This archive report was first published on 28 November 2019.
On November 28, 2019, President Uhuru Kenyatta received the Building Bridges Initiative report from its taskforce Chairman, Senator Yusuf Haji, at State House, Nairobi.
The report proposes a hybrid system of government, where the premier cohabits with a president who will be the head of government. This is a departure from the Bomas draft, which had proposed a parliamentary system with a powerful prime minister.
While the Bomas draft had suggested that Nairobi be managed as a metropolitan capital city, the BBI team retained the current 47 counties and suggested that Nairobi be treated as a special county.
The BBI report also differs from the Punguza Mizigo initiative, which had sought to reduce the number of MPs from 416 to 147 and abolish nominations in county assemblies and Senate. In contrast, the BBI team has proposed the retention of the current numbers in Parliament and wants transparent public participation in the counties before nominations are done.
On sharable revenue, the two initiatives concurred that counties should receive at least 35 per cent. The Ugatuzi initiative by the Council of Governors had proposed that for every financial year, the equitable share of revenue raised nationally for county governments should not be less than 45 per cent of the previous year's revenue collected by the national government.
