By Fredrick Njuguna
Mombasa County Governor, Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir, has opposed Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua’s notion of One Man, One Shilling, One Vote.
Speaking on behalf of the Coastal Region, The Governor went against the tide set by a section of leaders who advocate for the allocation of national resources solely based on population.
He highlighted the importance of considering the well-being of other counties in the Coast region that may suffer negative consequences from such a policy, despite Mombasa being one of the most populous counties that would benefit from it.
“While Mombasa is among the most populous counties and would benefit from such a move, we are under a moral obligation to consider the welfare of our sister counties here at the Coast that will be negatively affected by such a drive,” said the governor.
Mombasa is set to be among the counties to heavily benefit from this notion having a population of 1,495,000, a 3.82% increase from the previous year, as of 2024.
The county has been on a constant rise in terms of population as the metro area population of Mombasa in 2023 was 1,440,000, a 3.67% increase from 2022. The metro area population of Mombasa in 2022 was 1,389,000, a 3.58% increase from 2021.
He went on to state that it would be more equitable and rational to allocate resources based on a county’s contribution to the country’s GDP rather than its population size.
Furthermore, he added that as a county, Mombasa is the third largest contributor to the National GDP, behind Nairobi and Kiambu and that needs to be respected by all.
Governor Nassir adds to the total of leaders opposing the One Man, One Shilling, One Vote, following similar sentiments expressed by leaders from Northern Kenya.
This comes just less than two weeks since the governor’s party leader, Raila Odinga, declared his support for the One Man, One Shilling, One Vote formulae.
After meeting the organizers of the Limuru 3 meeting, led by Jeremiah Kioni, Raila emphasized that the formulae will guarantee fair distribution and allocation of resources to all Kenyans.