We need mega infrastructure projects in counties

This week President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the expansion of a section of the Nairobi-Mombasa highway. This is obviously a welcome development. This road is perhaps the most important piece of infrastructure in all of East and Central Africa. Despite the recent increase in competition from Tanzania, Kenya remains the most important gateway to the wider East African region. It is for this reason that we should remain focused on investing as much as we can in infrastructure projects that will solidify our comparative advantage in the region.

However, as we continue to pour money into national mega projects, we must also start thinking seriously about “meso projects.” What do I mean by this? I mean mega projects at the county level. As currently constituted, devolution is great for recurrent expenditures at the grassroots level. The most important benefit of the fiscal decentralisation embodied in the 2010 Constitution has been the ability of governors to manage resources at the county level. Despite the rampant corruption in our county governments, one of the long term benefits of devolution is that it will sharpen the relationship between government behaviour and electoral outcomes at the grassroots. More and more Kenyans are now aware of the fact that government resources ought to be used for their benefit. That they have a right to make claims to the same resources. This is a big improvement on the last 50 years of our republic. It will likely lead to greater accountability at the county-level, with potential knock on effects at the national level.