Devolution is vehicle for development not division

Aden Duale

This is the fourth year since Kenyans went to the ballot and picked a new set of leaders for counties, ushering in a new era in the country’s administration in the spirit of devolution.

Sadly, what Kenyans have seen is largely the installation of imperial monsters out to enrich themselves from a system meant to empower the common man.

It is a statement of fact to say that corruption is reigning supreme in counties with about 30 out of the 47 governors being investigated for misuse of public funds or are in the dock over cases of pilferage.

Instead of helping devolution take root being the pioneer county chiefs, governors are more concerned about wresting more functions from the national government yet they have failed to efficiently discharge those already given to them. The drive here is appetite to control a fatter purse and not provide service to the people.

Kenyans wanted devolution to fast-track development and not to balkanise this country into islands of fiefdoms. It is meant to ensure equitable distribution of resources and place the common man at the heart of formulation of policies and decision making.

The centralised system had evidently become woefully discriminatory in distributing national resources to all corners of the country. This led to lopsided development with some parts of this country being entirely marginalised. Since the inception of devolution, this trend is being gradually reversed and indeed some remarkable strides have been made in ensuring equal distribution of resources.

However, looking at what some governors are up to, it is quite clear that we have a long way before Kenyans can pluck ripe fruits of this form of government.

Some of them even seem to think that we now have two countries; one governed by the President, his deputy and the Jubilee governors, and the other under CORD governors under the command of the CORD co-principals.

In case it has escaped the minds of some governors, let me remind them that in 2013, Kenyans voted for Jubilee led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto. Jubilee won on the strength of its manifesto that promised to radically change the way development and public affairs are conducted in this country.

CORD lost the election and it cannot purport to claim that it is running a section of this country.

CORD and its leadership must give room for Jubilee to work with all the governors in implementing the policies that won the heart and minds of Kenyans.

Jubilee has tried to devise ways to work seamlessly with all governors regardless of party affiliations. Uhuru’s government promised to transform every corner of this country; it does not discriminate on the basis of electoral choices of the people from any region.

Neither does Jubilee apportion development based on ethnicity; it is purely guided by the desire to transform the entire country. Nothing demonstrates this more than the President’s current whirlwind tour of all parts of the country. Unfortunately some divisive elements who flourish on the politics of ethnicity have zoned this country into a dichotomy of government and opposition zones.

A misguided perception has been created that some regions are in government while others are outside it; that some ethnic groups are eating the national cake to their fill while others are salivating outside as they wait in the blistering cold for their turn at the high table. For this group of politicians, it hurts them when they see the President being received warmly from wherever he goes.

It is gratifying that all Kenyans are beginning to unreservedly respect the President and the presidency. This is the route that we should embark on if we are to consolidate the gains we have made towards a peaceful and cohesive nation.

It is unfortunate that a governor has gone to the extent of making an incredible suggestion that CORD governors ought to remove the President’s portrait and replace it with that of Raila Odinga. Nothing can be more outlandish than this.