The BBI report was compiled by a steering committee made up of 16 members:
- The Steering Committee was appointed by Gazette Notice No. 264, published on 10th January, 2020.
- while Kenya will be ahead of the global curve due to BBI.
If this BBI Report is truly important as President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga tell us, why did they use e-signatures for some of the members, why did one of the members sign the others. Were the members busy elsewhere? Or was the report hurriedly signed?
Chapter Three on Citizenship to strengthen the national ethos by outlining the responsibilities of citizens. The amendment is informed by the understanding that the current Constitution has rightly imposed various socio-economic duties on the state but does not envision any responsibilities on the part of the citizen.
Are you now blaming us the citizens. We are bearing the taxation burden what else do you want us to do. Tax income is the largest source of government revenue. From 2013 to 2018 you have collected from us Ksh. 7.1 trillion in taxes.
Reform the management structure of the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IIEBC)
What we should reform first is the management of the country. As long as we have corrupted and unethical political leaders, we will always have a problem with the electoral body.
Promote gender equity in governance by actualising the Constitutional provision of the two thirds Gender Rule on elective and appointive office.
On this matter the Chief Justice was clear on what we should do- dissolve parliament for its failure to enact the third Gender Rule.
Article 261 (7) reads that “If parliament fails to enact legislation in accordance with an order under clause 6) b), the Chief Justice shall advise the President to dissolve Parliament and the President shall dissolve parliament.
After 6 petitions and 4 failed court orders, the Chief Justice and President of Supreme Court advised the President to dissolve parliament.
Chapter Eight on the Legislature to undertake the following: Remodel the Parliamentary system by bringing the Government back into the House, including the Prime Minister, Deputy Prime Ministers, Cabinet Ministers, the Attorney-General and the Leader of the Official Opposition, being the person who was the runner-up in the Presidential election.
This is the gist of the matter. That is this is what the BBI is about. Serving the interests of the ruling class.
Chapter Nine on the Executive by expanding the national executive in order to promote greater inclusivity, and mitigate the drawbacks of the winner-take-all electoral formula. This recommendation therefore proposes the introduction of the office of the Prime Minister and two Deputy Prime Ministers. It also provides that Cabinet Ministers may be appointed from among members of the National Assembly. The Committee makes this recommendation cognizant of the provisions of Article 77(1) of the Constitution of Kenya which bars state officers from receiving emoluments for more than one role.
Members of National Assembly will be happy to support the BBI because of carrots like this. What about the CECs at the County level, should governors also appoint the CECs from the MCAs? We are going back to the old order. People are remembering the KANU era with nostalgia.
Chapter Eleven on the Devolved Government by making the following changes: I. Creating a County Ward Development Fund to be governed by statute.
MCAs will be glad to support BBI report. They have always been fighting for a kitty of their own just like NGCDF.
Increasing the resources to the Counties from the current 15% to at least 35% of the last audited accounts and ensuring that the focus is on service delivery in the settled and serviced areas, including for people living near the furthest boundaries of each County;
This is another carrot to entice Governors and Governors-to-be. Many Senators salivating for the County Chief position will gladly support BBI. This is about the ruling class.
Chapter Twelve on Public Finance to streamline public finance principles and processes to promote efficiency and ensure expenditures are directed to maximising utility. The proposals give special attention to the actualisation of the rights guaranteed under Article 43 as well as strengthening devolution.
Here we are beating around the bush. The problem is lack of accountability. The Office of Controller of Budget and the Office of Auditor General produce implementation and audit reports but no one is taking action. Once the audit reports are submitted to the relevant parliamentary committee, serious action is supposed to be taken for stealing public funds. That is not the case. On this matter I beg to differ, let us implement what we have and throw into prison those found guilty of corruption.
They are talking about empowering the Office of the Auditor General to recruit its own staff. Is that sufficient?
How is the war on corruption going? Asking for a friend.
The Controller of Budget Act, 2016 (No. 26 of 2016) The Bill seeks to amend the Act to require the Controller of Budget to carry out due diligence on all ongoing projects, to ascertain whether money previously approved for the project has been utilised prudently, before the Controller authorises release of more funds for the projects.
This is the work of Office of Auditor General (OAG). Common on, let us strengthen the OAG instead of duplicating efforts. In stead hire more staff to ensure the OAG produces timely audit reports to inform the OCOB in their approval of transfer of funds
The Higher Education Loans Board Act, 1995 (No. 33 of 1995) The Bill seeks to amend the Act to give loanees a grace period of four years from the date of completion of their studies before they can commence repayment of loans advanced to them. The proposed amendments further exempt loanees without a source of income from paying interest on the loans advanced to them until such time that the loanees start earning an income.
This is a good idea, I support. But it is not an excuse for the state to run away from its role of employment creation to ensure youth do not have to be unemployed for over 4 years which has necessitated this change. If every youth who has qualifications is assured of a job in the private or public sector, then loan repayment wont be a problem. Let us learn to address the root causes of a problem and not the symptoms. Default in loan repayment is a symptom of the bigger problem of high rates of unemployment among the Kenyan youth
The Health (Amendment) Bill, 2020 The Bill seeks to amend the Health Act to establish the Health Services Commission. The commission shall make recommendations to the national government on national policies for management of health care workers; monitor implementation of national policies for management of health care workers by county governments and recommend appropriate action; and set and regularly review norms and standards on health matters.
Have we even had time to implement this law?
Stakeholders wanted serious action to be taken against hate speech, particularly in the context of political campaigns that they identified as the major driver of division.
Hate speech is a great challenge in Kenya. It is mostly perpetuated by out political leaders.
Historically Marginalised Communities The Steering Committee heard about the call for inclusion, including delivery of services and resource allocation by specific communities, mostly hailing from the ASALs, border communities and informal settlements in towns and cities. Problems described by members of these communities include the need for protection from aggression by neighbouring communities, redress for historical injustices, official recognition as an ethnic group, improved access to citizenship documents, affirmative action in employment and greater representation in the form of independent Counties or Constituencies. Specific communities from which the Steering Committee received such submissions include the Ogiek, Ijara, Suba, Ajuran, Turkana and Wajir South among others.
watch this space…
