Duale must stop lording over northern frontier counties, the people must themselves decide their fate

Leader of majority Party, Hon. Aden Duale

Article 108 gives life to a leader of the majority party in parliament, this is the law that operationalises the office of the Honourable Aden Duale. As a leader and not lord in any right.

The leader of majority, Mr. Duale, has in my opinion been lording over resource allocation to the counties and in the same wavelength, bossing around members of the north-eastern counties and I believe the people are not amused.

Duale’s recent warning to Garissa MCAs, which in my opinion, amounts to a threat should be condemned and discouraged for it is an affront to the constitution and the democratic ideals espoused therein.

The Honourable Duale addressing constituents. Courtesy; The Star

How a leader of his stature expresses publicly and unabashedly that MCAs who intend to pass Ekuru Aukot’s Punguza Mizigo bill will be ‘dealt’ with, just reeks impunity.

Surely, if someone told you that he or she would ‘deal’ with you, would you sit pretty and cherish the day you eventually get ‘dealt’ with? Or would you seek details as pertains the dealing?

Wouldn’t you be intrigued and ‘google’ who else was ever ‘dealt’ with and sought their opinion on their ordeal? And whether the dealing had any effect on their point of view? Was it a bluff or was it the genuine article?

Questions would without doubt be left wandering in anyone’s mind. Most certainly not the kind that would let you be on the cutting edge of relaxation, rather, questions that would foreshadow imminent danger.

Former president Kibaki holding aloft a copy of the constitution of Kenya, 2010. Courtesy; Nation Media.

Devolution critics have since the promulgation of the current 2010 constitution desired to hamper the progress of the descent of resources to the mashinani.

Duale must realise that Garissa MCAs have a responsibility to the mwananchi to do what is in their best interest and not the bidding of their ‘lords’.

Garissa county assembly must refuse to be dragged into a surly contests on behalf of the national government and party point men. They must be allowed to liberally debate Aukot’s bill to the hilt.

These MCAs must be given time to understand that the bill proposes to have the ward as the unit of development and in so doing, the allocated resources from the national government is directly channelled to the mwananchi’s neighbourhood without having been divided at the constituency level.

The great people of Wajir, Lafey, Garsen, Liboi, Irangi must be free to realise that the Punguza Mizigo intends to reduce the number of MPs from well over 400 to 147 in order to create an efficient and lean house of representatives.

The youth must be told that with Punguza Mizigo, comes the joy of witnessing the corrupt who day-in-day-out rob our country of resources meant for the youth in the name of ‘youth empowerment’ will now be tried and convicted within 30 days.

Our slay-queen members of parliament masquerading under the tag ‘nominated’ will be sent packing and only cases that need special representation will have their space in parliament.

Dr. Ekuru Aukot, initiator of Punguza Mizigo Bill, flanked by members of Third Way Alliance party. Courtesy; The Standard

And although, I do not strongly feel that the presidential term limit should be touched, the bill proposes to have a one-term presidency over a period of 7 years.

Thereby allowing the president time to implement his agenda without constantly facing the fear of being kicked out after serving for 5 years.

With the winds of reason blowing inconsistently, Kenyans who will not have thoroughly read through the Punguza Mizigo Bill will be lorded over by politicians whose only aim is self-preservation

After all, don’t they say, it’s not WHAT is happening, it is WHAT YOU TELL about what is happening