How BBI Recommendations Will Tame Sonko

While the country waits upon President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga to make the BBI report public Wednesday, Kenyans already have snippets of the containments of the document, that is prospected to fix Kenya once and for all.

Among the issues that the Yusuf Haji-led task force addressed in their recommendations is the administration of the nation at the county level.

Most county heads have excelled at managing the devolved units as per their mandate, but one Mike Sonko, in charge of the critical Nairobi County, continues to hit the headlines for his strange leadership methods, including governing the city without a deputy.

This is after his 2017 running mate, Polycarp Igathe, resigned in February 2018, with the governor insisting on running Nairobi alone, under the claim that there is no particular law that demands he appoint a replacement for Igathe.

Mike Sonko alongside Polycarp Igathe during the 2017 campaign period

The close to the two-year-long back and forth among Sonko, Nairobi MCAs, and the Senate is about to come to an end, however, thanks to the BBI.

Among the proposed new rules under the Handshake ‘baby’ is that a governor must appoint a deputy, if the seat falls vacant for any reason, within 90 days.

If the county heads, who under the proposed county governance laws will be compelled to pick a deputy of the opposite gender, fails to honour this obligation, the Speaker of the affected County’s Assembly will be free to make the decision with the approval of MCAs.

Other devolutionary recommendations in the document, which appears to have appeased even leaders previously opposed to its formulation, include the need for counties to form regional economic blocs, and the complete transfer of functions from the National Government to the County Governments.

The task force in its findings also advises counties to aim towards increased economic productivity, and to cut wasteful use of resources on senseless projects or abandoned undertakings.

In a significant win for governors, the task force recommends an increase in resource allocation to counties to 35% of the final amount reflected in the counties’ most recent audited accounts reports.

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