Chiefs and others in the Provincial Administration must be relieved to know that they would be retained under the new devolved government after Members of Parliament almost unanimously passed the National Government Co-ordination Bill even though the matter of their retention had never been in question.
The new Constitution recommended a restructuring not scrapping of the Provincial Administration. Nowadays many chiefs hold university degrees – a few post graduate degrees also – thus representing a valuable human resource base with unique grassroots experience.
The reputation of chiefs as relics of an oppressive colonial administration no longer holds water. These days they are competitively recruited unlike in the past when they would be appointed by the colonial DC and no longer enjoy unilateral power to arrest and prosecute. Some have become agents of positive democratic change and work closely with civilians to maintain law and order while resolving social conflicts that courts cannot effectively address. But a few overstep their mandate depending on the orientation of their respective DC, Member of Parliament and general community awareness of their rights.
Moreover, there are civil service jobs that only the Provincial Administration can perform effectively. For example, how do you ensure that politicians or communities that did not vote for the incumbent Governor, MP and county representative are not discriminated against, in a Kenya where political differences also reflect the way available resources are shared? And who will represent the interests of central government in Nairobi in areas that are hostile to the Government in power? Without such a connection, we would be asking for chaos during this transition period.
Thus as we enter the era of devolution, what is needed is to find the right formula to get the Provincial Administration to work with governors and other elected local leaders in an atmosphere of respect.
The beginning point should be orientation seminars that bring together the two groups to appreciate the need for cooperation rather than competition and where specific roles are clearly defined.
Likewise, terms of employment of provincial administrators and civil servants of equivalent qualifications should be similarly remunerated with regard to salaries and other benefits etc and should have clearly defined career paths. A chief who is university educated deserves the same pay as a graduate secondary school teacher. And why should a sub-chief not rise to the position of DC?
Some MPs were concerned that DCs and chiefs would interfere with the work of elected county governments. While this may be true during the teething period, I worry more about the politicisation of the Provincial Administration by some sitting MPs who treat DCs and chiefs as their domestic servants and political agents to terrorise opponents.
The Cabinet Secretary for Internal Security has to curtail the influence of politicians during the recruitment, promotion and deployment of DCs and chiefs. DCs need not work in any station for more than four years while chiefs should be rotated within culturally homogenous counties. Loyalty to a sitting politician should have nothing to do with where or how long one works in a station because these are servants of the people and not of the politician. Likewise, establishment of new administrative units should be based on geographical size and population, not the whims of a sitting politician.
The writer is MP for Tigania West and Assistant Minister Higher Education, Science and Technology
