Devolution brings hope to counties

Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga almost shed tears during the second annual conference on devolution. 

His speech was directed at President Uhuru Kenyatta who was seated barely four metres away. 

Mr Odinga was recounting the experience of the Kisumu mother whose daughter was killed in the Garissa terrorist attack after waiting for help for nearly seven hours. The Second Year Education student was shot as her father listened on the mobile phone. 

The Opposition leader cited the student’s killing to demonstrate failure by the President’s security teams to protect and save lives.  Mr Odinga also revealed that he called the President to express his solidarity with him after the attack that left 148 people dead.

“Where was the help? Mr President, your people are letting you down. You must crack the whip,” an emotional Odinga told the President.

President Kenyatta, who spoke later, did not respond to Mr Odinga’s statement. 

Security is a function of the national government but it dominated discussions during the three-day conference to take stock of devolution two years after its inception.

The overriding argument was that though a national government function, some elements of security should be devolved.

Governors and some senators led by Yusuf Haji (Garissa), strongly believe that county governments can play a critical role in supporting the national government to secure Kenya.

The governors are particularly hostile to suggestion that they could misuse security agencies for political reasons.

Their argument revolves around the responsibilities assigned to county governments, which they say will be impossible to implement without security.

Most of our roles are implementation. You cannot develop a county an insecure environment. The attacks in northern Kenya have disrupted key sectors such as education and health,” said Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi.

According to Mr Abdullahi, the Constitution allows the transfer of a responsibility to another government if the latter can execute it better in the spirit of cooperation.

And there was almost consensus amongst governors that though the 2010 Constitution allowed consultation and cooperation between the two levels of government, the national government was reluctant to engage the sub-nationals.

The result is an arrangement in which the national government perceives itself as the prefect, and Big Brother, according to Siaya Governor Cornel Rasanga. There is mutual suspicion and the national government comes out as a reluctant partner. 

The governors proposed that Administration Police be placed under county governments.

They asked for amendments to the proposed County Policing Authorities to be chaired by governors.

CAESARIAN DELIVERY IN MANDERA

Tana River Governor Hussein Dado, Chairman of the Council of Governors Committee on Security, said their role in ensuring the safety of Kenyans could not be overstated.

“We need the AP under the governors and we can assure you that 70 per cent of the problems of insecurity in the counties would be solved,” he said.

Listening to delegates from across the country, devolution is a story of hope, rebirth, transformation and resolute optimism amidst challenges. It is the story of the first caesarian delivery in Mandera. The first inch of tarmac in Garissa. New boreholes in Turkana. New roads where none existed in Vihiga. The first mortuary in West Pokot. An avocado factory in Kisii.

Tapped water in Bungoma. Fertiliser for farmers in Busia and Kakamega. Cheaper roads in Meru and Machakos. Drums at Nairobi roundabouts and new power brokers called members of county assembly.  

The activities of county governments raise the enduring question on what the national government was doing for 50 years.

The devolution system, which sought to disperse resources from the centre, is touted as the single most transformative feature of the 2010 Constitution. 
County government are struggling to address gaps and development challenges created by the national government since independence.   

“Devolution is like independence to us. We are starting from scratch, filling the gap that was not addressed by national governments for more than 50 years. There was a deliberate decision not to develop certain areas,” says Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin.

But there are challenges. There is the question of a weak Senate— “the guardian angel of devolution”, which many experts reckon has not  been effective in supporting county government by passing laws necessary laws, especially on sharing of resources, taxation and the role of the devolved units in the management of game and national parks. The other is the sharing of revenue between the national and county governments.

The governors argue that functions assigned to them are largely implementation while the national government handles security, roads, a huge portion of education and policy.

The county government handle agriculture, rural roads, health, early childhood education, trade and industrialisation, polytechnics, water and sports.
“We don’t understand why the national government, which deals with policy, should retain 80 per cent of the national revenue. Money should follow the devolved functions,” said Mr Abdullahi.  

Corruption is one of the biggest threat to devolution, with some county treasuries being turned into “feeding troughs” for officials.

President Kenyatta, who recently directed Cabinet secretaries and parastatal chiefs to step aside to pave way for investigations into corruption allegations against them, warned governors against entrenching corruption in counties.