The devolved units should be maintained at all costs

The promulgation of the 2010 Constitution marked a major milestone in the way the country is governed. It stipulated the dispersal of political power and economic resources from the centre in Nairobi to the grassroots in a process known as devolution. Devolution is the pillar of the Constitution that seeks to bring government closer to the people, with county governments at the centre of dispersing political power and economic resources to Kenyans at the grassroots

The elections in March 2013 marked the official launch of devolution, as 47 new county governors and county assemblies were elected and began the challenging work of setting up new institutions, as well as a new national senate representing each county. Functions and funds have been transferred to the new counties, and new county institutions are gradually taking shape.

With this, Kenya came full circle from pre-independence days when a form of devolution, then known as Majimbo, was introduced briefly in 1962 but scrapped soon after independence.

On paper, Kenya’s is among the most rapid and ambitious devolution processes going on in the world. But only on paper. In reality, it is among the most beleaguered with all sorts of malevolent forces seeking to cripple it.

The primary is to devolve power, resources and representation down to the local level. To this end, various laws have been enacted by Parliament to create strategies for implementation framework and the adoption on which objectives of devolution can be achieved.

Despite all this, the central government continues to hoard power and resources that rightfully belong to the counties. Unrepentant believers in the old order are fighting devolved units in the false hope that they can reverse the clock. Some of these old timers are the very people who led the camp opposing the enactment of the Constitution. They now find themselves full of nostalgia for the days when a centralised government was supreme.

In my view, Kenyans’ distrust and suspicion of the central government led to the preference for devolved units. They wanted to be more in control of their destinies. Given time, there are those counties that will do brilliantly and vindicate the system. The flip side of this is that some counties will not prioritise development and will lag behind. Ultimately it is far easier for one person to make serious errors than for 47 to independently do so.

As for the number of counties, these can always be varied. It is interesting to note that India with at population of 1.2 billion people and almost six times the land mass of Kenya has only 27 states. Germany, about two thirds the size of Kenya has 16 states which govern 80 million people. The USA has 320 million people within an area 15 times larger than Kenya yet it has only 50 states. Nigeria, the most populous in Africa, has 36 states to govern 174 million people in a landmass almost twice the size of Kenya.

Yes there are problems with devolution, but these must be resolved, not serve as an excuse for abandoning the process. As Rt Hon Raila Odinga remarked during the Second Devolution Conference, “While we may debate how the counties are being governed , there can be no doubt that voters want their counties to be supported and strengthened, not wound up or undermined”. Devolution has many challenges. Corruption cartels have commandeered many county governments. Some elected leaders have confused their oversight role with execution, pitting county assemblies against county executives.

He went on to note that while agriculture and infrastructure were not fully devolved, people expected the county governments to deliver on them. In these partially devolved areas, county and national government development plans are creating conflicting priorities, confusion and unclear visions. It is for such reasons that the earnest push for constitutional reform kicked off this week with a specific focus on further empowering the devolved units.