Bill seeks to trim counties to 10, vote areas to 141 Kenya could have 10 counties and 141 constituencies if a proposed law is passed without ADVERTISEMENT Kenya could have 10 counties and 141 constituencies if a proposed law is passed without amendments. The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill, 2014, presented to the Speaker of the National Assembly last evening seeks to reduce the number of counties from 47 and constituencies from 290. In addition, the Bill by Mwingi Central MP Joe Mutambu also seeks to cut the number of women representatives from 47 to 10, setting the stage for a titanic battle on gender representation. The 47 lawmakers are provided for in Article 97 (1b) of the Constitution to elevate women representation in political leadership. But if the Bill becomes law, that number will come down to 20, half of which will be women and the other half men. Each of the 10 counties will elect a man and a woman. And by reducing the number of counties, the Bill effectively thins the Senate, which has 47 members and 20 nominees. In the proposed law, that number will come down to 20 elected senators with each county electing a woman and a man. This means that Article 98 (1b), that provides for 16 women nominees of political parties will be deleted. Instead only six senators, three men and three women, will be nominated to represent the youth, persons with disabilities and minority groups. “The objective of a lean National Assembly and Senate would be to ensure that members have adequate time to contribute to debate,” Mr Mutambu said in the “memorandum of objects and reasons” for the Bill. REDUCE WAGE BILL “The objective of reducing the number of counties is informed by the need to reduce the wage bill and the cost of running county governments,” he said. But the Bill is likely to face stiff opposition from women MPs. Mr Mutambu has argued before that the current size of elective posts is too big to bear. This argument comes just after the President asked his senior officers to take a pay cut and reduce a public wage bill, currently standing at above 50 per cent of Kenya’s annual revenue earnings. Each of the 47 governors has cabinets of at least eight ministers with various chief officers in addition to Members of the County Assemblies, Senators and Women Representatives which, according to Mutambu, is too expensive for the country. The powers of the counties are provided in Articles 191 and 192, and in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya and the County Governments Act of 2012. The counties are also single member constituencies for the election of members of parliament to the senate and special women members of parliament to the the National Assembly. The Constitution creates 47 county governments based on the delineation of administrative districts as created under the Provinces and Districts Act of 1992. According to Chapter 16 of the constitution, any proposed amendment to “objects, principles and structure of devolved government” must go through a referendum. But Mr Mutambu has argued that enacting this law, if passed, will not incur any additional public expenditure. Under Article 256, a Bill for this purpose can be tabled in either house of parliament - Senate or National Assembly but must obtain support of the other. The Bill must obtain two thirds support from both houses. The Bill cannot be read a second time before 90 days lapse. The period is meant to allow time for public debate. Once passed, both speakers are required to submit it to the president who would request the electoral commission to conduct a referendum within 90 days. PLANNED COUNTIES The proposed counties and where they will be: Coast Lower Eastern Upper Eastern Central Nyanza North Eastern Nairobi Western South Rift Valley North Rift Valley
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 03:47:05 +0000
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