Devolution is the answer to ending marginalisation, not secession

While the reasons behind the calls for secession necessitate an objective approach in solving them, marginalization will only end if county governments deliver as expected.

Homa Bay Town MP Peter Kaluma has drafted a Bill that seeks to split the country into two. He wants 40 out of the 47 counties to secede and form the People’s Republic of Kenya, leaving only seven counties; Nyeri, Murang’a, Kiambu, Kirinyaga, Nyandarua, Embu and Tharaka Nithi to form the Central Republic of Kenya.

Some of his arguments are that President Kenyatta’s government has rigged elections, emasculated Parliament, commissions and independent offices and also run a systemic and systematic suppression of the other groups and communities.

And that it has also starved devolution of the growth it needs by retaining most of the funds in Nairobi.

It will be naïve to brush off Mr Kaluma’s assertions but blanket castigation of the National Government when county governments including his own, are not doing any better is a non-starter for secession efforts.

Unaccounted expenditure

Auditor General Edward Ouko’s latest report exposed unverified expenditure running into billions of shillings across the country. For example, Homa Bay County was unable to explain how it spent over Sh825 million during the 2015/2016 financial year. Busia County assembly paid five different firms Sh10.7 million for public sensitisation exercise on five similar Bills.

In Nyeri County, the report revealed that over Sh666 million could not be accounted for due to an unexplained variance between the money released by Treasury and funds spent on development and recurrent expenditure. Muranga County spent Sh56 million for the rehabilitation programme for alcoholics and drug abuse without any supporting documentation.

Political party nominations precede General Elections and they too have always been marred with cases of bribery, rigging and other electoral offences. When we cannot hold transparent nominations, how can we purport to expect transparency during the elections proper when the candidates themselves meandered their ways into the ballot?

As a matter of fact, election dispute cases are going on across the country with the win of Webuye West MP Dan Wanyama already declared null and void and I am confident others will follow.

Extravagant trips

Instead of prudently utilizing funds, Members of County Assemblies have been on a spending spree with questionable expensive trips both locally and abroad. Lamu County Assembly for example used Sh22 million to fly MCAs and assembly staff for training abroad, which could have been handled locally.

Kiambu County Assembly spent over Sh35 million on allowances for MCAs and assembly staff during three workshops without any justification. In Kisumu, 29 MCAs and assembly staff travelled to Kampala for a meeting where Sh10 million was incurred.

While tribalism has been a major issue in public positions in the National Government, nepotism and other forms of favouritism have not left our county governments. Getting a job or a tender with a county government is not necessarily based on competence but on who you know in the public service board or the tender committee.

Due to this blatant disregard of the law, incompetent people are earning salaries for jobs they don’t qualify for and on the other hand, tenderers minting millions from county coffers through shoddy jobs and ghost projects.

Way forward

These examples are a clear manifestation that the challenges of governance in the country do not just affect those within the "People’s Republic of Kenya" but also in the "Central Republic" as geographically laid out by Mr Kaluma. The same narrative is replicated in all the 47 counties. If anything, it appears as if we have devolved wastage of public resources, institutionalised corruption and extended more space for impunity.

Some may argue that counties are deprived of finances and that is why they are not able to perform but even the Holy Book says that those who cannot be trusted with little cannot be trusted with much. Before we entertain a debate on increasing county allocations, let us seekaccountability with the current percentage wired to our counties.

Mr Marenya is a Communication Consultant

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