Kenyans should stop selling themselves short

This week I had the distinct privilege of sitting and sharing experiences with experts and practitioners in the field of fiscal decentralisation from diverse countries ranging from Tajikistan (population 8 million) to India (population 1.2 billion). Coming in amid the much-publicised problems in Kenya’s Coast and the threatened tsunami on Saba Saba, I must admit I found myself lacking my traditional exuberance for broadcasting my Kenyanness. That was until the discussions on the experiences of other countries on fiscal decentralisation commenced.

As I listened to what others had accomplished and the challenges they were undergoing, I found myself jivunianing being a Kenyan. I suddenly realised for all our faults, and we have many, we have accomplished, through our new Constitution and the laws enacted thereunder, a decentralisation framework that many countries can only dream of. As I listened to others’ experiences, I was reminded just how contested devolution is in all countries.