New bill seeks to boost livelihoods for Kenyans
Politics
By
Alphonce Shiundu
| Jun 04, 2015
NAIROBI: An ambitious bill to make sure the county and national governments find money to ensure every Kenyan gets a decent house, three meals a day, clean water and affordable healthcare has been published.
The bill sponsored by Senator Hassan Omar (Mombasa) seeks to give Devolution Cabinet Secretary and all governors the legal powers to actualise the promise of the five-year-old Constitution for a better life.
"Every time I go to meetings, I hear government bureaucrats telling the world that we have a very progressive Constitution and a good Bill of Rights, but to date, they have done nothing to actualise it," said Omar at a meeting with journalists in Nairobi. In it, the senator also wants the Commission on Revenue Allocation to expand the criteria for determining the marginalised areas and the use of the multi-billion shilling equalisation fund to end inequality.
The senator said the idea behind the Preservation of Human Dignity and Enforcement of Economic and Social Rights Bill, 2015, is to change politics from that based on political luminaries and ethnicity to service delivery. "This bill will be a game changer as it will lay the foundation for implementation of article 43 of the Constitution," said Omar.
Article 43 makes it a right for every person to have access to the highest attainable standards of health. It also grants a right to education, social security, clean water, freedom from hunger and affordable housing.
READ MORE
State, workers' pay tensions cloud function
Sugarcane farmers accuse AFA of 'siding with cartels' as prices drop
Inflation falls to 5pc in April as prices drop
Public hearings on controversial tobacco packaging rules kick off
EAPCC roars back to life after one-month hiatus for renovations
Slow growth of rural towns blamed for low internet connectivity
Why the super-rich are ditching commercial property investments
Growing demand for housing births modern mansions in Nakuru slums
Apart from the universal education which is the job of the Government, the rest is the job of counties. The bill lays out a plan for counties to make sure they set aside money for projects to boost people's lives.
- State, workers' pay tensions cloud function
- Sugarcane farmers accuse AFA of 'siding with cartels' as prices drop
- Forget miraa: Discovery of minerals stirs up Meru locals
- Kenyan retailers ready to pounce as Ethiopia to open up market