Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition leader Raila Odinga has thrown his weight behind the ‘one-man, one-shilling, one-vote’ revenue-sharing formula.
Mr Odinga said the formula that is being championed by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua would ensure revenue is allocated on the strength of a region’s population.
He said that was his position during the Building Bridges Initiative constitutional referendum attempt that failed.
Speaking at Chungwa House in Nairobi where he received a document detailing the Limuru III Summit resolutions, Mr Odinga said the formula is the way to go.
“I am not a populist but totally agree with ‘one-man, one-shilling, one-vote’ conversation. This means you actually take count of the number of people in a region,” he said.
Mr Odinga’s stand has given Mr Gachagua a powerful ally against criticism by some leaders from arid and semi-arid regions.
The DP has been criticised for “propagating a revenue sharing formula that ignores the fact that most geographically vast counties have more financial needs”.
“You need to ask your leaders to make their position known on the push for the ‘one-man, one-shilling, one-vote’ national revenue sharing formula,” he said in Nyeri on Wednesday.
The DP told political leaders in the region to listen to the ground and conform to the requirements and aspirations of the people, saying it would aid in the unity quest.
During the debate last month, the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) said giving money to counties on the basis of population, rather than geography, is not practical.
The commission maintained that no county had proposed the ‘one-man, one-shilling, one-vote’ principle as a parameter for allocating resources, adding that the allocations are meant to facilitate equitable development for every region.
“From a professional point of view, the ‘one-man, one-shilling, one-vote’ is just one parameter. The country cannot use it to allocate national resources.
“We are not going to consider that because it never came from any county,” CRA commissioner Hadija Juma said.
Mr Bii said Kenyans have a right to equitable sharing of national resources, irrespective of where they are.
“How will this revenue-sharing formula accommodate the interests of a large-scale farmer who cultivates vast tracts of land to provide food for the rest of Kenyans?” Governor Bii asked.
Leaders from dry counties in the north, northwest,northeast and southeast parts of Kenya have vowed to fight for the ‘one-vote, one-kilometre, one-shilling’ formula.
The leaders from Mandera, Wajir, Garissa, Marsabit, Isiolo, Turkana, Samburu, Kajiado, Baringo, Lamu, Narok and Tana River counties are up in arms against the formula being spearheaded by the Deputy President.
Former Senate Speaker Ekwe Ethuro said pastoralist regions contribute significantly to the country’s politics and economy.
“We are going to call for the ‘one-man, one-vote, one-kilometre’ revenue sharing formula. We are dismayed by a resurgence of retrogressive political ideologies,” Mr Ethuro said during the leaders’ meeting late last month.
