Referendum not priority for Kenyans, says Machakos MP

 

Kenyans are more concerned about development and not a constitutional referendum, Machakos MP Victor Munyaka has said.

Munyaka said talks on constitutional change may affect the delivery of services from both the county and national governments. The second term MP said he does not support calls for a referendum. He spoke to the press after a funeral in Machakos. 

“We ought to dismiss all manner of politicking that is not of benefit to Kenyans. If we must do politics, let it be about the development agenda,” he said. 

He told leaders to do away with selfish motives, but to improve the country, urging them to use the remaining period to deliver on their pledges.

“A referendum is unnecessary because nothing has fundamentally changed,” he said.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, the country has neither the resources nor the time to pursue a referendum. 

“Kenyans ought to elect leaders who are focused on the country’s issues. Conducting a referendum will not in any way make Kenya better. It is the people to do so by doing what is right,” he added.

The MP called on leaders to desist from using political rhetoric and sarcasm during meetings particularly while addressing serious national issues.

He told leaders to focus on addressing issues of the rising cost of living and insecurity in the country as opposed to spending too much time talking about the referendum.

He further called on the Health ministry to explain how it spent money meant to mitigate the effects of Covid-19.

The lawmaker said there is a need to determine the prudent expenditure of the funds by conducting an audit to establish the reliability of the financial and non-financial reports from the government. 

Munyaka said the audit will focus on procurement, warehousing and distribution of essential medicines including personal protective equipment with a view to confirming whether the expenditures were incurred lawfully. 

Initially, Kenya received Sh78.3 billion from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to address the Covid-19 pandemic before the World Bank wired another Sh108 billion to the Central Bank of Kenya, as both budgetary support and extra resources to help fight the viral infection.