•The legislator urged MCAs to wait for a Bill that will be developed from recommendations in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce.
•She said Kenya needs a referendum next year.
Homa Bay woman representative Gladys Wanga has urged county assemblies in Nyanza to reject the Punguza Mizigo Bill on their floors.
The six counties are Kisii, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Nyamira, Siaya and Migori.
She argued that the Punguza Mizigo Bill will lead to scrapping of many constituencies and disadvantage women in the country.
The woman representative said the Bill will force Kenyans to have only two MPs in a county, which is inefficient.
“The bill is not aimed to lower the burden but to reduce the number of women in representation. I appeal to counties in the region to reject it in totality,” Wanga said.
She spoke on Thursday when she handed over a bus worth Sh5 million for New Life SDA church under Kenya Lake Conference in Kendu Bay town.
The bus was bought through the support of the church, including contributions from Wanga, and Interior CS Fred Matiang’i.
Wanga said many Kenyan women don’t support the Bill.
“For example here in Homa Bay, we will only have two constituencies which will not serve the public well in terms of allocation of resources and other aspects,” she said.
Wanga, who led Nasa campaigns across the six counties in the 2017 general poll, urged the county assemblies to vote against the Bill.
“Let all county assemblies in this region reject the Bill if they mean well for Kenya,” Wanga said.
The legislator urged MCAs to wait for a Bill that will be developed from recommendations in the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce.
She said Kenya needs a referendum next year.
“Let us all wait for the BBI to give us a Bill that will enable us to get the right constitution. Punguza Mizigo Bill is meant for confusing Kenyans,” she said.
The MP urged Kenyans to support the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga.
She argued that the truce had led to economic growth in the country.
“We already a have a port in Kisumu, others are going to be constructed her in Mbita and Homa Bay towns. Even the bus we bought resulted from the handshake,” Wanga said.
She argued that the handshake had also led to peaceful co-existence among Kenyans from various ethnic backgrounds.