verbatim report of - ConstitutionNet

Com. Nunow: Serikali itaweza asante sana. Tafadhali jiandikishe. Sammy Onani? Is that the correct name? Sammy P.
Onani? Samuel, you are still down there? Samuel Makokha I can see you down there.
Sammy Peter Onani:Bwana Commissioners, nawasalimia hamjambo? My three names are Sammy Peter Onani and I had
made a written proposal which was not yet ready but I’ve just extracted abit of the draft which I will highlight.
One, I would like to complain the time that you have earmarked for this is quite short. The Constitution document itself has
almost 128 sections, being able to talk all of us, two days is not enough, or one is not enough.
Com. Nunow: (Inaudible)
Yes, we agreed, but you will bear with us, so I just rush through mine so as to save time.
Com. Nunow: (inaudible)
Sammy Peter Onani: Yes, I would like to highlight here to say that I am proposing a Federal system of government and an
adoption of the 1963 Constitution. The reason for proposing a federal system is to assist to distribute the national resources
equitably. We find the national resoursces have been concentrated in one area and we feel if we are allowed to govern
ourselves and plan for ourselves what to do, it will be much fairer. In that system, I am saying we will have the Army, the Police
and the Judiciary in one Central Government together with the Treasury. But the Governors will be at the region. Within the
region, people will be able to plan on their own, have their own budget, their own development agenda. So the work of the
Central Government for this reason will be just to collect taxes at the end of the day, to distribute to the regions. And what the
region will do, it should to be able to negotiate by itself with the World Bank and the Central Bank.
The other one I am also proposing is that… I have had proposals that for anybody to vie as a Member of Parliament or mayor,
he must have a university degree. It is my opinion that the current section that takes care of that states that anybody who can be
able to read English and Kiswahili, can be able to go to Parliament because actually, management is not derived from the
degree. I know of some people who do not have degrees, but they have really managed their affairs very very well.
The other proposal I would like to make is about election of the Mayor and the Chairman of the county council. There have
been proposals that the mayor must be elected by the people. I’m against that proposal for that proposal is going to make the
mayor and the chairman of the county council to be more powerful that the councillors will have no say if such a mayor is on the
wrong. The same same type of election does not give equitable ability to the poor also to participate in an election. It will
require that some one is rich enough to run round the district. Infact the election of the mayor or the chairman of the council will
be much much expensive compared to the one for Member of Parliament.
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