By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii Chelilim has waded into the ongoing debate over the push for the one man, one shilling one vote debate.
The debate was recently renewed by Deputy President Righathi Gachagua.
Gachagua argued that the Mount Kenya region which has a huge population was at a disadvantage based on the current model of resource sharing.
However, according to Governor Bii, the formula being pushed by populous regions cannot work.
He expressed satisfaction with the current formula that keeps into consideration several parameters in the allocation of the national cake.
“One man one vote doesn’t work because a place that is concentrated like a Town, how do you allocate resources using that formula? What about a person in Uasin Gishu who has a big farm and till it to feed the whole country?” Bii asked.
“We don’t want to go into that politics,” he added.
The county boss elected on a UDA ticket insisted that he believes in a model that will be able to satisfy everyone.
Similar sentiments were shared by Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) Commissioner Hadija Nganji.
Nganji noted that the issue has never been proposed by any county in discussions related to sharing resources.
“We’re not going to consider that as it never came to us from any county. One man, one shilling is just one parameter and can never be used to allocate resources,” the CRA commissioner said.
“For us, we want balanced development, we want every Kenyan to feel part of the country. CRA looks at a formula that ensures no region will be left out,” she added.
The central region has long faulted the formula used in the allocation of resources, especially the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF).
“In matters of revenue sharing, I am a believer, a proponent of one-man-one-vote-one-shilling. Resources are about the people. The whole issue of resources is about the people. The more you are, the more taxes you pay. It goes without saying, the more taxes you pay, the more you should get,” said the DP.
“We have no apologies to make. We want equality and equity. We want fairness in the sharing of revenue. We will be pushing that agenda not because we come from a region that has a high population but because it is the right thing to do,” he added.