- NCCK said despite court's order, the IEBC Selection Panel has not completed its work and Parliament has not progressed with the IEBC Amendment Bill.
- The council called on President William Ruto and all stakeholders to prioritise the appointment of new IEBC commissioners.
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The National Council of Churches has expressed concern over the prolonged delay in appointing commissioners for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
They said the delay has impeded the boundary review process and left four wards and one constituency without elected representatives.
"It is very unfortunate that Kenya has been put at a great risk by political actors due to the long delay in appointment of commissioners for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)," NCCK said.
The council spoke at the end of a two-day induction workshop held at Friends Church Kisumu.
The workshop was also attended by the Kenya County Coordinating Committees and the Regional Committee in Nyanza of the council.
The workshop, which took place on June 10 and 11 emphasised the importance of unity and national cohesion.
"A major result is that the nation failed to meet the deadline for undertaking boundaries review, while the residents of four wards and one constituency have not conducted required by-elections, thus denying them the right to have elected representatives. For how long will this injustice continue?" NCCK posed.
NCCK said despite court's order, the IEBC Selection Panel has not completed its work and Parliament has not progressed with the IEBC Amendment Bill.
The NCCK called on President William Ruto and all stakeholders to prioritise the appointment of new IEBC commissioners.
They also urged the National Assembly and Senate speakers to expedite the IEBC Amendment Bill to safeguard Kenya's future electoral integrity.
"We call upon the speakers of the National Assembly and Senate to fast track the processing of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill 2024. Let us not expose our nation to further danger," NCCK said.
The NCCK also criticised the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report for not undergoing public participation before its adoption by the National Assembly.
"Make the electoral reforms people driven as a strategy to address the demonstrations that rocked the country after the 2022 General Elections, the government and the Opposition established the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) to restore peace," NCCK said.
They called for the publication of the NADCO report in a manner accessible to all Kenyans and recommended that the joint Legal Affairs Committee visit all counties to gather public input on the proposed reforms.
The NCCK also raised concern following delays in releasing school capitation funds, which have disrupted school operations.
They also noted the ongoing strike by Junior School teachers, which they said was denying learners their right to education
They urged the Ministry of Education to ensure equitable disbursement of funds across all counties and to address the teachers' strike promptly.
The NCCK also called for the urgent reinstatement of the Edu-Afya programme to safeguard the health and well-being of students.
At the same time, NCCK raised concern about the transition from the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF) without a clear plan to settle NHIF's outstanding debts.
"Heal the Healthcare sector. The state of healthcare in our counties is worrying. Most health facilities do not have the required medicines and are yet to recover from the lengthy doctors’ strike," NCCK lamented.
The council also raised concerns about the healthcare system in counties saying most health facilities do not have the required medicines.
"Quite devastating is that the church-owned and private health facilities have been crippled as a result of the failure by the National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) to remit the funds due to them," NCCK added.
NCCK calle on the Cabinet Secretary for Health to speedily address the concerns raised.
The council also urged its mambers to take public participation input seriously as they commended the Finance and Budget Committee of the National Assembly for the extensive public participation on the Finance Bill, 2024.
"We urge the members to take the sentiments expressed by the citizens seriously. Our position remains that the Finance Bill, 2024, should be one that inspires hope, not one that brings frustration and despair by increasing taxes," NCCK said.