Constitution @ 5: Where are the economic dividends?

NAIROBI: A five-year-old child can walk, play and is even ready to go to primary school, or ‘big school’ as we used to call it when we were younger and more innocent. Does the same apply to our Constitution?

Some could argue that the Constitution was written for posterity and we should wait for a longer period to see its dividends.

The truth is that we can, to some extent, predict the behaviour of an adult from one’s behaviour at five. If your children are grown, you would agree with me. It is, therefore, in order to do a quick audit of the Constitution and how it has fared, particularly on the economic front.

EFFECT OF POWERLESSNESS

First, it is interesting that some of the people who opposed the Constitution are now the ones implementing it. The promises made to the church on amendments remain just that, promises.

On the political front, power was dispersed so much that it seems everyone is powerless. It may take another generation before the effect of powerlessness takes its toll. Hint: why do you think the military is taking a more active role in national affairs beyond defending borders?

The key plank in the Constitution is devolution. It simply obliged the central (sorry, national) government to share revenues with the counties. It is did not oblige the counties to generate revenue. I wish we had done that.

Devolution has been successful, though we are still calling on the Government. The counties, despite their wrangles, are happy to control some money. And after all, five-year-olds constantly quarrel with their siblings.

It was hoped that counties would know their problems better and channel these resources to solve them. It turns out that one of their problems was a lack of jobs, and they have been prolific in ‘creating jobs’. I hear one county has a county chaplain.

This has shifted resources from development to salaries. Some could argue that while money remains in the counties, it is too dispersed to make a big economic difference.

The thinking behind devolution was not just about money. With counties getting part of the national cake, at times without baking it, they feel they are part of the nation. This is likely to reduce tribal wars and feelings of marginalisation. Counties even have an ‘excellency’.

One wishes that counties would co-operate more, which was the noble idea behind the formation of regional authorities like Tana River Development Authority.

Counties would reap big if they pooled their resources instead of distributing them too thin.

County branding

The counties have a done a good job advertising themselves in the media. Now we know of new tourist attractions like the battlefields of Kasigau in Taita, and Happy Valley in Nyandarua. Do Germans and Britons know about these sites? Counties have not branded themselves well enough.

The counties should get anchor industries and then build around them. We can borrow from the US again. Michigan is known for autos, California for movies, New York for financial services, Idaho for potatoes, Florida for sunshine. Instead of trying to attract everyone and everything, why not focus on a comparative advantage?

The only investment that seems to be doing well in most counties is the building of hotels. While that might be targeting tourists, and few backpackers, we still need some industrialisation. We cannot be a services-based nation only.

Land is one bait for investors, with some counties offering free land to investors, whose greater concern is the market.

Speculators have not been left behind and are riding on devolution to make money from land they purport is now more precious. The land around Nairobi, particularly Kiambu’s coffee plantations, has attracted international players. They are getting land my father failed to get in 1927! I’m not from Kiambu ....

Despite devolution, we must never lose sight of the fact that we are part of a larger global community. I doubt any county can satisfy the global market with any product or service.

It would be interesting to see some county-based economic data. How much has each county attracted in terms of investment, beyond the funds from the national government? Which county has generated more jobs in the last five years? Which county has the lowest crime rate ... such data, will provide potential investors with critical information. It will also create competition, which will raise economic standards.

Counties are still making benchmarking tours to other countries. Have they benchmarked with each first? How many tours have they made to Tanzania, Uganda or Ethiopia, our neighbours with huge markets for our goods and services? Or is it not ‘cool’ to visit such places?

What is coming out very clearly is that counties are yet to become the nucleus of economic growth. The ability to generate wealth is still not devolved. Nairobi still contributes disproportionately to wealth creation for a simple fact — diversity.

Do counties realise that economic growth is about people and their ideas, not even land?

The political dividends of the Constitution are easier to list; it was all about voting. The economic dividends will take longer to be noticed.

Did the Constitution change our thinking on how wealth is created? How come corruption is thriving? Should our next national project after the Constitution be changing the mindset of Kenyans? Why not emulate our athletes who make money through sweat?

The best measure of economic success for counties will be returning money to the Government because they have made enough. Or even better, lending the Government money. Imagine one county lending out the money required to pay teachers.

The writer is senior lecturer, University of Nairobi School of Business. [email protected]