10 county assemblies promise Uhuru BBI support

Ten county assemblies on Friday assured President Uhuru Kenyatta that they will pass the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) legislation within the legal timeframe.

They are Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Embu, Kirinyaga, Nyeri, Murang'a, Nyandarua, Kiambu, Laikipia and Nakuru.

They made the promise at Sagana State Lodge in Nyeri County during the President's meeting with 550 members of county assembly and their leadership teams.

Led by their speakers and house leaders, the MCAs said they are supportive of the BBI because more development resources will be allocated to the grassroots, henced their enhanced ability to solve challenges such as inadequate bursary funds.

Devolution's success

President Kenyatta thanked the county legislators for endorsing the BBI process, saying the reforms will strengthen devolution and accelerate Kenya's socio-economic transformation.

Contrary to the misleading narrative propagated by a few selfish individuals opposed to BBI, he said, the reforms will help unite the country by ensuring equality and fairness in the distribution of national resources.

The President observed that the current national resource sharing system works against populous regions, hence the need to use the BBI to rectify the imbalance. 

He questioned the motive of those opposed to equal allocation of national resources to all parts of the country and cautioned Kenyans against politics of deceit perfected by some leaders.

“It is our responsibility as leaders to ensure justice, not to threaten or insult others. We need to ensure justice and development for those who elected us,” the President said, adding that his biggest wishes are for Kenya's unity and progress. 

“What I never want to see in our country is bloodshed because of politics and leadership. Since I would never want to see a repeat of the incidents that occurred in 2007 (post-election violence), I thought it better to humble myself for our citizens to live in peace,” Mr Kenyatta said.