The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has stated that the Party will be pushing for the creation of regional assemblies to replace those in counties.
ODM Party Chairman Jon Mbadi maintained that county assemblies as currently constituted had little impact in legislation and playing their oversight roles effectively.
Mbadi remarked: “Some of them have been compromised by the Executive and have, therefore, lost meaning. They are only driven by business interests inimical to their mandate.”
The House Minority leader further argued that billions of shillings had been directed to counties in an attempt to boost investment and create jobs, with little to show for the investment.
[caption caption="House Minority leader John Mbadi"]
[/caption]
Mbadi stated: “The results, as the Auditor General’s office shared with Kenyans recently, is a pointer to weaknesses and variables in smaller administrative units.”
He added: “A lot of money has been wasted on recurrent expenditures and projects that are not sustainable. These are issues that will inform the ballot question at the referendum.”
The Suba South lawmaker maintained that ODM was still looking at ways to either amend the law by a popular initiative or through Parliament.
Article 257, (1) states that amending the Constitution can be done through a popular initiative, including collecting one million signatures from registered voters and Article 257(2) notes that a popular initiative for an amendment to the Constitution may be in the form of a general suggestion or a draft Bill.
Under Article 257(4) of the Constitution promoters of a popular initiative shall deliver the draft Bill and the supporting signatures to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for verification.
[caption caption="ODM MPs"]
[/caption]
If IEBC is satisfied that the initiative meets the requirements of the law, it is then expected to submit the draft Bill to each county assembly for consideration within three months.
