Counties must be more innovative for devolution model to work

Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa readies to launch the Kenya Devolution Support Programme during the fifth annual Devolution Conference at Kakamega High School on April 24, 2018. PHOTO | ONDARI OGEGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Counties can invest in affordable housing in the major urban centres to improve staff retention.
  • Counties also need to provide an enabling environment for investors to devolve some of their investments into the region.

County and national government leaders gathered in Kakamega for the fifth annual Devolution Conference this week appear more united than ever in their resolve to make devolution work for the people.

For five years, the people have waited for the results promised by the 2010 Constitution.

Some counties have made good progress in delivering services closer to the people but others have little to show for the resources they have received and the goodwill that the governors, senators and members of the county assembly enjoy from their citizens.

The volume of graft cases before the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and queries by the Auditor-General point to a systemic failure on how some counties spend public funds.

REVENUE

The latest report by the Commission on Revenue Allocation shows that the counties have had at their disposal some Sh1.5 trillion, 84 per cent drawn from the national government equitable share transfers and conditional grants.

The balance of 16 per cent is revenues that they have generated internally.

Here’s the first major problem. Counties are so dependent on the national government that they literally shutdown when the funds transfers are delayed.

They need to fix this weakness by mapping revenue sources and strengthening their governance and oversight — to ensure collections flow to the county treasury instead of ending up in the pockets and briefcases of wily county officials and cartels.

President Uhuru Kenyatta has urged the counties to support his ambitious ‘Big Four’ agenda.

QUALITY OF LIFE

The counties are engaged in many activities that can be re-engineered and shaped towards realising the development plan.

For example, deepening agriculture and livestock extension services would increase food security.

The challenge for counties is to stop the wasteful duplication of resources that is common, where the national and county governments implement similar projects in the same place.

Counties need to be innovative; instead of spending time and resources building more hospitals and clinics, for instance, they should implement programmes to improve the quality of lives of their people.

Providing clean water and sanitation is a more sensible approach to reducing the number of people falling sick than expanding health facilities in anticipation of patients.

Similarly, supporting pregnant mothers with knowledge and vital nutrients would ensure that they deliver healthy babies, who should be nurtured into a healthy lifestyle through proper breastfeeding and nutritional supplements.

That would considerably reduce the common preventable problems affecting mothers and children, including malnutrition and mortality.

The counties have another peculiar operational issue. Some governors and senior staff aren’t residents in the counties they serve.

HOUSING

They justify heavy commuting costs or long stays in plush hotels, claiming there isn’t suitable housing.

Counties can invest in affordable housing in the major urban centres to improve staff retention.

They should plug into the housing development partnership model that the government is underwriting.

Counties also need to provide an enabling environment for investors to devolve some of their investments into the region rather than remain concentrated in the big cities.

Completing the regional markets that have stalled in many counties would enhance commercial agriculture and encourage food processing industries.

This would reduce post-harvest losses and increase farmers’ incomes.

Implementing their second County Integrated Development Plans in time and within budget, with greater transparency and accountability, would be a significant step in expanding opportunities for robust economic growth and shared prosperity across all the 47 counties.

Mr Warutere is a director of Mashariki Communications Ltd. [email protected]