BBI bill to be tabled at Nairobi Assembly Tuesday as House sittings resume

Members of Nairobi County Assembly. [James Mwangi, Standard]

The Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report will be tabled at the Nairobi County Assembly on Tuesday as the House sittings resume from a two-month-long recess.

Assembly Majority leader Abdi Guyo on Sunday revealed that the BBI bill will be the first order of business as a full in-tray awaits the city assembly.

“I will be tabling the BBI report at the assembly on Tuesday for consideration by the House so that we can be done with it by the end of the week. As an assembly we support the bill and come time for debate we will approve it regardless of the car grant pledge by the President,” said Guyo.

Siaya County Assembly last week set precedence by becoming the first county to pass the BBI bill.

Notably, at least 24 assemblies of the 47 are required to pass the Bill before it goes to the National Assembly where if approved will undergo public participation.

Key among the proposals in the BBI report is the setting up of a Ward Development Fund (WDF) which will be funded by allocating five percent of the county government’s revenue- both allocated by the national government and collected locally- to the Kitty.

This, Guyo says, will not only ensure uniform development across the 85 wards in Nairobi but also ensure that stalled projects will be completed.

 “Since devolution, Nairobi has been having the highest revenue collection and this means it has an advantage. Through the Ward Fund, power will be given to residents back in the ward to identify the projects they want to be implemented,” said the majority leader who doubles as Matopeni ward MCA.

The Finance Bill 2020 will also take center stage as House business resumes. The bill, which is currently at the second reading stage, has proposed a raft of new taxes to fund the County’s Sh37.4 billion budget and will be under scrutiny from the Finance Budget and appropriations committee and ultimately the whole House.

Budget committee chairperson Robert Mbatia, today explained that his committee will also be holding tripartite meetings between City Hall, Nairobi Metropolitan Service (NMS) and the Assembly in order to consider provisions in the bill.

“The meetings will be to ensure that the county is able to set realizable revenue targets. It will also set the record straight on issues such as who should KRA report to between City Hall and the NMS,” said Mbatia.

Moreover, the Assembly will be considering the New Valuation Roll document as well as the Eastlands Urban Renewal Plan and Nairobi Railways City Land Use Plan which were tabled on the floor of the House in December 2020.

A valuation roll is a legal document that contains information on all rateable properties within the boundaries of a county.