This archive report was first published on 16 October 2019.
Published on October 16, 2019, the Punguza Mizigo initiative, sponsored by Third Way Alliance, appears headed for rejection after 19 counties assemblies dismissed the bill.
The constitution requires that the bill get endorsement from at least 24 counties to proceed to parliament.
Recently, Narok, Garissa, and Kericho counties became the latest to reject the bill, which seeks to drastically reduce government expenditure in its proposals for the constitution amendment.
Garissa county unanimously rejected the bill, citing an article that seeks to reduce the number of MPs from the current 290 to 147.
However, in Kericho, the bill was rejected by 10 members out of 17 members present in the assembly, with some MCAs expressing disappointment that the fate of the bill was decided by a minority of members.
Similarly, Narok county rejected the bill, with MCAs arguing that while reducing the country's wage bill is necessary, the drastic proposals would peel back gains made since the promulgation of the constitution in 2010.
Uasin Gishu County Assembly is the only county that has passed the bill, but the initiative needs to secure approval from at least 24 counties to attain the constitutional threshold for a referendum.
