ODM leaders oppose reduction of counties

ODM leaders oppose reduction of counties

Three ODM leaders from Siaya have termed the move by Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria and his Yatta counterpart Joe Mutambo to reduce the number of counties and do away with the Senate as retrogressive measures to kill devolution.

Led by Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga, Bondo MP Gideon Ochanda and nominated MP Oburu Oginga, the leaders argued that it’s very early to tamper with devolution.

Rasanga, who was addressing journalists in his office, said devolution must be given time to work instead of being criticized day and night. He further said it was too soon to claim that devolution has failed and start advocating for its reduction.

The Governor said Kuria and Mutambo are reflecting what the National government has always wished as it has been frustrating counties all through by not releasing funds on time.

He said the ballooning wage bill is caused by the replication of duties by the national government.

MP Ochanda said the issue of ballooning wage bill has been caused by poor transition system from the national government to county governments.

He said the reason the numbers of counties are high is because of population quotas as per the census population and cannot be changed for personal interests.

The Bondo MP said it’s not easy to reduce the number of counties as the rationale must be clear and an independent commission formed to inquire on the motive.

He said in the spirit of devolution the county governments need to be distinct from the national government to avoid replication of functions that is causing ballooning of wage bill.

MP Oburu Oginga said it was ODM’s proposal to have 14 county governments but the same Jubilee refused yet they are now advocating for the reduction of the number of counties.

He said the Jubilee government has always been against devolution, as they wanted a strong government system and not devolution. He noted that the Jubilee government is now in place and it’s using all means to derail devolution before they get out of power.

He said the Senate must be in place to impeach the President should he fail in his mandate.

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CORD JUBILEE Nyanza ODM Leaders

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