The Service Party (TSP) leader Mwangi Kiunjuri has made a U-turn on his earlier stance against the BBI, saying the document contained what the people of Mt Kenya needed, in terms of equal allocation of revenue in the proposed One Man-One Shiiling-One Vote.
Speaking in Siakago, Mbeere South on Friday, the former CS said any presidential hopeful seeking the region’s backing in 2022 must now assure them of a referendum in the first 100 days of assuming office.
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“We cannot have one man one shilling one vote if we don’t have a referendum. So whoever wants our support must guarantee us a referendum in the first 100 days. This should be an irreducible minimum for Mt. Kenya region,” Kiunjuri said, adding that he will be introducing some clauses in the Constitution Amendment Bill 2020, which include equal representation, equitable sharing of the national cake among other clauses
Proposals made in the thrown out Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020, Mt Kenya region’s 8 million voters were set to benefit from additional constituencies and increased allocation of funds if the BBI went into a plebiscite.
According to the TSP leader, all presidential hopefuls must lay bare to the people of Mt Kenya how their administration will improve the lives of the vote rich region and the strategy they intend to apply to turn around the economy.
“Mt. Kenya is an agricultural zone, we want presidential aspirants to assure us that they will honor the Malabo declaration, and set aside 10% of the national budget for agriculture. We are signatories to this declaration, and so it should be honored,” he said.
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Currently, Kiunjuri is a part of the Mt Kenya Unity Forum, comprising leaders of fringe political parties from the region seeking to have the 8 million-plus votes go to a single basket.