Japan offers Kenya counties support in PM’s Africa tour

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reviews a Mozambique honour guard upon his arrival at the airport in Maputo on January 11, 2014. AFP PHOTO/ALEXANDER JOE 

By George Omondi

In Summary

• Tokyo to play a facilitative role in constitutional reforms to ensure its dividends are properly distributed among citizens through good governance.
• Kenya is experimenting with fiscal and political power devolution for the first time since the Constitution introduced the county system in 2010.
• Since assuming office last year, the county leaders have complained of poor funding, low technical capacity and unwillingness by the national government to devolve some roles.

Japan has offered to provide technical and financial assistance to Kenya’s devolved governments even as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe skips Nairobi on his African tour.

Japan’s Ambassador to Kenya Tatsushi Terada said Tokyo would play a facilitative role in constitutional reforms to ensure its dividends are properly distributed among citizens through good governance.

“As Kenya strives to pursue its bold reforms under the 2010 Constitution, including devolution, it is Japan’s humble wish to lend a hand to national as well as county authorities”, Mr Terada said. “One area where Japan may be able to assist Kenya is governance.”

Kenya is experimenting with fiscal and political power devolution for the first time since the Constitution introduced the county system in 2010.

Since assuming office last year, the county leaders have complained of poor funding, low technical capacity and unwillingness by the national government to devolve some roles.

The Constitution guarantees the country’s 47 devolved units only 15 per cent of the domestic revenues but governors have been pushing for at least 50 per cent of tax collections.

Last week, visiting International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde identified proper implementation of devolution, closing infrastructure gaps and regional integration as the three pillars that could lift Kenya to medium income status in sixteen years.

“Devolution can be very attractive but implementing it is very tricky with regard to control and accountability for resources,” Ms Lagarde said. “I went through devolution as a finance minister in France. It must be done transparently with spending needs kept within the available envelope of public resources,” she said.

Done properly, however, the kind of devolution that Kenya is pursuing could bolster social cohesion by increasing accountability in the management of public resources and improving the quality of services delivery, Ms Lagarde said.

READ: IMF chief rules out direct funding deals with counties

On Friday, Mr Abe, accompanied by representatives of private firms, began his three-country tour of Africa with a trip to Cote d’Ivoire, then to Mozambique. He is expected to unveil his policy on Africa at the African Union Headquarters in Addis Ababa tomorrow before returning to Tokyo.

“The main objectives of this visit are to establish stronger partnership with Africa, to promote Japanese investment, and to follow up past promises,” Mr Terada said. Mr Abe is expected to pledge more than $14 billion in aid and trade deals during the trip.

Among the Asian countries, Japan has been a major source of imports (mainly motor vehicles) to Kenya after China and India. In 2012, Kenya imported goods worth Sh63 billion from the Asian country.

In exchange, Japanese bought mainly tea, coffee and horticulture from Kenya, growing to an import bill of Sh2.5 billion in 2012.

The low volume and value of exports to Japan as compared to imports has caused murmurs with Kenya’s Tokyo-based diplomats appealing to Japanese firms to take active part in producing export goods in Kenya.