Real fear of getting it wrong during transition

By Stanley GithunguriThe journey towards devolved government got a shot in the arm when Parliament enacted the Transition to Devolved Government Act (No. 1 of 2012) which commenced on March 9, 2012. The Act provides a framework for the transition to devolved government pursuant to Section 15 of the Sixth Schedule to the Constitution.This section of the Constitution requires Parliament to enact legislation to provide for the phased transfer, over a period of not more than three years from the date of the first election of county assemblies, from the national to county governments of the functions assigned to them.It will also ensure these functions are devolved promptly to counties that have the capacity to perform them in addition to establishing a criteria that must be met before particular functions are devolved to ensure those governments are not given functions they cannot perform.The Act gives rise to two critical aspects in the transition to devolved government — the criteria for transfer of functions and establishment of the Transition Authority.The Authority is established under section 4 of the Transition to Devolved Government Act with the main role of facilitating and co-ordinating the transition to the devolved system.The Authority is mandated to undertake this onerous task in two phases. Phase one covers the period between commencement of the Act and the date of the first election under the Constitution while phase two covers the period between the date of the first elections and three years after the first elections under the Constitution.However, about 80% of the Authority’s work has to be done during phase one. Furthermore, section 23 of the Act requires the Authority, by notice in the Kenya Gazette at least 30 days before the first elections, to identify functions, which may be transferred to the county governments immediately after the first elections under the Constitution. applications for positionsThe Authority is required to submit a progress report, every three months, and an annual report of its activities to the President, Parliament, the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution and the Commission for Revenue Allocation.The Authority will comprise a chairperson and eight other members appointed by the President, in consultation with the Prime Minister and with the approval of the National Assembly. In addition to these, six Principal Secretaries responsible for Cabinet, devolution, public service, finance, planning and justice will be members of the Authority. The Attorney General and the Secretary to the Authority are ex officio members.This brings the total membership of the Authority to 17 persons! The Public Service Commission has already advertised for applications for positions of chairperson and eight members of the Transition Authority. As the process to have the Authority in place begins, I appeal to the Public Service Commission and the Selection Panel that will select and nominate the Chairperson and Members of the Authority to bear in mind the serious tasks ahead and nominate qualified persons of integrity who will be up to the task and devoid of political manipulation. This is because such Authority if manipulated might decline to transfer functions to deserving counties and/or transfer functions to counties that have not met the set criteria to warrant such transfer of functions. Thus successful transition to devolved system of government will largely depend on the quality and determination of the Authority. However, as the process of putting the Authority in place is ongoing, there are a few things are which might derail the transition.The law has already placed a moratorium on the transfer of assets and liabilities during the transition period except with the approval of the Authority, in consultation with the National Treasury, Commission on Revenue Allocation, Ministry of Local Government and Ministry of Lands.One of the activities that the Authority needs to carry out during phase one is to audit the government and local authorities staff in counties to establish the number of staff in each county by cadre, grades, gender, age and qualification in addition to providing a mechanism for the transition of government and local authority employees.Despite this, the Executive is on the process of transferring and recruiting staff to counties. A case in point is the deployment of Provincial Administraters as County Commissioners and the recent recruitment of County Directors of Education by Teachers Service Commission. bloated civil serviceThis is in breach of the spirit and letter of the law as the Authority needs to carry out the audit and advise on deployment of government and local authorities staff. Furthermore, these acts will complicate the functions of the governor in managing affairs of the county as the function of establishing and abolishing offices in the county public service lies with the County Public Service Board, which is appointed by the county governor, with the approval of the county assembly.If we do not stop these acts, our counties will start on a wrong footing with a bloated civil service who do not owe allegiance to the County Executive led by the governor. Be vigilant during this transition period to safeguard gains to be achieved from the devolved system.The writer is the Member of Parliament for Kiambaa Constituency.

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