After the launch the BBI document at the Bomas of Kenya on Monday, the next step is to redraft it into a BBI Bill, and that will come easy for its proponents.
The product of the handshake between President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM’s Raila Odinga was not designed to fail like OKOA Kenya that the system crashed because it had signatures of cows and rats.
Or like the Pungumiza Mzigo that was grabbed by it’s ankles and thrown out of the window.
BBI is crafted in a way that the proponents will not struggle to collect one million signatures to move to the next process.
The document is proposing the creation of Ward Funds for MCAs, which is literally ‘a bribe’ for the grassroots leaders to back it.
But BBI is actually unpopular for expanding the executive, parliaments and again watering down the senate and giving the government minister control over police.
The report is proposing the creation of a prime minister’s office and two deputies. Positions that in the current political environment would be considered ‘dynasties’.
But it gets the backing of the hungry politicians who will use it to spread propaganda and confuse the people.
The proponents are already burning to move and sell it though it is still being touted as a discussion draft.
BBI is intending make amendments to 58 Articles of the 2010 Constitution by applying Article 257.
Crafters would opt for Article 256 but it would face many hurdles given its unpopularity.
Tangatanga would make it impossible to achieve the 2/3 majority win.
The report wants to amend 58 Articles of the 2010 Constitution when only 10 require a referendum including the Bill of Rights (Article 31); Functions of Parliament (Articles to 113 and 123), Independence of Judiciary (Article 172) and Devolution (Articles 177, 179, 180, 202, 203 and 207).
Article 256 would have been options to pass the amendments but the proponents fear that The option then is to use Article 257 – and amend the law through a popular initiative (referendum) where state machinery can be employed to crash any little resistance.
The only would be ‘hurdle’ that the handshake would face would be in passing the BBI Bill in at least 24 County Assemblies before it heads to Parliament but that is already sorted by the proposal to create Ward Funds.
MCAs will pass it for that and parliament will pass it because weak Women Representatives will pair up with popular senatorial or gubernatorial candidates to ride to the senate where they will go in pairs.
Members of parliament will also pass the Bill because almost 70 sycophants will be ‘nominated’ and some can be appointed as ministers.
Governors have already been instructed to lobby MCAs. Sycophants like Kakamega’s Wycliffe Oparanya will not sleep on that job, he wants to be a deputy prime minister.
Thirdway Alliance’s Punguza Mzigo Bill flopped after it was rejected in 24 counties.
After the entire process from IEBC, to counties and the parliament, the owners of the draft will have it ‘passed’ by the people.
It shall be approved by a referendum if at least 20% of the registered voters in each of at least 24 counties vote in the referendum. It should also get the support of a simple majority of the citizens voting in the referendum.
