I support car grants for MCAs — Raila

ODM leader Raila Odinga has assured Members of the County Assemblies (MCAs) that President Uhuru Kenyatta’s promise that they be awarded a Sh2 million car grant will be honoured.

The former Prime Minister said the ward reps deserve the grant because as the lowest-level people’s representatives, they come face to face with the desperation of the people in the villages daily.

“The President has already made his promise and I want to assure you that he will not go against it. It is a guarantee,” Mr Odinga said when he hosted his party’s MCAs in Nairobi yesterday.

Mr Odinga was speaking when he hosted nearly 400 ODM MCAs at a BBI draft Bill meeting, just four days after the President held a similar meeting with MCAs from Mt Kenya region in which he promised to push for a Sh2 million car grant for all ward reps in the country.

The echoes of the President’s promise permeated Tuesday’s meeting with the MCAs taking every opportunity they got to ram the point in Mr Odinga’s face.

Kisumu Deputy Speaker Elisha Oraro set the mood of the meeting when he told the former PM to focus on ensuring that they get the grant as soon as possible.

“Just get us the car grant and leave the rest of BBI business to us,” Mr Oraro told Mr Odinga.

Legally, the President’s promise is a mere Executive fiat and for it to be effective, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (SRC), the agency with the constitutional mandate, must issue a circular to all counties for it to take effect.

Mr Odinga told the lawmakers that the promise was as good as done but cautioned them against exploiting it as a condition to endorse the BBI draft bill that is pending in counties.

“There is every justification for MCAs to get the benefit because Members of parliament are also getting it. It is neither a bribe nor a crime,” he added.