Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has insisted that he will not encourage a situation where any part of the country is discriminated against.
Speaking in Marsabit, on Monday, Kindiki said all parts of Kenya are entitled to development because they are important components of what makes the Republic of Kenya.
“We cannot encourage a situation where we start discriminating against any part of the country. Lamu, Kisumu, Marsabit, Kericho, is Kenya.”
“Every of our 47 counties is an important component of our republic and is entitled to development,” he said.
Kindiki who was reacting to recent calls by a section of leaders to have the revenue sharing formula changed to the one-man, one-vote, one shilling model said that as per the Constitution of Kenya, marginalized areas should have more allocation.
The allocation, he said should be in the form of affirmative action projects to make the marginalized areas equal with all parts of Kenya.
Proponents of the one-man, one-vote, one-shilling revenue-sharing formula claim that some regions are highly populated and therefore need more resources.
Some of them include Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and Opposition leader Raila Odinga, among others.
Kindiki noted that while the ongoing discussions around revenue sharing formula are good, they will not allow ethnic bias aspects to come in.
“The areas that were marginalized in the past, in accordance to our Constitution, they are even entitled to affirmative action projects to make sure that we make all parts of Kenya equal with the rest of the country.
“The ongoing discussions are good but we will not allow ethnicity because we are one country. When we talk of regional unity it must extend to the entire country not at the expense of another part of the country,” Kindiki said.
He added the government will not allow anyone who is out to cause division in the country on the basis of region or ethnicity.
Kindiki said all Kenyans have a right to get government services and development like all other parts of the country.
The Interior CS was in Marsabit for the launch of the fourth and final segment of the Kenya Vision 2030 Plan. The Fourth Medium Term Plan (MTP IV) covers the period 2023-2027.
On Sunday, Kindiki told off national leaders who are openly pushing for ethnic interests, saying that they violate public trust.
The Interior CS insisted that pursuing such an agenda is also unconstitutional.
“Open and direct involvement in pursuing ethnic or other sectarian interests while holding a national office whose services are for the defence of the national interest is unconstitutional and a violation of public trust,” Kindiki said.