to ensure resources trickle down to the grassroots.
Agencies dissolved
They also called for the establishment of county courts to enhance revenue collection and compliance to county laws.
“The Public Finance Management Act, to be reviewed to allow county governments to directly negotiate and receive development support from development partners and well-wishers,” the Ukambani residents proposed.
On State autonomous government agencies based at the National government level but not implementing programmes and projects at the devolved units, they proposed their dissolution and responsibilities as well as resources devolved.
They agencies include National Irrigation Board, National Cereals and Produce Board, Regional Development Authorities, Kenya Urban Roads Authority and the Kenya National Highways Authority, whose functions the residents say are duplicated.
The resolutions handed to BBI taskforce members Rose Museo and Agnes Kavindu also propose that at least five per cent of county resources be allocated to the youth.
The region also want to National Youth Service (NYS) to have chapters in the counties to serve youth who opt to acquire technical training and skills development.
In addition to NYS, a youth centre should be established in every sub-county.
Youth representative
On youth representation, the region creation of an elective position for youth representative at both national and devolved level and enhance inclusion.
On contentious land matters, the residents said once any lease expires, the county government must determine the renewal or reallocation of such land
“All public land must be reposed within a maximum of five years,” the document read in part.
However, they criticised the amendments to Kemsa Act which compel counties to exclusively procure their pharmaceuticals and non- pharmaceutical products from the agency, saying the requirement works against the letter and spirit of devolution.
“Counties must be allowed to procure competitively from qualified suppliers” said Kibwana.
The region also wants crops grown in the region such as green grams to among the crops stocked by the Strategic Grain Reserve Fund (SGRF).
“We want a crop development masterplan to secure our farmers’ market during a bumper harvest. We want a review of the SGRF to include ndengu,” said Kibwana.
