Local Government minister Musalia Mudavadi told Parliament August 24, 2011 that the Urban Areas and Cities Bill would introduce efficient planning and management of cities and get rid of the intrigue that marks council elections. FILE
By JOHN NGIRACHU jngirachu@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, August 25 2011 at 11:31
Posted Thursday, August 25 2011 at 11:31
MPs have supported a Bill whose enactment will result in the elimination of the posts of mayor and deputy mayor as well as council chairmen.
Local Government minister Musalia Mudavadi told Parliament Wednesday that the Urban Areas and Cities Bill would introduce efficient planning and management of cities and get rid of the intrigue that marks council elections.
Mr Mudavadi said the Bill’s drafters had decided to do away with the position of mayor as it would have created two centres of power in cities given that county governors would also be elected.
The enactment of the Bill will also result in the elimination of the position of councillor, with chances the elective wards will become zones to be represented at the county assembly.
The idea received the support of Immigration minister Otieno Kajwang, who seconded the motion at the Second Reading.
“You can’t have a governor who is elected by majority of the residents of Nairobi and a mayor who is elected by the majority of the residents of Nairobi,” said Mr Kajwang’.
Professional management of cities would be introduced with the recruitment of qualified managers to run their affairs.
In counties that have several towns such as Nakuru or Kakamega, each town will be run by a competitively recruited manager who will report to the county assembly.
According to the Bill, the management of a city and municipality shall be vested in a county government and administered on its behalf by an 11-member board and a manager.
Six of the board’s members shall be appointed through a competitive process and five nominated by; an association of professionals, an association of the private sector, a cluster representing informal associations and an association of urban areas and cities.
The board shall be appointed by the county executive committee with the approval of the county assembly while a manager shall also be recruited competitively.
Among the board’s duties shall be the collection of rates, taxes, levies, duties, fees and surcharges on fees.
The Bill states that officers and staff of the local authorities shall be seconded to other government departments or redeployed as provided by the law.
Cities are those urban areas that have a population of at least 500,000 residents, areas will get municipal status if they have at least 250,000 residents while towns will be areas that have at least 10,000 residents.
Foreign Affairs minister Moses Wetang’ula, however, said putting a limit on small towns would lock out areas that are mushrooming, meaning they risk suffering unplanned development.
He asked that the threshold be increased so that towns do not grow beyond the requirement for them to be planned and organised properly.
Gwassi MP John Mbadi said the Bill would need to be clear on the transfer of liabilities from the current local authorities to the future county governments as they risk being weighed down by debt even before they are established.
Lari MP Njuguna Mwaura said local authorities are in a rush to sell off assets, land and enter contracts, and this needs to be stopped to avoid getting the county governments in debt even before they are formed.
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