This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
Homa Bay Women Rep Gladys Wanga has urged county assemblies to reject the Punguza Mizigo Bill, which she believes will lead to the scrapping of many constituencies and inefficient allocation of resources.
Speaking at the unveiling of a Sh5 million evangelism bus to the Women Ministry of the Seventh Day Adventist Church’s Kenya Lake at New Life church in Kendu Bay town, Wanga said the Bill will force Kenyans to have only two MPs in a county, which she described as inefficient.
She used her own county as an example, stating that if the Bill is approved in a referendum, Homa Bay will be reduced from eight constituencies to just two, which will not serve the public well in terms of allocation of resources.
“For example here in Homa Bay, we will only have two constituencies which will not serve the public well in terms of allocation of resources,” Wanga said.
Wanga urged all county assemblies to vote against the Bill, saying that Kenya needs a referendum next year to develop a new constitution based on the recommendations of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) taskforce.
“Let all county assemblies reject the Bill if they mean well for Kenya," she said. “Let us all wait for the BBI to give us a Bill that will enable us to get the right constitution. Punguza Mizigo Bill is meant to confuse Kenyans,” she added.
Wanga also urged Kenyans to support the Handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, arguing that the unity deal led to economic growth.
“We already have a port in Kisumu, others are going to be constructed here in Mbita and Homa Bay. Even the bus we bought resulted from the handshake,” Wanga said.
