Devolution is strengthening political accountability

Devolution is working in Kenya. And one of the pieces of evidence of this fact is the extent to which voters appear willing to punish non-performing governors. A number of governors have already lost in party primaries. And more will likely fall by the wayside come August 8th. More generally, both voters and politicians appear to be learning the right lessons about the intentions of the framers of the 2010 Constitution on the question of devolution.

First, since 2013 Parliament has increasingly allocated a bigger proportion of audited revenues to county governments than is constitutionally mandated. This is by far the most important sign that the political logic of equitable distribution is playing out as intended by the framers of the 2010 Constitution. Political demand is driving resource allocation. Exactly as it should be in a functional democracy in which government action is meaningfully influenced by voters’ political demands. Second, voters have realised that governors have the potential to influence living conditions at the county-level than previously imagined. And as such, these politicians are becoming the mini-presidents they ought to be. The more political stature we accord to governors, the better Kenya will be governed. In a few instances devolution is actually delivering results. Smart governors have improved agricultural productivity in their counties, water provision, funded schools and provided bursaries, and improved roads. And as long as the political accountability chain keeps working, it is only going to get better. There is still a lot more to be done to make devolution work. For one, we need to think seriously about how to improve the quality of human capital in county governments – from the MCAs to county executives.

In the same vein, as a country we need to invest in the development of public service in the counties. The more voters view county governments as effective, the more they will invest in monitoring local-level politicians. Success at the county level will breed success at the national level. Which brings back to the primaries. The outcomes of gubernatorial elections are a valuable teachable moment for voters. Elected officials are being shown to be servants of the people. And the appetite for more accountable leadership at the county level will soon percolate to the national level.

Is this too a sanguine view? Perhaps. But even though the devolution experiment may yet fail, it also has the potential to entrench the idea of accountable public service in Kenya. It is demystifying political leadership. And in so doing it is increasingly putting mwananchi in charge. For a long time I thought that Kenyan voters would need significant investments before they internalised the logic of devolution. But increasingly I am convinced that it is our leaders who are yet to catch up to the new reality of people power in the grassroots.

The writers is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University.

Twitter: @kopalo