Devolution might be the saviour we need

That Kenya is a dysfunctional state is a fact that has long been accepted by its citizens.

To the extent that the government is viewed suspiciously and its measures taken with a pinch of salt.

The Covid-19 pandemic has brought this to the forefront quite evidently, with people even at first doubting if the cases were for real to hoping that the money the government is allocating will not be stolen, to predicting, quite correctly, that the police would use the curfew as an excuse to clobber citizens.

And as the president and Cabinet secretary for Health become a permanent fixture on our television screens, it still will be a miracle should this government manage to handle this pandemic well.

In fact, it will be the first thing that the Jubilee government has handled well since it took power in 2013.

During such times when other nations are putting aside their differences to work out how to safely get through this pandemic, Kenyans are depending on faith, hope and other abstract things to survive.

It is at this point of the pandemic that Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho has come to the spotlight.

DEVOLVE SERVICES

He has assured his residents of food in case of a lockdown, and, contrary to the empty promises the national government loves giving, Mombasa residents have actually reported being visited by county officials in preparation for the food disbursement.

On top of that, the governor has acquired ventilators for use at Coast General Hospital.

And given that health is a devolved function, one then wonders why most county governments have been silent while the national government takes charge.

Half of the governors and senators seem to have taken the social distance advice quite seriously and have quarantined themselves in silence.

For the other half, a majority are as clueless as the national government, with senators such as Mutula Kilonzo giving advice to the government on Twitter as if he is not a part of the same government; while governors such as Alfred Mutua keep giving roadside declarations such as banning boda-bodas.

It is under these circumstances that we remember that part of the reason Kenyans overwhelmingly voted in for the 2010 Constitution was because devolution entails bringing services closer to the people.

SAVIOUR

But given that the Jubilee government has consistently undermined devolution, funding it the bare minimum, one is not surprised that most counties barely have hospitals, leave alone a disaster mitigation plan or the funds for it, anyway.

And this should serve as a wake-up call for us Kenyans. That the days when the president knew what he was doing started and ended with Kibaki.

As for now, it isn't the man at State House who will save us, but the man at the county headquarters.

And maybe, taking Hassan Joho as an example, we will realise that as much as talks of elections centre on the president, handshakes and half-loaves of bread, maybe the conversation should shift to who will be in charge of us when catastrophe strikes, such as during this Covid-19 pandemic.

After all, devolution may be the ignored and beaten down saviour that this country needs.

Ms Mwende comments on social issues