KISUMU, Kenya, Feb 3 – Siaya County Assembly passed the Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020 on Wednesday, making it the first county to pass the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Bill.
Already counties within the Nyanza region have started considering the draft Bill a week after it was released to the 47 county assemblies.
Siaya County Assembly passed the draft Bill during a special sitting that had earlier been gazetted by Speaker George Okode.
“Having followed procedures under the law, processed and approved the BBI constitutional amendment Bill unanimously,” said Okode.
The Assembly with 41 members unanimously passed the Bill after debating it with all the debaters hailing the Bill as one that will herald a new Kenya.
Speaker Okode said the next step is to sign a certificate and forward it to the National Assembly and Senate.
“By tomorrow (Thursday), the speakers of the two houses will be having the certificate, the Bill itself and a report of the house,” he said while addressing journalists outside the assembly.
Area Governor Cornel Rasanga who attended the session said he was satisfied that due process was followed in accordance to the law in passing the Bill and this captured the spirit of the people of Siaya.
“The support we are giving BBI here today, we want it to be extended so that other counties also do the same because BBI is the panacea for our development, peace and tranquility,” said Rasanga.
On Tuesday, the Assembly held public participation across all the sub-counties.
Independent Electoral Boundary Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati had submitted the Bill to the 47 county assemblies for approval or rejection.
It will require two-thirds approval or 24 county assemblies before Kenyans can take a vote in a referendum.
Chebukati said the speakers of the assemblies are required to submit the decision to speakers of the National Assembly and the Senate within three months of the date of the IEBC forwarded the Bill for consideration having ascertained it had the support of at least 1 million registered voters.
