Devolution’s impact can be felt all over, but we have to stay vigilant

The National Assembly in session. ODM last evening made a U-turn on a decision to oppose the extension of the period for passing the last batch of Bills to implement the Constitution. FILE PHOTO |   NATION MEDIA GROUP

In Summary

• Rural towns have undergone a big change over the last two years, but corruption in county governments is worrying Kenyans.

By MAGESHA NGWIRI
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For the past three days we have, as a country been patting ourselves on the back in regard to how our institutions of governance have succeeded in implementing the Constitution. And except for a few
dissenting voices from the usual suspects, we have given ourselves a high mark in the endeavour.

However, a few honest minds have reminded us that the implementation of the Constitution 2010 is still a work in progress, and the last thing we can afford to do now is to sit back and bask in complacency. For to do so may lead to the gains made being clawed back by a few who never sleep, devising ways to bend the supreme law to their advantage.

Let us ask ourselves a question. Has devolution, the most revolutionary change in our governance system, succeeded in helping Kenyans to achieve their aspirations? The answer to this is yes and no.

Anyone who seeks to understand the impact that devolution has had in people’s lives, will quickly know the import of taking power and self-determination to the people. Unfortunately, such an impact will not be felt in areas that were already classified as “developed”.

However, go to those which were chronically under-developed, districts which did not have a single tarmacked road, and towns where only the very rich enjoyed the benefits of electricity because only they could afford generators. In those areas, I understand, things have changed dramatically and now they enjoy all the amenities those living in major towns have always taken for-granted.

VISIONARY PROJECTS

Yes, indeed, devolution has brought some vestiges of “development” and when the hiccups about financing have been addressed, it is likely that in the next five years, the places will be unrecognisable. It is also possible that in days to come, counties will be able to generate their budgets through visionary projects and domestic investments.

However, there is a downside to all this good cheer. Talking about governors, their executives and their county assemblies, long before devolution came to be, farsighted souls had started cautioning that the national disease, corruption, would also be devolved. This has happened. Anyone with any doubts should peruse Auditor-General Edward Ouko’s files this year. It is a fascinating read.

Nevertheless, there is hope. The five-year old Constitution has also empowered everyone to ask questions, raise objections or even litigate whenever they feel that county executives are abusing their powers. Kenyans can only hope that a more civic spirit will evolve in due course, and that our devolved system will one day be the yardstick by which other countries in Africa measure their success.

But in one area, we seem to be regressing at great speed — our legislature. Five years ago, MPs were detested for their narcissism. Today, they are reviled. The other day I was reading National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi’s commemoration write-up on the achievements of the 11th Parliament, expecting to find a load of banalities and unstinted praise for his team. But to his credit, he wasn’t that crass, and he did admit that Parliament has, in some respects, failed the people.

What Mr Muturi did not say is that Parliament has on several occasions tried to circumvent the provisions of the Constitution in pursuit of selfish objectives. Kenyans should have seen the signs when early in the term, they fought spiritedly to award themselves huge salaries and allowances. Since then, they have tried to subordinate every other institution to their will, be it the National Executive, the county governments, the Senate, and the Judiciary. They have even gone to the extent of declaring themselves above the law by seeking immunity for anything uttered or done while in office.

And just this week, a vast majority declared support for a Bill that will lead to a jail-term for anyone who publishes false or scandalous libel on Parliament, its committees, or its proceedings. Journalists will also barred from “speaking words defamatory to Parliament, its committees or its proceedings”.

Maybe, in retrospect, civil society should not have compared Eldas MP Adan Keynan to a pig when MPs demanded more money. To Muslims, pigs are an abomination.

andrewngwiri@gmail.com