Northern Frontier leaders chide Gachagua over 'one man, one shilling' revenue policy

Sharp sentiments have followed the one-man-one-shilling revenue-sharing call by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, with political leaders from the arid and semi-arid lands referring to the formula as retrogressive and unnecessary.

Gachagua revived the debate for the distribution of national resources a week ago, issuing remarks that Northern leaders see as supportive of the clamour by Mt. Kenya leaders for more resources.

Speaking during the consecration of Bishop John Nthiga at St. Peters Church in Mbeere, Embu County, on Sunday, the DP said resources were about the people, so they should be distributed according to the populations, not area sizes.

The Northern Frontier leaders registered their opposition to the policy at a press conference in Nairobi on Tuesday, warning that it risks marginalising some parts of the country further, northern Kenya and pastoralist areas in particular.

The group of at least 10 leaders, among them former Garissa Governor Ali Korane and former Senate Speaker Ekwee Ethuro, urged the deputy president to drop the call for the sake of national unity and equity in the distribution of national resources.

Gachagua explained on Sunday that "resources are about people," and that the higher the number of people in an area, the more taxes contributed, and therefore the more reason for higher allocations.

“It cannot be that Ruiru Constituency, with a population of 800,000, will get the same amount in the Constituency Development Fund as a constituency with 14,000. It’s not fair,” he said, describing himself as "a believer and a proponent" of the formula.

He urged the Mt. Kenya region should push the agenda because it is about the fair distribution of resources.

At the press conference on Tuesday, former Tiaty MP Asman Kamama said that, unlike the DP, he and the others were not the policy's promoters.

"We reject the mantra of one man, one vote, one shilling. If it has to exist, this team believes it should be "one man, one kilometre, one shilling."

The former also noted that land as a factor of production must be taken into account when sharing national resources, adding that they were prepared to vehemently reject proposals for some regions to benefit more than others.

"We are in Kenya by right, not by anybody's invitation," he said.

The group further accused backers of the proposal of being driven by self-interest.

"Incrementally, the rest of the country is being marginalised because the formula is skewed to benefit populous regions,'' former MP Isiolo South Abdul Bahari said.

Former Mandera Senator Mohamed Maalim Mohamud alleged a bid to undermine the constitution and reverse gains made thus far.

"We urge the president to reject this attempt," she said. "We represent 70 per cent of Kenya and are telling the DP that we, as northern Kenya leaders, are not guests in Kenya. His remarks remind me of Charles Eliot, who said he would not want the queen to invest in the north because that would not benefit Kenya."

The leaders tore further into Gachagua, telling him to leave his national office and pursue one in Mt. Kenya if he intended to defend the region's rights only, and not those of all Kenyans.

They added that as the DP, he should unite the country by upholding the ideals of the constitution, not issuing remarks in favour of a few regions.

"His remarks are a fly in the face of the constitution that he swore to defend," Mohamed said