Are new county development boards a barrier to, or facilitator of, progress?
President Kenyatta when he signed the Division of Revenue Amendment Bill. Mr Kenyatta Thursday signed into law the Transfer of Prisoners Act. FILE PHOTO |
What you need to know:
- The Constitution establishes county assemblies with the legislative authority and county executive committees to perform the functions as outlined in the Fourth Schedule.
- Therefore, granting senators the role of chairing development boards will be tantamount to undermining devolution altogether.
There is a raging debate on the motive and objectives of the recent establishment of county development boards.
The main function of the boards is as a forum for consultation between the national and county governments at the county level.
The boards will be responsible for coordinating and harmonisation of county development plans and projects.
To further this objective, they will consider and adopt county-integrated development plans and annual budgets before they are tabled in the assemblies for approval.
The board, to be chaired by the senator, consists of the woman representative, MPs, the governor, deputy governor, Speaker of the county assembly, a representative of the National Government, majority and minority leaders in the county assembly, the chairpersons of the county budget and finance committees respectively, and the chairperson of the county Public Service Board.
However, some people have questioned the rationale for establishing these boards. They wonder whether the boards will harmonise development or serve as a political tool for clipping the wings of governors and elected officials in the counties.
Perhaps it will be prudent to analyse the merits and demerits of these boards.
OVERLAPS AND DUPLICATION
First, there have been policy discussions on the need to harmonise decentralised funds, particularly those transferred from the National Government to the counties.
In the recent past, we have witnessed a proliferation of devolved funds meant to accelerate development and improve service delivery.
They include the Constituency Development Fund, the Local Authority Transfer Fund, the Water Services Trust Fund, the Youth Enterprise Development Fund, the Women’s Enterprise Fund and the Uwezo Fund.
Without a coordinated approach on how to utilise these funds, there will be overlaps and duplication, which will lead to wastage.
Secondly, the recent reports by the Controller of Budget and the Auditor-General raised a number of systemic problems that must be dealt with for the devolution objectives to be realised.
The reports noted that the challenges range from low absorption of development funds, lack of proper prioritisation and wastage.
These findings, therefore, justify the existence of the county boards to play an oversight role.
Thirdly, good corporate governance demands seamless co-existence between a board of directors or governing council on one hand, and chief executive officers or managing directors on the other.
This arrangement curbs abuse of power and excesses by chief officers. Thus, it is "good governance" practice to establish boards at the county level.
Governors will not be hampered in their executive role as long as they exercise their powers within the dictates of the Constitution.
SETTLE SCORES
On the flipside, there are genuine concerns that the establishment of these boards might undermine devolution in the long run, especially if used to settle political scores.
Its opponents point to the constitutional provisions under chapter 11 on the powers and functions of county governments.
The Constitution establishes county assemblies with the legislative authority and county executive committees to perform the functions as outlined in the Fourth Schedule.
Therefore, granting senators the role of chairing development boards will be tantamount to undermining devolution altogether.
Also, this is seen by others as a scheme to control the billions of shillings annually allocated to the counties.
This month, the President signed into law the Division of Revenue Bill of 2014, which saw county governments receiving Sh226.7 billion for the 2014-15 financial year, a significant improvement from last year’s Sh190 billion as national sharable revenue and Sh20 billion as conditional grants.
Coupled with this development, the public has witnessed demands for controlling specific funds by MCAs and women’s representatives, similar to the CDF, which is currently under the purview of MPs.
Any discussion and legislation around the County Development Boards should be done in the spirit of furthering the objects of devolution as stipulated in article 174 of the Constitution.
Mr Okundi is the chairman of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya
