• Kalonzo says if Building Bridges Initiative recommends amendment of Constitution, government will fund it.
• Says many Kenyans are ready and calling for referendum.
Image: PSCU
The government will present a supplementary budget to finance the proposed referendum, Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka said on Wednesday.
Kalonzo said if the Building Bridges Initiative task force recommended amendment of the Constitution, then the government would present a supplementary budget to the National Assembly.
“We should not worry about where we will get the money even if the 2019-2020 budget has not captured [the referendum]. A supplementary budget can be prepared,” Kalonzo said.
He addressed a conference for persons living with disability at Strathmore University on Wednesday.
Last week, Treasury CS Henry Rotich presented a Sh2.8 trillion budget for 2019-2020.
Giving the clearest indication yet that the much talked about national referendum to change the 2010 Constitution could take place next year, the former Vice President said “it was inevitable” as it was the only way to guarantee inclusivity in government and end perennial post-election violence.
“I am hearing voices of many Kenyans who are ready and calling for referendum and it is clear it is inevitable. Let all Kenyans come out and present their views to the BBI,” Kalonzo said.
The push for constitutional change especially by the Opposition MPs has been gaining momentum following the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa leader Raila Odinga in March last year.
Uhuru and Raila entered into a truce after almost seven months of grandstanding that followed the contested the August 2017 presidential results.
Kalonzo told off unnamed “dark forces” he said were determined to wreck the unity between President Uhuru and the Opposition leaders.
“Some people are unhappy and are fighting the handshake and the efforts of the President in trying to unite the country. We should shun them and instead support this important duty,” he said.
Deputy President William Ruto whose supporters think the call for referendum is targeting his presidential ambitions has said he is ready for constitutional change. But the majority of his allies mostly from Rift Valley and Mt Kenya region are strongly opposed to it.
Kalonzo said the handshake has brought about peace and unity among communities.
The former VP made the remarks a day after an opinion poll by Ipsos showed themajority of Kenyans back the March 9, 2018 truce between Uhuru and Raila.