Transition Authority welcomes Senate move to extend its term
Transition Authority chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi at a past event. FILE PHOTO | PHOEBE OKALL | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The body’s chairman, Mr Kinuthia Wamwangi, on Thursday said the Senate’s proposal to give them more time would help clear the remaining work and oversee the change of guard at the counties during the next elections.
- The TA’s tenure is set to end on March 4, three years after the last polls, but Mr Wamwangi said they needed an extension that would cover the next electioneering period.
- Earlier this month, the new Mr Kiunjuri indicated that the government was willing to give the body one more year.
The Transition Authority has welcomed a proposed change to the Constitution to extend its term by three years.
The TA said there was still a lot of pending work that could not be left hanging if the body was to fold.
The body’s chairman, Mr Kinuthia Wamwangi, on Thursday said the Senate’s proposal to give them more time would help clear the remaining work and oversee the change of guard at the counties during the next elections.
“We still have a lot of work remaining. It is not just some residual work. It is substantial work.
“The Cabinet Secretary for Devolution (Mwangi) Kiunjuri agreed with us that the remaining work was core and therefore the need for the extension,” said Mr Wamwangi on phone.
The TA’s tenure is set to end on March 4, three years after the last polls, but Mr Wamwangi said they needed an extension that would cover the next electioneering period so they are able to manage any leadership changes in counties that could be realised from the next elections.
“We need to manage exit of the existing leaders and the entrance of the new ones. We would want to be there when there will be a change in leadership because there are still a lot of things that need to be straightened out,” he told the Nation.
Earlier this month, Mr Kiunjuri indicated that the government was willing to give the body one more year.
OPPOSE EXTENSION
Governors have already said they do not want the TA’s term extended, arguing that its role could be performed by the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee chaired by former PS Karega Mutahi.
However, the Senate’s Legal Affairs and Human Rights Committee, chaired by Busia Senator Amos Wako, has drafted a Bill that seeks to change the Constitution to give the TA more time.
Mr Wako said they expected the Constitutional of Kenya (amendment) Bill, 2016 to get support from both Houses, saying there was still lots of pending work that needed to be done.
“We need to extend the life of [the] TA. We hope it will get the support of members of the National Assembly. Even if they oppose it, we would have made our point that this body needs more time,” said Mr Wako.
