What Mt Kenya stands to lose if Supreme Court kills BBI

• Mar 30, 2022

What Mt Kenya stands to lose if Supreme Court kills BBI

By Correspondent

If the Supreme Court kills the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) in its tomorrow ruling, Mt Kenya is one of the regions that will lose greatly.

The ruling annulling BBI will not be surprising given that the lower courts have been very hostile to BBI. 

It is not hard to see why there is so much opposition to BBI particularly by Deputy President William Ruto’s United Democratic Alliance.

Mt. Kenya, which UDA wants to control, is clearly the biggest beneficiary from the BBI.

The initiative seeks to safeguard the future of the region for the long-term through more resources and better representation.

UDA is vehemently and virulently opposed to this and for a good reason. It is easier to control the people of Mt Kenya if they remain poor.

You see, if BBI is implemented, Mt Kenya region counties will get an additional Kshs55 billion every year, an amount that can really uplift the people economically.

Also, BBI, if implemented, would give the region an additional 17 seats in parliament, meaning there would be more money in form of CDF, not to mention better representation that would make the people of the region equal to other Kenyans.

Below is a highlight of key wins entailed in the BBI:

Resources: One Man, One Shilling.

Mt. Kenya is the most populous region in the country but it is often marginalised in representation and resource allocation, with priority been given to geographically larger regions that are sparsely populated.

BBI will see to the revision of this skewed resource allocation formula and will introduce one man, one shilling, one vote strategy.

Through this, Mt. Kenya will gain a minimum of Kshs50 billion all of which will go into development of the region.

Pesa Na Maendeleo Mashinani

Under BBI, there's a provision of Ward Development Fund worth 5% of county revenue.

This fund will ensure that there is tangible development in our villages that will go a long way in fighting poverty - now, this is the real bottom-up approach.

 UDA’s proposal has nothing but bottoms that are up.

Economy Na Biashara

BBI entails intervention to help entrench inclusivity and put an end to toxic politics.

This will ensure peace and stability, a key component for business growth in the region.

Under BBI, a concept called Biashara Mashinani will be established. These will be business incubation centres at ward level to provide information, access to contracts, business advisory services and capital.

To encourage entrepreneurship, SMEs will enjoy tax incentives under BBI.

What's more? A Prompt Payment Act, under BBI will ensure that government agencies pay suppliers within 60 days.

Further, a Public Invoices Settlement Tribunal will be set up to handle any disputes that may arise.

Vijana Kuomoka

There have been complaints that Mt. Kenya region's youth have become unproductive, owing to vices such as alcoholism.

 BBI provides a long-term solution to ensure that the Mt. Kenya youth's enemies are harnessed towards shared prosperity. Here's the plan:

Biashara Mashinani. As explained above, this will definitely foster a spirit of entrepreneurship and employment creation.

The seven-year tax holiday: The youth will enjoy the first and largest tax incentive that will translate into sustainable businesses.

Helb relief: Under BBI, the youth will receive a four-year grace period for youth after leaving universities. Now, this will provide the youth ample time to establish selves before repaying the loan 

Representation: One Man, One Vote

Again, geographical expanse has long been used as a basis of resource and representation allocation, regardless of the population.

This has led to under representation of the people of Mt. Kenya region.

Through BBI, Mt. Kenya will get additional Constituencies and representatives such as MPs. This will bring more resources for development in the region.

BBI contains the political and economic elixir for the Mt. Kenya region.

 Will the Supreme Court of Kenya have the courage to save it?