Why devolution deserves a cheer

NAIROBI: Recently, we celebrated the second year of success since the introduction of devolution in Kenya. The Second Devolution Conference's theme, 'CELEBRATING DEVOLUTION', was deliberately chosen in recognition of the fact that life is all about the journey, and that means that every step, as well as reaching our destination, is part of our journey.

Celebrating at a crucial anniversary is recognition of a life well lived and well worked.

Looking back at the second year of devolution gives us plenty of cause for celebration: devolution has gained a lot of ground and is now an indispensable part of our social and political infrastructure, the economy is booming, business optimism is high, infrastructure projects are in high gear and there is a general feeling that the country is on the right trajectory.

Ordinary Kenyans seem to appreciate this as evidenced by a recent opinion poll by Ipsos Synovate that showed that more than two-thirds of Kenyans support devolution, which is an objective indicator of the support that devolution and its implementation continue to enjoy.

However, this is not the story we often hear. Where devolution is concerned, we have often heard a negative story, a story of inter-governmental turmoil and suspicion.

But those of us who walk this journey of devolution, know that this is not the full story - this is not even the true story. While there are some teething challenges, and a process of institutional repositioning, the successes far outweigh the challenges.

One of my favourite authors, Chimamanda Adichie, so eloquently takes us on a journey of retelling our stories. In her books (Half of a Yellow Sun, Purple Hibiscus, The Thing Around Your Neck and Americanah) she retells the story of living through the Biafran war in Nigeria; or describes the daily life of African immigrants to the US, amongst other stories. She shows us that how the story is told not only influences our belief on history, but also impacts on our perspectives of the future.

In her now widely syndicated TED talk series "The danger of a single story," she describes this even more aptly, "The single story creates stereotypes, and the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are incomplete. They make one story become the only story." She further contends that the danger of a single story is that it robs people of their dignity, and flattens our reality.

We have an opportunity to tell other stories about devolution that many out there are not hearing yet. It helps us move away from creating a stereotype of the Devolution process in Kenya.

It helps us understand that there is no linear process in a political process such as this; it is a multi-layer of processes with different facets of engagement. As such, no one single story can explain devolution.

The Ministry of Devolution and Planning was established to, among other functions, coordinate policy decisions aimed at supporting the devolution process. Towards this end, there have been various notable achievements in the implementation of this mandate.

First, the transfer of functions from national to county governments was accomplished through Legal Notice No. 137, which ensured county governments could effectively assume their responsibilities and had the requisite authority to meet their mandates.

As a ministry, we facilitated the establishment and operations of the county operational units, including the county executives and assemblies through the provision of adequate financial resources - Sh210 billion in 2013/14, Sh226 billion in 2014/15 and a projected Sh283 billion in 2015/16; human resources in the form of transitional teams and staff seconded from the national government to the counties; and finally, through provision of the necessary infrastructure (for example, physical facilities for administrative and logistical purposes).

Secondly, in line with the provisions of the Inter-Governmental Coordination Act, 2012, as the ministry responsible for inter-governmental affairs, we have continued to provide technical support to the Inter-governmental Coordinating Summit.

Thirdly, in line with the functions outlined in Schedule 4 of the Constitution, the ministry has developed the National Capacity Building Framework and a framework for civic education.

Some of the key programmes in the areas of capacity development for the counties have included the training of officers from all the 47 counties on Human Resource Management and Public Financial Management; we have also conducted induction for the County Executive Committees in more than 30 counties.

Civic Education will enable Kenyans to better understand the devolution process, and the processes of planning and public financial management, to ensure they can effectively participate in these governance processes, and make meaningful contributions.

Fourthly, the ministry is finalising the Devolution Policy to reflect the comments from the stakeholder engagement process. In addition, we have also developed model laws for the counties, awaiting dissemination of the same this quarter.

Fifth, in cooperation with the county governments, the ministry is implementing the Capacity Assessment and Rationalisation Programme. This includes a comprehensive skills and competencies assessment and institutional review that will ensure skills are matched to mandates.