Culture and heritage are voluntarily upheld by their custodians

What you need to know:

  • It is the narrow streets, elaborately curved doors, inner courtyards and the simplicity of the structures that has earned Lamu a place on the prestigious World Heritage List.

County governments have gained fame for all the wrong reasons. With a few exceptions like Machakos which seems to have a strategic focus and concentrates on what matters, many counties are in the media for incredulity.

The Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) are in the race for the proposer of the most hilarious motions in the county assemblies. In Lamu County, Ms Amina Kale a nominated MCA, wants miniskirts and slit buibuis banned from ever being worn in the County.

Aside from the motion being in contravention of the basic principles of human rights, I believe Ms Kale is doing Lamu County and the Lamu World Heritage Site a great disservice. In spite of its prestigious World Heritage Status, and the fact that Lamu Island is one of the most serene places to be in this country, the county is yet to maximize on the benefits of tourism.

It is most unlikely that a girl bred and brought up in Lamu will strut the streets in a miniskirt. The predominantly Muslim population trains their girls to dress in modest ways right from childhood. It can only be assumed then that the Bill is meant for visitors.

Ordinary Kenyans are under the illusion that members of county assemblies are in the assembly to pass laws that will have positive impact on the lives of local people.  Just how will the miniskirt motion improve the lives of the people of Lamu? The MCA indicated that Lamu is a town that upholds culture and heritage. Culture and heritage are voluntarily upheld by their custodians, not by the imposition of the same culture on visitors.

“LIVING IN ANOTHER PLANET”

It is the narrow streets, elaborately curved doors, inner courtyards and the simplicity of the structures that has earned Lamu a place on the prestigious World Heritage List. The fact that this Swahili settlement has not been abandoned for over 700 years is also worthy of note.

The motions sponsored at the county level are a far cry from what they should be according to the Kenya Economic Report 2013 authored by KIPPRA. Whereas the assumption at national level is that Kenya will take her development agenda to the next level on the structures of devolved government, people on the ground are living in another planet, where miniskirts are the most immediate challenge to growth.

The tragedy of this behaviour by MCAs, not just in Lamu, but also in other counties, is that they do not seem to understand that their role is to make a contribution to the national agenda through the county system. But I can offer them some advice for free. If a motion you propose to take to the County Assembly does not contribute to increased investment, sustainability or competitiveness in your county, then it is not a motion worth wasting the time of the county on.

A county like Lamu has very many other challenges worth debating.  They include improving on investment opportunities in an equitable way for the local people given the LAPSSET project, improvement of education with a focus on the girl child, improving local infrastructure including sanitation, and salvaging the Shela sand dunes which are the source of fresh water for the island, to mention but a few.

MCAs need to realize that county system is self-governing. In future, claiming that our counties were forgotten or marginalizerd by the national government or marginalized will be completely out of fashion.

Twitter: @muthonithangwa