- Unscrupulous individuals will also start calling for the repeal of term limit for the President, leaders caution.
- The proposal is reckless as governors will not be motivated to deliver services to the people.
Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka's proposal to scrap term limits for governors has been likened to a toxic prescription for the country.
A section of leaders told the Star that the former Vice-President's idea was akin to installing regional kingpins as rulers for life.
"This is very bad. Having governors rule without constitutional term limits will make the position a preserve of the rich," Narok Senator Ledama ole Kina said.
The senator said wealthy governors, who have amassed wealth, would rule for life.
The leaders cautioned that removing term limits for county chiefs will open the floodgates of bad governance as unscrupulous individuals will also start calling for the repeal of term limit for the President as well.
Kalonzo on Wednesday proposed that county bosses, just like elected members of Parliament and MCAs, should serve without constitutional restrictions.
This, he said, would be one of his suggestions to the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) steering committee.
“Remove this thing they call term for governors. I know it will be controversial – so that governors do not think about third-tier which will be a problem,” Kalonzo told Ukambani leaders at Stoni Athi in Machakos.
The Constitution gives governors a maximum of two terms to be in office.
The leaders warned the former Vice-President against taking the country along a route that might be abused.
ODM national chairman John Mbadi said by phone: "You cannot amend the law to please individuals who don’t want to go home. That will set a very bad precedent to the extent that we can easily call for the removal of the presidential term limit."
According to him, a governor who has served well can make a strong presidential candidate or deputy president. "Those who want to continue are those who have just been stealing and don’t want to stop stealing.”
The Suba South MP, who is also National Assembly's minority leader, said governors hold executive positions which must have limits.
“Representative positions are the ones which do not have time limits. A position that wields an executive power must have a time limit."
Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala said removing term limits for governors will breed impunity and permanently lock youths out of leadership.
“I was very disappointed by those remarks from a senior leader like Kalonzo,” Malala said, adding that BBI should not provide a platform to extend term limits of county bosses.
Kalonzo’s suggestion is reckless as governors will not be motivated to deliver services to the people. "That limit was set up so that it can push for service delivery,” he said.
Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi too warned that scrapping term limits will claw back the gains the country has made.
“It is totally retrogressive. Governors like the President hold executive power and this requires checks. If we remove time limits we shall have rolled back the gains we have made in terms of entrenching accountability,” Wandayi said.
His Makueni counterpart Dan Maanzo said leaders should let people decide on the term limits.
“It is just one of our proposals to the BBI team. It will be upon the Haji team (Garissa Senator Yusuf Haji) to decide whether it forms part of the referendum question,” the Wiper MP said.