Counties are getting down to business discussing budgets. This is perhaps the biggest signal that devolution — in all its meaning and purposes — is gradually taking root.
There is growing excitement that the politics of power and economics are now finding local expression as the county leadership draws from local environments to define priorities.
This, by and large, is the limited definition of devolution — one of equitably sharing resources and power. This leaves devolution, as a concept of governance, half understood.
In fact, this view assumes that the process of devolving power and resources will be easy and clear cut.
What is not is reasonably audible in the various count budgets, however, is the fact that devolution also includes responsibilities — that people will have to pay for services.
What has come through the various budgets is the tendency to devolve appetite for the cake more than drive to bake the same.
The allocations, more or less, reflect the old past that our national Government has been trying to escape for a long time — that of luxury, ostentation and absolute lack of priority.
Right from Mombasa to Busia, North Eastern to Namanga, counties have made unusual, even obscene allocations to items that have been booby traps of corruption in the past at the national level.
Some of the items that have chalked up massive allocations include workshops and seminars, housing for county governors and transport.
While it would appear that priorities vary from one county to another, the disparity in allocations to certain items that ought to be near standard across counties is cause for concern and one that calls for the capping of just how much certain non-core items can be allocated.
Key to devolution
Lessons from the CDF, which included the capping of expenditures on certain items, should inform policy on county budgeting.
While autonomy is key to devolution, the same must not be invoked to misallocate and plunder public resources.
Counties chief executives must therefore take the challenge beyond sharing booty from the national Government.
They should exercise restraint, financial discipline and do that which guarantees the greatest good for the greatest number.
Counties must run budgets they can fund from own sources — at least in the long term.
This is the essence of leadership!
But what is most crucial about these budgets is that they should not just reflect priorities but also potential as well as environment.
Conceivably, the budgets should leverage the new Constitution to commodify our cultures into money spinning articles.
This way, people are drafted into economy building — almost effortlessly.
Short-term planning therefore must take into account the need to develop these long-term revenue sources — from tapping into culture, people’s way of life to harnessing all natural endowments. Anything short of this is a sure highway to receivership.
