Why gender team wants some counties renamed

National Gender and Equality Commission Commissioner Priscilla Nyokabi at a past function. [File, Standard]

The National Gender and Equality Commission (NGEC) now wants counties with tribal names renamed in a bid to achieve the principles of equality and inclusion.

In a proposal which could inform changes of law in naming of the counties, the commission wants geographical locations considered in naming the counties, as opposed to the coining of the names of the dominant tribes.

The commission blames the tribal naming of devolved units for contributing to the inequalities, which have led to unfair distribution of resources.

Commissioner Priscilla Nyokabi said the commission is already working on the proposal, which will be presented through the constitutional reform process.

Article 56(c) of the County Government Act provides that minority and marginalised groups be accorded special access to employment in the counties.

But according to Nyokabi, the commission’s previous surveys have shown that a number of counties have failed to meet the requirements of the Act, a situation which illegalises the operations of the devolved units.

Despite each county having a dominant group, Nyokabi argues that this should not overrun the fact that all the counties in Kenya have minority groups.

Achieve balance

“If a county is named Kisii, Samburu, Meru, Kirinyaga or any other such names, there is a sense of entitlement by the tribes from which the names are borrowed, making it difficult to achieve balance,” said Nyokabi.

The commissioner was addressing Media Conference on Devolution organised by the Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA) in Nairobi yesterday.

She challenged the media to highlight the inequalities so as to help create a discussion which would ensure full implementation of equality laws.

The two-day conference brought together more than 50 correspondents drawn from across the country and a number of delegates from relevant sectors supporting media.

“We cannot assume that the only inhabitants of Samburu County are people from Samburu tribe, or that all Kisii County residents are from the Kisii tribe. But even with the names alone, the minority groups in these counties even fear seeking positions as the names are already discriminatory,” she said.

According to Nyokabi, NGEC has also proposed that county governments which do not meet the constitutional representation requirements be denied shared revenue from the national government.

She said the commission had met several county public service boards to discuss the employment regimes, but most of them had not complied.

She said the reluctance in implementing this law has seen other laws such as the two-thirds gender rule suffer.

“As a commission we represent the minority and marginalised, and the implementers of these laws should do it for prosperity, as members of their tribes are also seeking employment in other counties,” she said.

Regional journalists

KCA chairman Oloo Janak said there was need for regional journalists to put county authorities on their toes to ensure the laws are implemented.

According to Mr Janak, devolution remains a new concept, and just like other Kenyans, regional journalists require capacity building to enable them report from an informed point of view.

“Many journalists do not understand some of the new laws which came with devolution and this poses a challenge when informing the public effectively,” he said.

He said the association has, however, worked on guide books and has been working with stakeholders to train journalists to improve their reporting in the counties.