The unseemly standoff between sections of the national government and the incoming county administration does not bode well since it creates unnecessary friction.
It also risks plunging the new county governments into partisan political party wars as it is likely that members of the various county assemblies and administration will take sides based on their political loyalties.
In-built resistance
That having been said, it was expected that there would be some teething problems as the county government begins to take shape.
Certainly, there is in-built resistance by some in charge of the national government to ceding some of their powers to the counties. This is only the second time since Independence that Kenya is attempting to devolve power away from the centre.
The first attempt in the first few years after Independence were sabotaged after the founding President Jomo Kenyatta abolished the Senate. Such resistance should end immediately. There are now laws detailing the powers of the County and National governments and which are grounded in the Constitution.
The Public Service Commission and the County Service Commission should work with the Transition Authority to ensure a smooth division of assets.
Where the new Governors will be seated is among the issues raising plenty of heat. This is because there was no proper facilitation for offices for the new county administration due to a number of reasons, among them the delay by the Tenth Parliament in passing requisite legislation to anchor the new county administration.
The Constitution has radically altered the way the country is governed by giving more say and participation to Kenyans. Unfortunately, if not properly managed, it can open new avenues for the national government to continue disenfranchising citizens by carving out fresh opportunities for marginalization and entrenching historical regional disparities.
Wealth redistribution
Those who framed the Constitution were well aware that such disparities would not disappear overnight hence the creation of the Commission for Revenue Allocation (CRA).
The CRA has come up with a credible formula for distributing the national revenue equally among the 47 counties. The Transition Authority is the missing link between the county and national governments.
No one is challenging the authority of the national Government, but it is critical that it establishes an amicable working relationship with the Transition Authority by first recognising and appreciating its constitutional role as the body in charge of coordinating the devolution process.
This would do much to reduce the tension. As it is, utterances by senior Government officials lashing out at the Transition Authority appear to have emboldened some State officers at the county level to adopt an adversarial stance towards the new governors.
The county governments should be given all the help they need to establish strong institutions. This will have a positive effect on economic performance of the counties.
Weak county administrations will not implement policies to empower communities or bring development closer to them, and will instead result in a devolution of corruption from the national to regional governments.
