Murang’a County Woman Representative Sabina Chege has lauded a section of MPs who in the past criticized the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) but on Thursday voted for the passage of Bill in the National Assembly.
Chege said some MPs who previously strongly criticized BBI like Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri opted to see the benefits which will come from BBI and avoid it in mere politics.
Mount Kenya region, Chege said stands to benefit more from the proposals contained in the BBI considering the high population in the region.
She hoped that there would be a smooth transition to the referendum saying some critics may put hurdles to try to frustrate the process.
“We hope there will be no people who will now start going to court to stop the process as we want to finish up this process for amendment of the constitution so that the country can start a new chapter,” added Chege.
The woman representative was speaking in Murang’a South when she distributed Sh4 million bursaries and scholarships to needy students as they prepare to resume learning on May 10.
“Some of MPs from this region opted to vote against the Bill but we respect that. The question is, how one can just oppose an initiative aimed to support his or her people. BBI stipulates how resources will be shared based on population and currently we don’t have enough funds to support local developments.
“Like county women representatives, the affirmative kitty we get can only fund a few projects and in many cases we are compelled to turn away needy students who are in need of bursaries,” stated Chege.
During voting for the Bill which went through second and third reading on Thursday evening, two legislators from Murang’a including Ndindi Nyoro (Kiharu) and his Kandara counterpart, Alice Wahome voted against BBI.
In the proposed additional constituencies, Murang’a is expected to get one extra constituency which most likely is expected to be hived from Maragua and Gatanga constituencies.
Meanwhile, Chege who is chair of the Parliamentary Committee for Health challenged Kenya Medical Research Institute (KEMRI) to develop a local vaccine to fight Covid-19 pandemic.
Chege noted the country has many qualified scientists who can come up with a vaccine to fight coronavirus and stop relying on other countries for help in terms of vaccines.
“As parliament we are much ready to fund such an initiative and have our vaccine. South Africa already has their own vaccine against covid-19 but our country for a long time has been used for trials of new vaccines. This is the time that in Kenya we have our vaccine,” said the legislator.
Chege said it was unfortunate for the country to have new cases of Indian strain of covid-19 urging Kenyans not to relax in adhering to the Ministry of Health protocols aimed to contain the spread of the virus.
“From next week schools are reopening for the third term. Every individual needs to take care and avoid activities which may spur the spread of the virus,” she further said.
By Bernard Munyao
