Laws on devolution will be reduced to four

Kenya’s focus is shifting to the actualisation of devolution as the clock ticks towards next year’s General Election.

Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, who is also the Local Government minister, has said at least four laws, down from the proposed 13, are to be enacted to make devolution work.

An international conference held at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre this week also called for a reduction in the number of laws.

The Task Force on Devolved Government had identified 13 new laws required to be passed by Parliament ahead of the 2012 General Election.

They included the Devolution Bill, the Transition Bill, Transfer of Assets and Liabilities Bill, Devolved Government Elections Bill, County Public Financial Management Bill, Inter Governmental Fiscal Management Bill and Intergovernmental Relations Bill.

Others were the County Development Planning and Facilitation Bill, County Public Service Commission Bill, County Leadership, Ethics and Integrity Bill, County Systems Bill, County Government Structures Bill and Minorities and Marginalised Groups Bill.

But in an interview with the Saturday Nation, Mr Mudavadi said the Bills will be merged to avoid confusion.

“Laws on urban areas and cities have to be finalised by the end of August,” he said.

Mr Mudavadi said the conference that ended on Thursday was the last public activity in the process of formulating a national policy to guide devolution in Kenya.

The final report of the taskforce led by Mr Mutakha Kangu is to spell out qualifications for those wishing to be governors.

“We are likely to recommend a person who is well educated and with managerial skills and who can supervise an institution. Some say he or she should have a university degree,” Mr Mudavadi said in his Jogoo House office.

County resources will be distributed as laid out in the Constitution, he said, so the choice of leadership will be crucial in determining if a region develops or stagnates.

“Locals should avoid electing mediocre leadership based on ignorance, bribery and clannism. They should look at talent and vision.”

The Local Government minister said Kenyans do not want devolution that is a mere reorganisation of government departments “but want real devolution of power and resources”.

“Kenyans don’t want parallel governments either. They want two tiers; the county and the national government. They don’t want the county being undermined by the national government,” Mr Mudavadi said.

To avoid parallel governments, there are suggestions that chiefs become officers of county governments and the governor be a link between the county and national governments.

There should be a transitional authority to guide devolution, Mr Mudavadi said, as assets and liabilities have to be identified and apportioned appropriately.

The final report from the task force will also determine whether the handling of the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) should remain under MPs or be channelled through the county government.

Already, Finance minister Uhuru Kenyatta has said some of the services offered under the CDF will be transferred to the county governments.

The role of MPs has also changed under the new Constitution.

Mr Kangu’s team will also state how the Local Authorities Transfer Fund should be managed and whether the fund and CDF should be separate from the 15 per cent of the national budget that will go to the counties.

On security, Mr Mudavadi said there are proposals that there should be security committees at the county level to be chaired by a governor although the security bosses would report to the Inspector General of Police.

Another challenge that needs to be addressed, Mr Mudavadi said is whether cities with elected governors should also have mayors elected by the people.

But he concurred that the biggest challenge is that not all counties have adequate human resources.