Mumias East MP Ben Washiali has dismissed calls by a section of leaders to have a powerful Prime Minister, instead of the BBI proposed Prime Minister. According to one of the recommendations, a Prime Minister will be in place, but he will be chosen by the President, who will still be the head of state, head of government and commander-in-chief. The PM will also come from the majority party in parliament, and can be dismissed by the President or through a vote of no confidence by the National Assembly. Some leaders have proposed that a powerful PM should be in place instead. Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has said the position should’ve been made more powerful, “I don’t know why the task force was so mean on the position,” he said.
COTU boss Francis Atwoli has also called for a powerful PM position, saying the parliamentary system with a powerful PM is the way to go in order to deal with the problem of inclusivity. However, speaking in Kakamega on Friday, Mumias East MP Ben Washiali dismissed the notion, “We believe that whoever will be the chief executive of this country should be elected by the people…I don’t see it fair that we can remove this authority from Kenyans whereby we get a parliamentary system where a few members decide who becomes chief executive,” he said, adding that the kind of Chief Executive may not be accountable to Kenyans.
He noted that here is till some skepticism with that idea, and the systems of governance can’t keep on being changed. He said the report has come out nicely because it has left the Presidential system intact, and the appointment of a prime minster by the President is a welcome decision because it will also reduce the tasks backlog.