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Governor Kingi rallies Coast residents behind BBI 

Kilifi Governor Amason Jeffa Kingi has urged residents of the Coastal region to support the constitutional amendment bill proposed by proponents of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI).

            He said the region stands to reap huge benefits from the proposed changes, noting that the proposal to increase the number of constituencies in the region would increase funding for development activities in the region.

            “For example, the bill proposes the creation of four new constituencies in Kilifi County alone, which means that the county will get more money through the National Government Constituency Development Find (NG-CDF),” Kingi said at his office in Kilifi town Friday.

            Kingi said this during the launch of Mbegu fund, a kitty that provides traders with seed money to start or boost their businesses at low interest rates. Cheques worth Sh91 million were issued to various groups in the county.

The governor said the county stood to get more than Sh1.1 billion shillings from the current Sh700 million adding that those opposing the bill did not have the interests of the region at heart.

            He asked the residents to ignore propaganda peddled against the BBI changes and urged the six county assemblies in the region to quickly pass the bill sent to them by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which gave the bill a nod after more than 1 million registered voters endorsed it.

            At the same time, Kingi said his resolve to form a party with roots in the Coast region was still on, adding that the new party would include all leaders and residents of the region.

            Kingi and his Mombasa counterpart Hassan Ali Joho announced recently that they would unveil a coast-based political party in June.

Their announcement was however criticised by Kilifi North Member of Parliament Owen Baya, who claimed the two were trying to frustrate his (Baya’s) efforts to form another Coast-based party by March this year.

The chairman of the Mbegu Fund committee at the Kilifi County Assembly, Mr. Peter Ziro promised to rally his colleagues at the assembly to pass the bill in the shortest time possible.

by Emmanuel Masha 

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