Agency accuses MCAs, senators of working against devolution

The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) has accused senators and MCAs of slowing devolution as its founding commissioners led by Micah Cheserem prepare to leave office at the end of their term.

The agency, which recommends the basis for sharing revenue between the national and the county governments, said the political leaders have shown little commitment in executing their responsibilities.

The observation comes as a sort of score card as the six-year term of the CRA’s founding commissioners expires later this year while the first crop of senators and MCAs face elections next year.

“I want to thank God that the term of this Senate is ending soon. It had a very cavalier attitude towards every initiative that we proposed to boost devolution,” said Mr Cheserem in Nairobi last week.

Under the Constitution, senators are supposed to defend devolution. The CRA said that just like MPs, MCAs, deputy governors and national government officials, senators have chosen to undermine devolution after realising that direct control of resources has handed governors a lot of influence. The CRA has had frequent run-ins with senators over its push for higher allocation to counties.

In the last of the showdowns, the Senate thwarted CRA’s bid to raise the portion of revenue that devolved units would have received in the next three fiscal years starting July 2017 based on the development factor.

Under that parameter, counties where residents have poor access to water, electricity and roads get more revenues. In the ensuing haggling, senators cut the weight of development factor in the revenue sharing formula to just one per cent.

The Senate also blocked CRA from allocating extra money to counties based on the number of employees inherited from the national government.

The push came as records showed that counties such as Kiambu, Nairobi, Nakuru, Kisumu and Mombasa which inherited a disproportionately high number of employees from the national government were spending up to 80 per cent of their allocations on payroll costs.

“We took senators on retreat in Naivasha and Mombasa but we could not convince them to embrace our formula,” said Mr Cheserem.

The CRA said county assemblies have, on their part, slowed devolution by holding governors to ransom. Governors who fail to play to the whims of MCAs are constantly under threat of impeachment. Counties like Nairobi, Nyeri and Kisumu have frequently made news over fist-fights traded among MCAs.

Mr Chesem said: “As for the MCAs, I can only say Kenyans must encourage people of brains to vie for such positions.”

The Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission has recommended post-secondary qualifications for MCAs starting with the 2022 elections.

The qualifications could be a certificate, diploma or degree. The CRA also accused the national government of undermining devolution by retaining the provincial administration in its old form.

Governors and their executive teams have also been blamed for rising cases of corruption and failure to hire skilled staff.