Narok County Senator Ledama Ole Kina has become the first elected senator to reject the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) Report. Mr. Ole Kina said that the BBI Report only introduced too many positions in government while leaving real issues affecting Kenyans intact.
The ODM Party senator said that his views and that of his fellow Maasai tribe were ignored and nothing tangible was put into the BBI Report to address issues affecting marginalized minority communities such as the one Mr. Ledama Ole Kina belongs to.
“The BBI report proposes a weak Senate, introduces unnecessary political positions and the task-force ignored the views of the Maasai Nation as well as other marginalised communities”, Said senator Ole Kina.
The BBI Report was released yesterday by president Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM party leader Mr. Raila Odinga in Kisii County. This came after a spectacular 2020 Mashujaa Day the two politicians oversaw at Gusii Stadium a day before the report was released.
Although Ledama Ole Kina does not mention it, the BBI Report also does eliminate some positions too. For example, it eliminates all positions of Women Representatives. Essentially speaking, the BBI actually replaces the Women Representatives position with that of female senators as it mandates every county to have two senators with one of them being female.
Other than the creation of new positions, some of the key issues proposed by the BBI Report includes an introduction of 4 year grace period within which to start paying back their loans, and interest to kick on after loanee have secured jobs and started earning.
“The proposed amendments further exempt loanees without a source of income from paying interest on the loans advanced to them until such time that the loanees start earning an income,” the report reads.
The BBI Taskforce also recommends the establishment of business incubation centres to provide business advisory services, which includes access to capital and government contracts for the youth. This is accompanied by 7 year tax breaks for all youth-owned businesses.
“Most young people speaking to the steering committee during the validation period exhibited frustration with the job market. They complained of having met the educational goals that they were told would allow them to get employment, but when they applied for jobs, there were persistent demands for them to have experience, among other unattainable requirements for a new entrant in the job market,” says the BBI Report.
Ledama Ole Kina: Career Profile
Ledama Ole Kina was elected senator of Narok County under the ODM ticket in the 2017 general elections. The first time senator was educated at Narok High School and thereafter proceeded to the United States where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts in 2002.
Senator Ledama Ole Kina is the founder of the Maasai Education Discovery, an education center for girls. He is an ardent supporter of efforts to conserve the Mau Forest located in Nakuru County.
