County leaders lay fresh claim to Mombasa Port’s earnings

FROM LEFT: Governor Hassan Ali Joho, Changamwe MP Omar Mwinyi, Senator Omar Hassan, Woman Representative Mishi Mboko and Kisauni MP Rashid Bedzimba show their solidarity at a rally held at Changamwe on Saturday. [PHOTO: MAARUFU MOHAMED/STANDARD]

Mombasa; Kenya: CORD leaders from Mombasa are now laying a fresh claim to the Port of Mombasa, saying it should either be managed by the county administration or the devolved government should share its huge earnings.

Addressing a pro-referendum rally at Bomu grounds, Changamwe, Mombasa on Saturday evening, county governor Hassan Ali Joho and Senator Hassan Omar said the county does not get its rightful share of revenue from the Port, which they claimed is the second highest contributor of revenue to the national treasury.

The leaders also claimed that Mombasa is the second largest contributor of taxes to the national exchequer after Nairobi and should therefore receive commensurate disbursement from the national government to its devolved government.

CORD rebels and loyalists held separate rallies in Kwale and Mombasa on Saturday evening to oppose and support the proposed changes to the Constitution.

 OLD IDEAS

At a fund-raising held in Msambweni, National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale led rebel ODM MPs in speaking out against CORD leader Raila Odinga and the push for a referendum.

Duale had a showdown with Senator Boy Juma Boy who was at the event and is an ardent supporter of the call for a referendum.

The senator claimed Jubilee has made endless pledges to Coastal residents which are yet to be fulfilled and Duale hit back saying the senator is 'a tired politician' spreading old ideas.

The two also clashed over who is responsible for historical injustices at the Coast with Duale challenging Juma Boy to outline what he has done to solve these problems despite being in politics for many years.

Duale said the referendum push will not succeed since Jubilee controls 27 of the 47 county assemblies yet for the Bill to pass it must receive support from 24 county assemblies.

"This referendum's call is to meet an individual's agenda who is not willing to walk out the back door when he misses out on a leadership position," Duale said.

The majority leader made the remarks after he was attacked by Juma Boy who had challenged him to state any good thing that Jubilee had done at the Coastal region.

"Every time we are told development is coming yet we do not see anything. If you (Duale) show me one thing that your government has done then I will support you but for now I will be the first to append my signature on the need for a referendum," the senator said.

 ANNUAL ALLOCATIONS

Speaking at the Changamwe rally, governor Joho said rebel ODM MPs  opposed to the referendum calls are going against the tide and will be punished by voters at the next polls.

He said devolution is threatened by lack of funding for counties.

"The Mombasa county government gets an annual allocation of Sh4.2 billion whereas its recurrent expenditure is Sh4.6 billion, most of which goes to salaries for staff inherited from the defunct municipal council and other ministries whose functions have been devolved," he said.

Senator Omar claimed that 31 county assemblies now support CORD's referendum call and predicted a further rise.

He accused Jubilee of spreading propaganda that proposals floated by CORD could increase taxes, saying a lot of money is currently being wasted on the bloated provincial administration.

"We are not supporting the referendum because of selfish interest but because we believe devolution needs to be supported financially for it to work," he said.