Counties should brace for tough times ahead

 

Everyone in Kenya today agrees that devolution is the best thing to have happened since independence in 1963. In 2013 there was euphoria and politicians campaigning for county offices impressed upon the electorate that devolution held the answer to all their problems. This, of course, significantly raised expectations.

Since 2013, a lot has happened in counties. An unprecedented level of development has been witnessed and many people even wish devolution was started at the inception of republic in 1963. May be by now we would have been much more developed, they say. The most tangible effect of devolution, other than development programmes undertaken by the counties, is the impact the devolved funds have on the local economy.

The shared revenue had a levelling effect: a middle-class economy was created in most of the counties.

This increased the purchasing power of the people in the counties. People who had given up on life, specially in the formerly NEP region were filled with great hopes. Nobody wanted to be left out of the bonanza; even grandmothers registered companies, hoping to secure a tender here and there to supply the counties or do some repair work in depleted county buildings.

Many professionals landed well-paying jobs at the counties and besides being driven in sleek cars, put up beautiful maisonettes, creating a Muthaiga-like aura in what were hitherto sleepy rural villages, albeit sometimes unplanned. In short, devolution has shaped the perception for most people in rural Kenya. It has restored lost hope.

Assuming that devolution had not started in 2013, I don’t know how Kenya would look like today? With so many people absorbed into the counties, the absence of devolution, I believe, we would be staring at a catastrophy; a mad rush for resources at the centre.

Despite the teething problems, those in leadership in the first devolved governments have had a smooth time. Money flowed uninterrupted. Plans were made and implemented. Sadly, it looks as though the money taps have been turned off. |

Walk into any county facility and the forlorn faces that great are in contrast with the cheers of the first administrations. Here’s why; two weeks ago, the Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich dropped a bomb shell. Counties must start tightening their belts, he said. The national government intends to amend The Division of Revenue Act and reduce the county budgets by Sh18 billion.

Though other governmental agencies are to face similar cuts, the most shocking is the reduction of county allocations. The CS even admitted that the government is broke, even though he retracted this statement afterwards. The damage had already been done.

The Council of Governors released a press statement, but probably most Kenyans missed it. Nobody seems to care about the fact that the president, in his joint statement with Raila Odinga titled, ‘Building Bridges to a New Kenyan Nation’, murmured something very odd, which should worry everyone.

Is devolution a burden?

Under one paragraph in that document titled ‘devolution’, the President and Mr Odinga both seem to agree that devolution now is a burden. “Economically,” the President said, “the viability of the counties is a matter of concern”.

The words above need serious reckoning by the county leaderships. Kenya is going through a difficult time, partly, as result of the prolonged period of political uncertainty. The reconciliation of Raila Odinga and Uhuru Kenyatta has once again given Kenyans hope.

We will come across economic challenges as the President admitted, but when the country is united, these challenges will negligible. The counties though must start finding their own sources of revenue. And the earlier, the better.

The county governments in the North have joined hands under the Frontier Counties Development Council (FCDC). No doubt, this economic block has the potential to develop the economies of these counties and turn around the region. The President again makes a reference to these regional blocks like FCDC as the new way of giving counties a better viability. Whichever way the counties leadership looks at this new development, there are few choices left. In the end, the whole country must agree on how to generate wealth.

The President’s Big Four agenda are relevant to the counties as well, but investments should not be expected from the National Government resources alone.

The partnership with the private sector in some of the development programmes will give the counties a boost in generating revenue. I see opportunities in the agricultural and livestock sector.

The tourism and mining sector are also a potential, ready to be tapped into. Finally, we must fight corruption at all costs, if not, all what we do will be akin to collecting water from the river using a ciondo.

Mr Guleid is a Governance Consultant