Samburu leaders reject one man-one vote-one shilling call

A section of leaders drawn from Samburu County have rejected the one man-one vote-one shilling revenue sharing principle proposed by among others the Deputy President and a section of Mt Kenya leaders. 

Led by former Samburu Woman Representative Maison Leshomo, the leaders from the Arid and Semi-Arid Areas held that their region has historically lagged behind in terms of development due to the vast land mass saying land mass must also be considered as a factor in sharing the national cake.

This follows after Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said he will push for the adoption of the one-man-one-shilling formula to ensure equity and fairness in allocation of funds to counties.

The Deputy President said the formula is critical for development in Mt Kenya region, adding he was a leading proponent of the formula.

“In matters of revenue sharing, I am a believer, a proponent of one-man-one-vote-one-shilling. Resources are about the people. The whole issue of resources is about the people. The more you are, the more taxes you pay. It goes without saying, the more taxes you pay, the more you should get,” said the DP at a Church service in Embu Town.

The DP said the formula is a development agenda that must be pursued for the region to get an equitable share of the shareable allocation.

“We have no apologies to make. We want equality and equity. We want fairness in sharing of revenue. We will be pushing that agenda not because we come from a region that has a high population but because it is the right thing to do,” he added.

He also said the region deserved a share of the Equalisation Fund for the benefit of areas that deserved it for development.

Additional Reporting by DPCS