Secondly,
not all constitutional amendments are permissible, especially those that go to
the heart of the constitutional architecture.
Thirdly,
it fundamentally violates the basic structure of checks and balances as
well as the principles of separation of powers and accountability established
by the Constitution.
Fourthly,
the constituency as a separate or distinct development and service delivery
unit outside of the county is alien to the constitution. The constitution
doesn’t envision a third-tier system where a unit is grafted from the national
government to operate within the county but outside county governance and
development structures.
Fifthly,
it infringes on the division and assignment of functions between two levels of
government.
Counties
are constitutionally self-governing and distinct. If the national
government wants certain functions assigned to it to be done by the counties, the
constitution has established a mechanism for function(s) transfer. Development
projects in a constituency fall first under the jurisdiction of the county
government, as a constituency is a unit under the county. The national government
must respect and uphold Schedule Four of the Constitution
Sixthly,
the funds are duplication and waste of public funds. They interfere with the division of revenue, prudent use of public resources and principles of public
finance. Funds are dismembering the shared powers, cooperative governance
principles and the principle of revenue sharing enshrined in the constitution.
Senate Oversight cost is already taken care of by budgetary allocation for the
Senate, vide the Parliamentary Service Commission.
Finally,
the funds directly violate the core functions of Parliament and the Executive. They
blur the constitutionally assigned functions to each arm of the state. For
Parliament, the funds destroy the separation of oversight, legislation, budget
approval and appropriation and representation.
The
funds conflate the Executive and Legislative functions, contrary to what
drafters and the people of Kenya provided in the constitution.
