Kirinyaga Women Representative Wangui Ngirichi has criticised Governor Anne Waiguru for seeking a compromise over the Building Bridges Initiative.
Ngirichi claimed the Tangatanga grouping had long warned that the initiative was divisive, hence the need to have a consensus, advice she says fell on deaf ears.
She spoke in Mwea during the issuance of affirmative action fund cheques to different women groups.
“There are those who actively went round the country popularising the BBI reggae, which was characterised by chest-thumping and mockery and as such could not pave way for fruitful deliberations,” she said.
“Now, some have started changing the tune and propose a collaborative process, we know what they are seeking is a political mileage. Is she not among governors who criticised Murang’a Senator Irungu Kang’ata for revealing to President Kenyatta that BBI was unpopular in Mt Kenya?”
Ngirici noted their faction was ready to welcome leaders who will subscribe to their development-minded policies.
“They castigated Kang’ata just like they have been doing to us that we have been disrespecting the president. Who in the very end has shown disrespect? The people who from the onset told the president to correct his way or the people who from the very beginning knew it was not working but hid the truth?” She posed.
Ngirici insisted that BBI initiative should not be treated as a priority at the expense of suffering Kenyans.
“There are important agenda that need the government’s attention before thinking of taking the country to a referendum. That’s why we have been opposing this initiative all along,” she said.
Further, Ngirici said some of the BBI proposals have their solutions provided for under the Constitution.
“In Mwea, for example BBI proposes that it should be subdivided into two. But the reality is, whether BBI will be applied or not, Mwea will still have to be divided, as under the current constitution it has surpassed the threshold of being reviewed and subdivided.”
She further defended the 'hustler' narrative against accusations of driving social stratification.
She says their faction is a force that resonates with common wananchi’s suffering.
“Hustlers don’t get it all on a silver platter as opposed to those brought up in wealthy families. It means they have to continually cultivate their way up the social and economic ladder as the present day government is pushed to provide a favorable business climate for them to thrive. That’s the agenda of the hustler narrative but not creating seats for few individuals.”
