Namwamba: Stop crying wolf... just make devolution work

By Ababu Namwamba

The Boy who Cried Wolf” is a Greek fable of a shepherd boy who tricks nearby villagers into thinking a wolf is attacking his flock.  He repeats this so many times that when the sheep are actually confronted by a wolf, the villagers do not believe his cries for help and the flock is destroyed. Applying the moral of this story to political alarmism, Samuel Croxal asks: “When we are alarmed with imaginary dangers in respect of the public, till the cry grows quite stale and threadbare, how can it be expected we should know when to guard ourselves against real ones?”

Political alarmism and fear mongering have brewed a potent cocktail that Kenyans seem to find simply irresistible. And the quintessential Kenyan politician understands this intimately, deftly toying with the public psyche through illusions of “communal” threats. It is this siege-mentality that motivates whole communities to rally around common criminals, who thieve from the public in the knowledge that when nabbed, just run to your ethnic cocoon and scream “heeeelp, they want to finish us”!

I am alarmed that this malaise is swiftly enveloping devolution. Whether in a village funeral in Loitoktok or in some nondescript rally in Todonyang, the most fashionable route to the headlines now is to scream ‘wolf’ about devolution. Just claim a heavily armed alien armada has left Pluto, destination Kenya, mission to annihilate everything devolution...and voila! You are a decorated devolution war hero!

“Devolution sabotage” is now the political camouflage of choice. Are you a Senator and you want a million signatures to tweek the Constitution and pamper yourself with superior powers? Easy, just say the National Assembly is out to finish devolution! Are you a Governor who craves a monster limo with all imperial trappings? Rahisi sana, simply rant that the national government is squeezing life out of counties! Any Jubilee or CORD hawk itching to score some cheap political point? Just scream the rival coalition is anti-devolution! Tragically, this shadow boxing is sending everyone into panic and masking the real issues. At the government co-ordinating summit last Wednesday, President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered immediate transfer of all devolved functions to counties by July 1. This is reckless panic that ignores fundamental basics.

Article 15 of Schedule 4 to Constitution enacts a phased transfer of functions over a period of three years from the date of the first election under the Constitution. The Transition to Devolved Government Act, 2012 establishes criteria to be met before particular functions are devolved, to ensure that county governments are not loaded functions they cannot perform.

The President has also seemed rather woozy over the Sh210 billion budget for the counties. Why, when this is more than double the 15 per cent threshold decreed by the Constitution, and especially in the absence of demonstrated capacity to absorb more funds in a planned, prudent and accountable manner? The County Governments Financial Management Act, 2011 requires the governor to set priorities that guide the budget process and to determine how the integrated development plan shapes the budget. How many governors have carefully sieved budgetary plans as required by law?

Indeed, the whole debate over an additional Sh48 billion has sounded every inch “penny-wise, pound-foolish”. That amount translates to roughly Sh1 billion per county. Are we saying county governments have no fiscal wherewithal to handle any budget deficits through austerity measures in similar manner as we demand of the national government? 

We must pay keen attention to county governments and demand accountability. In Kisumu, Governor Jack Ranguma is reportedly domiciled in a hotel room that is gobbling Sh12,000 a night. He has also allocated Sh72 million to purchase luxury cars. Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka wants to spend Sh50 million “to fight pornography!” In Kiambu, Speaker Nick Ndichu faces the sack for pandering to the whims of Governor William Kabogo and travelling to Australia irregularly. Nakuru Governor Kinuthia Mbugua is under fire from Speaker Susan Kihika for swearing in nine executives after the County Assembly had rejected them. Are counties equipped to address such excesses? Are the oversight organs prepared for the audit reports the Auditor-General will soon prepare on each county?

We all want devolution to work. But the devolution we carefully crafted in the Constitution is not about ego-titles, flashy-flags and primitive accumulation of toys of power. Devolution is about opening doors of opportunity for ordinary Kenyans to lead a better life within their own localities. The ultimate custodian of devolution is the Constitution and the Supreme Court, not politicians whose primary motivation is survival. Let us make the real devolution work and stop wasting time crying wolf!