Siaya county assembly on Thursday rejected the Punguza Mzingo Bill saying the Bill erodes the democratic gains achieved by the country since independent.
The Siaya county assembly yesterday rejected the Punguza Mizigo Bill, saying it erodes the democratic gains achieved by the country since independence.
MCAs said during a special sitting that they only recognise the Building Bridges Initiative. They urged sponsor of the bill Ekuru Aukot to consider merging the views with that of the BBI to avoid confusion.
“It’s prudent that the Punguza Mzigo initiative blends with the Building Bridges Initiative to avoid future contradictions,” the county assembly's Committee of Justice and Legal Affairs led by Yembo East MCA Francis Otiato proposed.
“It’s paradoxical for the Bill to seek the removal of the deputy governor and leave that of deputy president yet their establishment were premised on the same logic,” Otiato said.
The house also rejected the proposal by the Bill to delete Article 250 (1) that removes the mechanism for appointing members of independent commissions.
West Gem MCA Susan Nyamawira added that the proposal to delete article 250 (7) will take away the remuneration commission independence and leaving the commission to the whims of the executive is potential abuse.
Nyamawira also condemned the removal of article 100(a) that seeks to abolish nomination slots in the county assembly, senate and in the national assembly.
East Ugenya MCA Fredrick Opanga said the bill failed to address the key areas of concern on public resources wastage such as foreign and domestic debts, corruption and uncollected revenues.
However, the Siaya county assembly agreed with the Aukot initiative proposal of increasing the percentage of equitable allocation to the counties from the current 15 per cent to 35 per cent.