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NEWS BEAT PEOPLE DAILY / Monday, September 20, 2021

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Who holds forte when the
President is out of the FOFSHZ
country is the committee’s
latest headache
by Anthony Mwangi
@PeopleDailyKe
Members of Parliament working on 5HMHFW FXUUHQW
a new push to amend the Constitution
were yesterday grappling with the pow- FURS RI OHDGHUV
ers and functions of the two proposed
Deputy President positions.
Of particular concern to the MPs, who LQ HOHFWLRQ
sit on the Constitutional Implementa-
tion Oversight Committee (CIOC) of the
National Assembly, is which of the two :DQMLJL GHPDQGV
deputy presidents should act in the ab-
sence of the president.
“We have finalised the Bill on the ex- by Kepher Otieno
pansion of the Executive but first we @PeopleDailyKe
must address some grey area around the
creation of the two positions of deputy Businessman Jimi Wanjigi wound up his four-
president. There are questions on which day tour of the Nyanza region yesterday with a call
one of them will assume the role of the for replacement of the current crop of politicians.
Head of State in absence of the Presi- boundaries, we will present our pro- Wanjigi argyed that what Kenya needs most is
dent. The Bill needs to put clarity on the PROPOSED posal to be looked into,” said Rono. an economic revolution and not change of laws to
matter,” said Committee chairman Jer- AMENDMENTS He said the committee had also unan- Ndaragwa cater for certain interests.
emiah Kioni. imously backed the Bill seeking to have MP Jeremiah He was addressing more than 300 delegates of
He added: “We are doing final touches The Bill proposes several amend- Cabinet ministers picked from among Kioni (left) ODM at Wigot Gardens in Kisumu County.
on the Bill that will allow the President ments to the Constitution to create the elected MPs. with his Commenting on the high cost of fuel, the busi-
to appoint ministers from Parliament positions of prime minister, two deputy “The committee has endorsed the Kinangop nessman accused MPs for passing laws which im-
and will be subjected to public partici- presidents and two deputy premiers. proposal to have MPs picked to be min- counterpart pact negatively on mwananchi.
pation.” MPs have proposed that the amend- isters and so we will back the Bill cur- Zachary “I am calling on Kenyans to reject them come
Kioni’s committee is currently meet- ments be voted for or against in a rently before the National Assembly,” Kwenya 2022 general election,” he said.
ing in Mombasa to fine tune a Bill that national referendum to be held on the he said. during a past Wanjigi also called for review of the Energy and
is expected to be tabled before the Na- same day as the next General Election The implication of the proposed press briefing Petroleum Act 2019, which gives the regulator pow-
tional Assembly when it resumes from set for August 9 next year. changes is that the executive will be at Parliament ers to increase fuel prices at will.
recess in two weeks’ time. expanded by a further five positions if Buildings. PD/ “We want the government to urgently review the
It proposes several amendments to Kenyans vote for the changes. FILE cost of energy which has a great knock-on effect on
“We do not want to find ourselves in a
the Constitution to create the positions situation similar to that one during the Said Kioni: “We want to have the refer- the food basket and household income,” he said.
of prime minister, two deputy presi- grand coalition government. We want endum question be included in the Gen- Yesterday, about 23 MCAs from Migori county
dents and two deputy premiers. the role of each officeholder defined eral Election vote as the seventh ballot led by Rongo Central MCA Maende Ogweno apolo-
“The dilemma is to ensure that one of properly,” Kioni told People Daily. paper, this will align the process after gised to Wanjigi over a Friday incident in which his
the deputy presidents does not appear Kioni said the committee had also which the positions will be created.” motorcade was stoned in the county.
to be junior to the other in the power scheduled a meeting with the Indepen- “We are sorry to what happened in Migori and
hierarchy,” said a member of the com- dent Electoral and Boundaries Commis- Attorney General apologise on behalf of all Migori people,” said Og-
mittee who requested anonymity. sion (IEBC) to consult on the creation of He did not explain what process his weno.
MPs have proposed that the amend- more constituencies. committee will follow in passing the Bill But Wanjigi expressed satisfaction with the re-
ments be voted for or against in a na- “People must divorce the process of since they must undergo public partici- ception by ODM delegates during his tour of Migo-
tional referendum to be held on the pation before proceeding to the Second ri, Siaya, Homa Bay and Kisumu counties.
same day as the next General Election making constitutional amendments Reading. “I was highly welcomed in all places I visited,” he
from any particular leaders. The con-
set for August 9 next year. stitutional amendments must be made Kioni, however, revealed that a num- said.
The dilemma the committee is facing to reduce political temperatures,” said ber of amendments were still awaiting Wanjigi was, however, blocked from holding a
over the two deputy presidents rekin- Kioni. approval by Parliament and hoped that meeting at the Kisumu Central ODM office in the
dles memories of the turf wars between He hit out at Deputy President William members would pass them before the afternoon because another meeting convened by
the then Prime Minister Raila Odinga Ruto for his criticism of the latest initia- end of the year. lawyer Tom Ojienda was already scheduled for the
and Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka in tive to amend the Constitution. Kioni’s committee has also published venue.
the grand coalition government of be- “The DP is saying that lawmakers can- another Bill that seeks to amend Article He said his mission in Nyanza was not to under-
tween 2008 and 2013. 90 of the Constitution to make provision mine ODM leader Raila Odinga but to consolidate
not sit in some room and decide on the for political parties to nominate unsuc- the party’s support.
Grand coalition Constitution. We can even sit on top or cessful presidential candidates and their “I am here in Nyanza not as an enemy of the
even under a tree. Despite opposing the
The then Constitution was not clear running mates to the National Assembly people by virtue of running for president, but as a
on who between the two was second to Constitution, he has never introduced and the Senate. life member of the Orange party founded on strong
President Mwai Kibaki in the pecking any amendments to it. He opposed the The Bill also seeks to have the Attor- democratic tenets and values,” he said.
order. Building Bridges Initiative (BBI). He now ney-General perform the functions of Wanjigi wondered why a section of ODM party
Kalonzo, who was rewarded with the opposes the amendments,” Kioni said. a Cabinet Secretary as assigned by the officials were apprehensive about his intention to
post for forming an alliance with the But another member of the commit- President as well as to allow a governor seek the party’s nomination to run for president.
then government led by Kibaki in the tee Daniel Rono (Keiyo South) differed to appoint MCAs as members of the “Our party believes in internal democracy and
aftermath of the disputed 2007 election with Kioni on the creation of the extra county executive committee. so there is no need to be jittery. We will run the
positions in the Executive.
was often fronted to checkmate Raila, The implication of the proposed race and ultimately, it is the close to 3,000 ODM
“This was a suggestion made by the
leading to frequent squabbles over chairman but has not been tabled before amendments is that they would touch delegates who will decide who is their best bet for
leadership of Government Business in on the oversight role of Parliament since the ticket. At the moment we have to campaign,”
Parliament. the committee,” Rono claimed. Cabinet Secretaries will now sit in the he said.
Whereas in Parliament the Constitu- He said members only agreed on the House. During his tour, Wanjigi asked local residents
tion mandated Raila to play the role of need to create more constituencies and But a group of MPs led by Aden Duale to consider him as their own and back his bid for
representing the government, Kalonzo drafted a proposal to be forwarded to the (Garissa Township) wants all the Bills re- president.
would at times come with statements IEBC for consideration. lating to the BBI campaign suspended. “I am presenting myself to you...I know the sov-
from the same government. “We have agreed on the idea to cre- Speaker Justin Muturi is set to make ereign power rests in your hands, and you will give
This is the area the Kioni-led com- ate more constituencies, however since a ruling on the matter immediately the us a fair judgment,” he said after meeting delegates
mittee wants to iron out before the bill the electoral commission is the consti- House resumes on Tuesday September from Siaya county.
is tabled before Parliament. tutionally mandated body to delimit 28.