Women representatives must add value in the society

The Society for International Development (SID) has released a report showing that very few Kenyans know, or would recognise their women representatives if they ran into them on the streets.

The report establishes that of the respondents interviewed, 66 per cent owned up to not knowing their women representatives and only 9 per cent have had some form of contact with them.

The 2010 Constitution created a number of offices on the basis of Affirmative Action. Special seats for hitherto disadvantaged groups like women and the disabled were set up to give them a fair chance at being represented in decision-making forums.

While there is no denying that some gains have been made in some areas, the women representative's seat has largely been ineffective may be because the role was not well defined in relation to other existing posts. Women representatives still operate under the wings of MPs and the only time they have been heard is when they are demanding a budget allocation for a kitty similar to CDF.

While it might not be fair to condemn the seats because of the abysmal performance of the holders, there is general agreement that most of the special seats duplicate work while straining the exchequer. It is up to the holders of these posts to demonstrate value in them.