Is abolishing the Devolution and Planning ministry the way to go?

After months of push and pull, Anne Waiguru finally resigned as Devolution Cabinet Secretary on medical grounds.

The whole saga surrounding the Devolution ministry calls into question leaders and public servants’ trustworthiness in relation to the ethical standards stipulated in Chapter Six of the Constitution on leadership and integrity.

Ms Waiguru’s resignation is most welcome because it gives the Executive arm of government an opportunity to re-think the significance of the Ministry of Devolution and Planning.

Its mandate and functions are too wide, spanning across other ministries including county governments, making it tough to manage in terms of huge budget allocation and operations.

Therefore, the Ministry of Devolution and Planning should be abolished to give way for the creation of a Commission of Inter-Governmental Efficiency Monitoring that will inter-mediate between Parliament and the Senate’s oversight roles, the Controller of Budget and hold quasi-government bodies to account.

This will help the Government pick early warning signs when such organisations are off track with regard to their core mandate. This will help prevent misappropriation of taxpayers’ money.

Additionally, the State should prosecute those who are guilty of misconduct.