On Wednesday, February 12, Kiambu County Senator Karungo wa Thang’wa dropped his contentious Public Holidays Bill, which intended to change how public holidays are honored in Kenya.
In a letter to Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, Thang’wa stated that he had decided to withdraw the bill before its second hearing in order to focus on other bills he had sponsored that he considered were of more national relevance.
“I write to formally notify you of my decision to withdraw The Public Holidays Bill, which I am sponsoring, from further consideration in the Senate,” part of the letter read.
“I note that the Bill is scheduled for the Second Reading in today’s Order Paper. However, after careful deliberation, I have decided to prioritize other legislative proposals that I am sponsoring, which I believe are of urgent and immediate national significance.”
He then enumerated four legislative ideas, starting with the aggregation of all bursaries to make secondary school free.His second idea called for the Governors to develop wards in an equal manner.
“A legislative intervention I am championing to compel county governments to ensure balanced and fair distribution of resources and development projects across all wards.”
Thang’wa’s third idea was to limit county administrations’ false predictions of their own funding sources.
He stated that he would be fielding to address the ongoing issue of counties overestimating their revenue collection targets, resulting in unsustainable budgets and a backlog of pending bills.
The final bill he mentioned was the County State Officers Impeachment Bill, which seeks to provide a comprehensive procedure for the expulsion of county-state authorities.
This comprises governors, deputy governors, county executive committee members, and county assembly speakers.
“Given the critical nature of these legislative initiatives and the need for urgent intervention in these areas, I believe that focusing on them will better serve the interests of the people,” he concluded.
Thang’wa declared on July 1, 2023, that he intends to amend the Public Holidays Act, namely the way holidays on Tuesdays and Thursdays are observed.He proposed that if a holiday falls on a Tuesday, Monday should also be proclaimed a holiday.
Similarly, he wanted Thursday holidays to be observed on Fridays.“Where in any year, a public holiday (a) falls on a Tuesday, then the preceding day, shall be a public holiday or (b) falls on a Thursday, the succeeding day shall also be a public holiday,” his amendment bill read in part.
He defended the amendment bill, claiming that increasing the number of holidays will boost vacation economies because Kenyans would use the extra days to indulge in domestic tourism.
He also suggested that it was a smart approach for Kenyans to prioritize their physical and mental well-being in the long run, hence increasing productivity in a variety of industries.
“Extending public holidays supports economic growth and promotes domestic tourism by encouraging longer trips and visits to new destinations, benefiting the hospitality and tourism industry,” Thang’wa stated.
