Devolution not mere walk in the park, give it time

By Ann Waiguru

Kenya: We are undergoing a transformation of our system of government, under a new Constitution — the fruit of several decades of effort.

The chief transition is the move from a centralised to a devolved government. The argument is that it brings public services closer to the people, who have more opportunities to participate in decision-making processes than they would otherwise do under a central system. This participation in turn contributes to improved accountability and transparency because the people can scrutinise devolved governance structures more closely.

In our context, devolution is rooted in our ethnically fractured politics. A system where a winner-takes-all and where ethnic divisions are deeply embedded, is inherently unstable.

Under this scenario, elections do not resolve deep-seated differences and therefore devolution provides a political instrument for pre-empting and managing simmering conflicts.

Moreover, devolved units of government provide a mechanism for including minorities in the broader tent of government. Kenya therefore turned to devolution to broaden political inclusion, smoothen the path of transition and mitigate against the winner-takes-all model. Under this scheme for example, budgetary allocation is guaranteed to all counties irrespective of who won the political contest in those counties.

But public concern is emerging. Doubt is being raised as to whether investment in devolution will yield a suitable dividend. As a corollary to this doubt, is a rising unease regarding the accountability framework for county governments.

The County Government Budget Implementation Review for the first half of the financial year 2013/14 released by the Controller of Budget for example, raised issues of low absorption of resources set for development, escalating wage bills and poor public finance management capabilities at the County level.

The Auditor General has also highlighted fiduciary risks in the management of County resources.

At the national level, we have seen rifts between the Senate and the National Assembly and between the Senate and County Governors. County Executive Committees in a number of counties have differed with their County Assemblies. Impeachments and threats of impeachment are numerous. Health personnel downed their tools protesting against the transfer of health functions to the counties.

Perhaps taking cue from this disquiet, the National Assembly recently sanctioned a socio-economic audit of the Constitution, to assess the impact of the implementation of the Constitution on the national economy.

Taken together, all these elements may suggest serious issues of concern with regard to the health of devolution. However, it is important for Kenyans to honestly interrogate this view for its validity.

The shift from the centralised to the devolved system of governance is sometimes not adequately appreciated in terms of sheer scope and depth of change.

The fact we have 47 functioning County Governments, established in a seamless manner and with little disruption to service delivery, is an accomplishment we should be proud of as a nation.

The legal framework in support of devolution is largely in place. A National Capacity Building Framework for County Governments is under implementation to ensure County Governments receive adequate support and training to more effectively discharge their mandate.

Functions and budgets have been transferred. The national government’s allocation of 32 per cent of revenue to counties in the current financial year is more than double the constitutional minimum of 15 per cent.

County Integrated Development Plans (CIDPs) were developed through rigorous consultative processes, and aligned to the national development policies as contained in the Second Medium Term Plan of Vision 2030.

Payrolls have been transferred and guidelines to manage human resources have been adopted to ease the anxiety of personnel during this transition period.

Institutions to manage intergovernmental relations have also been established, and a framework for robust consultations is in place. The hardware of devolution has been built. It is now up to the creativity and genius of citizens residing in each county to identify the issues and means of engagement to make this hardware work for therm.

The justification for devolution remains true today as it did on August 27, 2010. The tests facing us were anticipated and we can expect even more. The journey was never for the faint-hearted. In life, challenges are guaranteed but defeat is elective. Let us give devolution time to work after all what other choice do we have?

Ms Waiguru is the Cabinet Secretary For Devolution and Planning