• The head of state said more constituencies in the country will ensure more money reaches Kenyans at the grassroots level.
• He said counties will also receive more funds once the BBI is passed.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday rallied Coast residents to support the Building Bridges Initiative, saying it would allow the creation of more constituencies.
The head of state said more constituencies in the country will ensure more money reaches Kenyans at the grassroots level.
“If we are to divide your constituency into two, where is the problem? Currently, constituencies are getting Sh100 million. If we divide it into two, it means, the locals will be getting Sh200 million annually,” the President said.
He said counties will also receive more funds once the BBI is passed.
“If passing the BB means more money to counties, why would anyone oppose it?” he asked.
The President was accompanied by Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho and Likoni MP Mishi Mboko.
Joho and Mishi said they will rally the people to Mombasa to support the BBI.
They spoke after the launch of the Sh1.9 billion Likoni Floating Bridge.
The 824-metre-long bridge, which was built in five months, will be opened to the public in January next year, Uhuru said.
He said engineers are working on the final touches to ensure maximum safety for pedestrians who will be using the channel daily.
The sea link, the first of its kind in East Africa, will take up most of the foot traffic across the Kilindini Channel by linking Liwatoni on Mombasa Island to Ras Bofu on the Likoni mainland.
The bridge, which will be managed by the Kenya Ports Authority, will free up the Likoni ferry channel that has been in service since 1937.
More than 300,000 people and 6,000 vehicles use the Likoni ferry channel every day.
The President also cautioned Kenyans against insincere politicians who continue to mislead and needlessly incite the public on the operations of Mombasa Port and the standard gauge railway.
He said the railway and expansion of the seaport had created more business for ancillary service providers, such as cargo truckers, who evacuate over 70 per cent of the port's output.
The President also launched the construction of the Sh4.5 billion Makupa Bridge in Mombasa county.
The four-lane over-sea bridge will replace the 1929 Makupa Causeway, paving the way for its demolition and restoration of the ecosystem in the area including free flow of water and marine life.
It will be completed in January 2022.
Edited by A.N