The Cost of Counties
The greatest emerging concern is the likely cost of counties. The TFDG has proposed
numerous institutions on top of those already provided for in the constitution
and this is inevitably going to push up the cost of the county administration.
The other challenge is the level of salaries; Parliamentarians, Ministers and
a number of permanent secretaries presently earn very high salaries pegged on
private sector rates. This is likely to introduce inflationary pressure due to an
exorbitant wage bill. This will also reduce the amount of money available for
service delivery. The present tussle between and esteemed institutions like the
CIC and Government over salary rates is an unfortunate indicator of things to
come and could undermine the ability of counties to deliver services entirely.
Fragmented Approach to Reform:
The adversarial style of our politics is also manifest in government operations.
Unhealthy competition and vested political interests is likely to generate discordant
laws which have conflicting provisions. This will also undermine the ability
of the government to come together to undertake the biggest project it has ever
embarked on, that of bringing 47 new governments into operation in 12 months
time. We urge the government players to put aside selfish political interests to
work together at this time of reform in the interests of poor and marginalized
Kenyans who have been ravaged by years of poor governance.
Local Authorities and staff transition
Will Counties inherit Corruption? Some of the most contentious issues of the
present reform process is the transition of local authorities, and the transition
of government staff from their present dockets to the new county positions.
And how to ensure the process does not transfer inefficiency and corruption
to counties. There is also the challenge of how to deal with grabbed public assets
especially public utilities. There is the question of how to deal with local authority debt, especially odious debt which may have accrued due to corruption.
Given the political sensitivity of these issues the taskforce has proposed a
powerful Transition Authority to midwife the Devolution process and deal with
the issues of transfer of staff. Will the national government agree to let go of
their vested political interests and allow this transition to be established and
function effectively?
Provincial Administration:
The insistence by some government quarters that the provincial administration
should be retained is a demonstration of inevitable conservatism in some government
quarters intent on maintaining the status quo and seeking to derail the
reform process. Such calls are out of step with the reform demands of the time
and should be ignored.
Transparency of Counties:
The 2012 elections will see the election of 5 different candidates by each voter
at the national and county levels. There is a need to pass and enact a strong
Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission with the powers and resources to vet all
candidates for these offices once they receive a nomination to test their eligibility
to hold public office. It is a matter of grave concern that the Ethics and Anti
Corruption bill along side other bills is delayed by the Cabinet for weeks. This
threatens to compromise the quality of debate on the bills, the ability of parliamentary
committees to scrutinise the bills and may result in rushed legislation
with weak provisions. Is this an attempt to derail the reform process?
Slow pace of ICT adoption by government:
The slow pace to computerize government is also a key stumbling block to the
reform process as critical assets transfers especially in contentious land matters
is hampered by the absence of the needed information. We are pleased to note
that the government recently launched the ICT Rapid Results Initiative and we
will monitor the outcomes of that effort.
