Opinion and Analysis
From left: Busia Governor Sospeter Ojaamong, Mr Kaibe Eric and Mr Peter
Wanyama during the first day of the Annual Devolution Conference at
Leisure Lodge Resort in Diani, Kwale County, on Wednesday. Photo/Kevin
Odit
By MARVIN SISSEY
One of my grandfather’s stories that I cherish
is that of the wise old man and the butterfly. The old man was well
known in all the neighbouring hills and the valleys as one whose wisdom
was unrivalled.
His reputation for sobriety and fairness was
celebrated and hence many came to him seeking advice on different
issues. But there was this young cheeky boy who always wondered if he
could manage to call this old man’s bluff by revealing his inadequacies
in the wisdom department.
One day, the boy decided to test him. He
approached him with a live butterfly hidden in his hand. He then posed
the question: “Old wise man, is this butterfly I am holding in my hand
alive or dead?”
If the old man said it was alive, the boy would
crush it. If he said the butterfly was indeed dead, the boy would let
the insect fly away untouched.
Flinching
The old man looked keenly into the young boy’s
eyes, and without even flinching, replied: “Only you, young man, have
the power to determine whether the butterfly is dead or alive.” The
young boy remained there, fazed as his trick fell flat on his face.
I would like us to think of the old man in this
story as Kenya’s new Constitution and the young boy as the executive
and the butterfly as devolution.
It is a widely accepted fact that the gains of the
Constitution have been unrivalled. It is obvious, however, that the
biggest loser since the promulgation of the new governance document has
been the hitherto all powerful presidency. Indeed, this new Constitution
is in many areas synonymous with devolution.
While no one seems to have a clear idea what devolution is, there seem to be an undeniable consensus that it is a good thing.
Thus everyone, even those who it is clear do not
have any good reason to like devolution are shouting on top of their
voices how much they love it.
But like the young cheeky boy, silently, they are
plotting the downfall of devolution so that it can take centre stage
once again. But this would be politically perilous.
So the executive comes up with clear agenda to
pose challenges to this old wise man. Challenges that seem innocent
enough like: “Is this butterfly alive or dead?”, yet they are
challenges that if the old wise man gets wrong, his fate is sealed.
They have been cunning in dealing with matters of
transition to the devolved governments. My eyes are focused on the
Ministry of Devolution and Planning.
They have been very keen on bungling the
transition to devolved government through a sustained effort to
undermine the statutory institutions that were clearly put in place to
ensure seamless transition to devolved units.
In particular, they have found a nemesis is the
Transition Authority, which they mistakenly thinks is competing for
power to control matters devolution.
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