Murang’a county assembly has rejected Punguza mzigo constitutional amendment bill terming it a mere avenue of seeking popularity by its proponents.
During Tuesday afternoon session which started two hours late, members of the assembly unanimously voted out the bill claiming that its originator Dr. Ekur Aukot did not conduct public participation.
Nominated MCA Stephen Chege standing to oppose the Bill said scraping of nomination slots will not help the country to reduce wage bill.
He also downplayed the proposed scrapping of counties, replacing them with wards, as unrealistic move saying if adopted the Bill would greatly affect operations of county governments.
“Mr. Speaker, we know nominated persons usually represent various groups at all levels of government and any purported removal of their slots would mean some groups in the society will never be represented,” added Chege.
The Billl which was tabled by the assembly majority leader Erick Kamande was castigated for not giving room for amendments.
Kangunduini MCA Peter Mburu said a county like Murang’a cannot be represented by two people in the national assembly, adding that Counties with big population needs to have even more representatives.
“The Third Way Alliance leader knew from the beginning this bill will not see light of the day, when he failed to conduct public participation in all counties. Getting of required signatures is not public participation,” added Mburu.
He claimed that the only good aspect of the Bill was found in its name Punguza Mzigo (reduce burden) but its content was contrary to meaning of the name.
The MCA noted that wage bill cannot be reduced merely by doing away with some constituencies, saying Kenyans want resources near them, which can only be actualized by having enough representatives from the grassroots.
On her part, nominated MCA Sarah Njeri Njoroge criticized the bill saying gender role has not taken care of in the proposed initiative.
“Furthermore, the 2010 constitution is still under implementation and bringing changes at this time will only put Kenyans in a confusion mood,” she noted.
Additionally, Gaturi MCA Kiiru Mwangi noted that residents needed to be educated adequately on the bill so as to be conversant on the changes it may bring if adopted.
Meanwhile, Murang’a county assembly is third to reject the punguza mzigo constitutional amendment bill in central Kenya after Kirinyaga and Nyandarua counties.
By Bernard Munyao and Everlyne Njeri
