- This comes in the backdrop of a proposal by 26 members of parliament to create 11 more devolved units.
- “The proposed new counties share similar characteristics with the aforementioned counties.”
Image: FILE
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has proposed that all 47 counties should be scrapped to form 10 economic units.
This comes in the backdrop of a proposal by 26 members of parliament to create 11 more devolved units.
However, Khalwale said that the 10 economic units should be led by the head and deputy head of county delegations.
"In fact, current counties ought to be merged to create 10 viable economic units. 62 senators comprising 20 elected by universal suffrage (man and woman per county to be head and deputy head of county delegations) + 42 each representing our diverse ethnic communities (to be elected by respective county MCAs)," he said.
Khalwale proposed the devolved units to be Western, Nyanza, North Rift, South Rift, Nairobi, Upper Eastern, Lower Eastern, North Eastern, Coast and Central.
This is even as the lawmakers from across the political divide promoted the new entities they called a step to ensuring what they termed "justice for smaller communities that have suffered under the current set-up".
The legislators are agitating for the split of Migori, Busia, Bungoma, Kisii, Kitui, Homa Bay, Nakuru, Wajir, West Pokot, Garissa and Meru.
Thus, the new counties they want to be hived out are Kuria, Teso, Mount Elgon, Gucha, Mwingi, Suba, Nakuru West, Wajir South, East Pokot, Ijara and Nyambene.
The lawmakers argue the proposed units meet the criteria for creating counties, including ethnic identity, geographical area as well and population.
“It is on this basis that counties such as Tana River, Taita Taveta, Isiolo, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Kirinyaga and Elgeyo Marakwet were established,” the MPs said in a joint memorandum to the National Dialogue Committee.
“The proposed new counties share similar characteristics with the aforementioned counties.”