County governments undermining devolution

NAIROBI: The scandal of Nandi Governor Cleophas Lagat attending the launch of a ghost project illustrates how counties flout devolution laws.

According to The Standard of January 28, 2016, Governor Lagat suffered the humiliation when he went to launch Chemundu Water Tank. He was to launch a tank was built by a contractor at a cost of Sh4.5 million, only to learn that it was a water reservoir erected in 1975.

This came in the same week Bomet County Governor Isaac Ruto appeared before a Senate committee to answer accountability-related questions. Bomet residents claim he awarded lucrative tenders to his relatives. Devolution is the highest form of decentralisation that transfers resources, functions and power to make decisions from the centre to sub-national units.

In Kenya, the first level of devolution is the county, which breaks down to sub-counties and wards, with the County governments mandated under the County Government Act, 2012 to further decentralise their services to villages, which are overseen by village administrators on behalf of the elected governor. Article one of the Constitution provides that the sovereign power of the Republic vests in the people.

It goes further to say the people can exercise their power either directly or through “their democratically elected representatives”. The provision for recall of non-performing elected leaders is based on this fundamental notion of sovereignty. The objects of devolution are explicitly outlined in Chapter Eleven of the Constitution.

Top on the list is to promote democratic and accountable exercise of power. Devolution also aims to give powers of self-governance to the people and enhance their participation in decision-making on matters affecting them.
The role of elected leaders is to facilitate the realisation of these noble objectives.

But as the incident in Nandi county indicates, these objects may be lofty ideals that make only good reading. Not that the governors and the members of county assemblies are not guided on how to run the county governments in a manner consistent with the letter and spirit of the Constitution.

Sections 87 of the County Government Act is clear on the principles of citizen participation in the operations of county governments, requiring these devolved units to respect citizens' right to access to timely information, data, documents and other information relevant to policy formulation and implementation.

This section also calls on county governments to strike a reasonable balance in the roles and obligations of county governments and non-State actors in decision-making processes.

Put differently, the civil society, religious institutions and the business community in every county have a role and a right to participate in county governance processes, including policy formulation and implementation. In section 88 of the law, citizens are given an unequivocal right to petition elected and appointed county government leaders and challenge decisions they make.

It is against this backdrop that in February 2015, Nandi County Civil Society Forum and the National Chamber of Commerce and Industry – Nandi Chapter petitioned the county government and the assembly, raising a raft of concerns including the failure of the county government to form the County Budget and Economic Forum as required under the Public Finance Management Act, another devolution law that county governments violate with impunity.

They also had concerns about the danger posed by Chepsui Bridge, Kapsiywo-Kapsisywa Bridge, Kapsarur-Samoo Bridge, Temso Water Project and the now controversial Chemundu Water Project.

As a matter of fact, these two organisations had written 51 petitions to the county government, all of which were ignored. With leaders like these, the objects of devolution may not be achieved. This worrying situation calls on citizens, through their organised groups, to remain vigilant and hold the devolved units to account. Only then can they reap the fruits and promise of devolution.