A section of Kirinyaga County MCAs has said the BBI campaign is deemed to fail with Senator Charles Kibiru as the point man in Kirinyaga County.
The MCAs criticized a move by a group of Mt Kenya MPs in endorsing Senator Kibiru to lead the region leaders in popularizing the BBI initiative.
They said the document was gaining popularity due to the efforts by the local leaders, including area Members of Parliaments who have taken every opportunity to educate the public on the gains if they support it.
The leader of majority Kamau Murango, unleashed a scathing attack on Senator Kibiru, saying his impact has not been felt on the ground owing to his absenteeism and indifferent attitude towards county matters.
“Ever since some leaders were elected in office, they took off! They don’t bother getting back on ground to check how their subjects are doing to the point that wananchi don’t know them,” said Murango
Wamumu ward MCA John Kanga speaking on the same said he has never met the senator since he was elected into office for the last three years.
“We are not opposed to his appointment as the point man for BBI in this region, but he is not known to the common mwananchi. How effective can such a leader be in terms of popularizing the BBI,” Kanga wondered
He said perhaps for reasons of the senator being an independent candidate, he has not met with local leaders, majority of whom are from the Jubilee party.
“I didn’t meet him during the 2017 jubilee primaries and during the campaign period,” Kanga said and further advised Kirinyaga residents to from next year’s general election give leadership mandate to people who will be concerned and available when called upon.
Baragwi MCA David Mathenge said the senator’s position in the team was too big a pair of shoes for him to fill, saying he lacks charisma and has at no point drummed up support for the initiative in his own county.
His Mukuure ward colleague Elisha Mwangi said the BBI should not be forced down the throats of the region’s residents. He however urged Kibiru and his team to oversee the publishing of many copies of the document to be distributed to Kenyans. This he says will help them read and make informed decisions before the team kicks off their campaigns in the region.
The MCAs speaking at Njukini in Kirinyaga East Sub County said Kibiru was nominated by the region leaders to chair a five-member team that will spearhead the BBI campaigns to popularize it. He will be assisted by Igembe North’s Maoka Maore with Embu women representative Jane Wanjuki (Secretary), Limuru MP Peter Mwathi (organizing secretary) and Kigumo’s MP Ruth Mwaniki as his assistant.
The Initiative, according to Senator Kibiru, is being supported by 91 parliamentarians within the Mt Kenya region with only fifteen on the opposing side.
The team is scheduled to reach out to opinion leaders within the grassroots level, who will help in educating the masses about what is contained in the document.
Earlier last week, the visiting Agriculture CS Peter Munya hinted that fierce campaigns around the region are set to be conducted before June.
by Irungu Mwangi
