From the onset of the implementation of devolution, there have been numerous accusations and counter-accusations with some branding others the enemies of devolved governance.
Devolution is held so dear by Kenyans and their deep seated suspicion dates back to the 1960s. Devolution was suffocated soon after the country’s independence when the ruling class conspired and gave it a bad name so that they could centralise resources to enable them use the national cake to not only amass personal wealth but also control political power.
The reintroduction of devolution in the new Constitution offers the country a good opportunity to improve the lives of people especially at the grassroots. The governors are in office, the executive teams have been sworn-in after the initial teething problems, a substantial amount of money has been allocated for the county governments, capacity building is ongoing for the county government to take up the provision of services as stipulated in the Constitution while the budgets have been approved by the county assemblies. The governors are rolling out their visions and putting in place their short and long term plans. Audits of county employees are ongoing to clean up the payrolls and eliminate ghost workers once and for all. Wananchi are starting to get the kind of services they deserve. It is a breadth of fresh air, a new lease of life.
Granted, there will always be those elements that would want to sabotage devolution. However, frequent bickering among various State officials over devolution often threaten to derail the progress. Take the recent debate in Parliament when MPs sought to disparage governors. The MPs who contributed to the debate went to great lengths to show who between them and governors are greater. Before that, the Senate and Parliament were rowing over allocation of revenue for devolution. The latest scathing attack on the Transition Authority is uncalled for.
The transition to the new governance model was never going to be smooth. Most of these stakeholders mean well for devolution and a difference in opinion or outright disagreements on how things should be done should not be construed as opposition to devolution. As President Uhuru Kenyatta has said, this is a new thing and people will make mistakes but it will work.
