Siaya Becomes the First County Assembly to Pass BBI Bill

Siaya County Assembly has approved the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Constitutional Amendment Bill, 2020.

All the 41 Siaya MCAs unanimously passed the Bill during a special sitting held on Wednesday, a day after the assembly held public participation across all the sub-counties.

“Having followed procedures under the law, processed and approved the BBI constitutional amendment Bill unanimously,” said Siaya County Assembly Speaker, George Okode.

During the session, MCAs hailed the Bill, saying it will increase allocation to the counties, enhance inclusivity, gender parity, accountability in the Judiciary, and opportunities for representation of women, youths, and persons with disabilities.

Speaker Okode said the next step is to notify the Speakers of both the National Assembly and the Senate of the verdict.

“By tomorrow, the speakers of the two houses will be having the certificate, the Bill itself, and a report of the house,” he told reporters.

Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga, who attended the session, commended the county assembly for passing the Bill and urged other assemblies to follow suit.

“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.

Siaya is the first county assembly to pass the Bill, which was submitted to all the 47 county assemblies by the Independent Electoral Boundary Commission (IEBC) last week for approval or rejection.

The Bill must be approved by at least half of the county assemblies (24), before moving to the next stage of a referendum.