By Tajeu Shadrack Nkapapa
The National Government Coordination (Amendment) Bill 2024 is now undergoing pre-publication scrutiny by the National Assembly.
PS for state department of Interior Dr. Raymond Omollo briefed the Natioanl Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security chaired by Hon. Gabriel Tongoyo about the proposed amendments that aim to establish regions as National Government Service Delivery Coordination Units and to legally recognize village elders into the National Government Administration structure.
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo revealed that if the proposals to officially acknowledge village elders are approved, the government will allocate around Ksh. 226 million monthly for their payment.
This would mean Kenyans would need to contribute Ksh.2.7 billion annually to sustain the village chiefs.
Omollo said during a presentation to the National Assembly committee on national security and administrations that every village elder would be granted a monthly stipend of Ksh. 5000.
“Using a rough estimate of 5 village elders in a sublocation which will be paid Ksh.5000 monthly, it will translate to Sh 226,675,000. We are looking at an outlook which give or take will be Ksh 200M,” PS Omollo said.
“When we look into resources required to coordinate all this, we shouldn’t have a big problem convincing the National Treasury to give us the resources,” PS Omollo added.
Omollo justified the concept of paying the village elders by emphasizing the valuable services they provide to the community, suggesting that the cost should not be considered expensive by Kenyans.
The Natioanl Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security chair Hon. Gabriel Tongoyo, emphasized the importance of promptly reviewing and endorsing the legislation as village elders play a crucial role in the community.
“This is doable considering the much help that these village elders give to this country. It’s a figure we should be comfortable with,” Hon. Tongoyo said.
According to the National Government Coordination Amendment Bill 2023, the inclusion of a village council consisting of elders headed by a village administrator was proposed as an integral component of the national government service delivery unit.