Nakuru deputy governor Joseph Ruto wants the council of governors to abandon the Pesa Mashinani referendum push.
This is after the government agreed to raise the county allocations in this year’s financial budget.
Ruto said that after the government agreed to raise the allocation to Sh 258 billion up from Sh 226 billion, the governors should now focus their energies on initiating development projects in their counties other than ‘wasting time fighting’ the national government.
Speaking at his office Friday, Ruto asked the council to see the national government as a friend and engage it through roundtable consultations as opposed to going the referendum way.
“If the government has agreed to raise the allocations, I do not see why we should keep on pushing for the referendum because it will be a total waste of time and resources. The governors should now focus on how they will utilize the money they will receive in the coming financial year,” said Ruto.
He lashed at the council chair Isaac Ruto for insisting that the referendum push is still on despite the government having given them what they wanted.
“Unless the pesa mashinani referendum campaign has a hidden agenda, then I do not know why the Ruto is insisting on proceeding with it,” he said.
On Thursday Ruto insisted that they will soldier on with the push for the referendum until what they want is put in the constitution.
Ruto said that they have already collected 1.2 million signatures and they are in the process of preparing the referendum bill to be tabled before the two houses of parliament.