Kiambu MCAs during a past session. The Assembly passed a motion requiring employers to hire 70 per cent of workers from the dominant ethnic community. [Photo|Daily Nation]
Members of the County Assembly in Kilifi have vowed to enact a law that will require at least 70 percent of jobs are given to locals.
Shimo La Tewa Ward Representative Sammy Ndago, who is the sponsor of the motion, said the assembly must pass the proposed law because it is important for the people of Kilifi.
"Other counties are in the process of passing similar laws and we do not want to be left behind. The unemployment rate in Kilifi is very high and this law will go a long way in solving our people's unemployment challenges," he said on Tuesday.
Ndago, who is also the deputy majority leader, was addressing journalists in Mtwapa, accompanied by his colleagues.
He explained the House could not debate it on Tuesday because of other programmes.
The MCA said the Assembly will hold a special sitting this week to discuss the proposal.
"We will not relent in fighting for residents' rights to employment," Ndago added.
The move comes after their counterparts in Kiambu County passed a similar motion last week.
The new law compels all public and private businesses and institutions in Kiambu to employ 70 percent of workers from the dominant ethnic community.
The move, however, has attracted the wrath of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) which have threatened to move to court to challenge the motion.
NCIC chairperson Francis Kaparo on Tuesday lashed at the MCAs saying they were setting a bad precedence for the country.
"Those are foolish plans which are against the law and a major threat to cohesion efforts in the country," Kaparo said, speaking in Nairobi.
Is there a newsworthy accident, incident or event happening in your county that you want Hivisasa to cover? Tell us what is happening by joining this group http://bit.ly/2Ce5FLj, and have it published.