The Budget and Appropriations Committee of the National Assembly has recommended the recognition of village heads as national government administration officers (NGAO).
This is among a raft of recommendations the Committee has made while considering various legislative proposals.
Should the proposed amendment to the National Coordination Bill sail through in Parliament, village heads who are engaged will take home a total of Sh7,000 per month consisting of a monthly stipend of Sh4,000, transport allowance of Sh2,000 and airtime allowance of Sh1,000.
The committee made the recommendation in recognition of what it says is the crucial role village elders play in society. The move is also meant to compensate and complement the elders for the voluntary services that they have been giving.
The committee observed that the village heads played essential roles in society by mediating domestic issues and supporting chiefs and their assistants in discharging their mandates in the villages.
The elders have also been recognised for supporting community healthcare workers by assisting them to reach out to the people in villages in their capacities as heads of the Nyumba Kumi cohort.
The Bill, which is co-sponsored by Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Echoka’s Mutuse and his Ruiru counterpart, Simon King’ara, seeks to amend the National Government Coordination Act, 2013, to adopt and gazette existing village units as national government service delivery and administrative units. The Bill seeks explicitly to amend Section 14 of the Act.
The Bill also proposes an amendment to Section 15 of the Act by introducing village heads in respect of every village as government administrative officers. It seeks recognition of village heads as national government administration officers (NGAO).
The committee argued that once the legislative proposal is enacted, there will be enhanced coordination of service delivery to all counties’ citizens.
They said this move would facilitate the mobilisation of government agendas like immunisation, ensuring that all children go to school, promoting aid coordination in natural calamities and improving security coordination measures (through Nyumba Kumi initiatives).
The Committee also considered and approved additional Bills for consideration by the House, including the Carbon Credit and Sharing Bill 2023, the Public Service Human Resource Audit Bill, 2023, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023, Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill, the National Police Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023, Health (Amendment) Bill 2023, Capital Markets (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Advocates (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Others are the National Government Coordination (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Poverty Eradication Bill, 2022, the Central Bank (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
Notably, the Bills recommended by the Budget Committee shall proceed like Bills originating in the National Assembly after their First Reading.
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