LETTERS: Tread carefully on devolution referendum bid

The introduction of devolution brought a sense of optimism and hope among Kenyans who viewed it as the cure for past sins of marginalisation by the previous government system prior to the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution. The belief was that devolution would be the ideal solution to protect the citizens from policies from the status quo bureaucrats in Nairobi.

This is because the establishment was perceived to selfishly protect the interests of the educated elite and sadly, devolution seems to be following on the same trajectory. In politics perception matter as well as reality, here are some unsettling numbers for you.

According to the latest report by the controller of budget, county government owe Sh90 billion in pending bills. Governors spent about Sh183.6 billion between July 2017 and March 2018 this year. Out of this, Sh157.6 billion went recurrent expenditure while Sh25.9 billion to development. Out of what was spent on recurrent expenditure, Sh108 billion went to salaries.

In the game of perception, devolution has become the case study of how an idea can be lost during implementation. The big challenge devolution faces is dealing with the undeniable anger that is simmering in the grassroots.

Devolution leadership, in this time of referendum calls, should strive to win over skeptics especially its former allies in Parliament and civil societies. In this era of ‘alternative facts’, morally and pragmatically, there can never be two sets of realities on what portends devolution in the proposed referendum debate. To begin with, financial allocation for devolved funds has increased gradually but is this translating to any good for the populace in the grassroots?

The public is angry because they feel those who they have charged to make decisions on their behalf in county governments are not responding to what they feel is important. And who can blame them; Devolution success is measured through more jobs for the unemployed, cutting taxes, building affordable homes and dignity in retirement. This isn’t utopia; it’s a well-defined optimistic viewpoint, put simply, this is what the public should expect from competently well run administrations. If you peruse through all the referendum proposals proffered by various interest groups, you will definitely agree with me that there is a carefully choreographed anti devolution campaign being propagated. Devolution skepticism is on the rise on account of growing anger due to increased corruption and perceived eliteness of policies fronted by the county administrations. By just scraping through local media headlines and commentaries, devolution certainly has a target on its back, the public is quickly losing trust in devolution as it’s currently structured and they are saying let’s ignore the status quo and try something different.

This is providing fodder for a fundamental challenge for its continued existence, a sobering fact for every politician and the establishment. One of the key objectives of devolution was to open up the rural economy and make them more mainstream; sadly, more and more Kenyans in the counties are feeling more left behind than ever. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if the anti-devolution proponents happen to be in the counties.

Many are becoming victims of failed policies such as taxation and regulations, especially to small and medium businesses. Counties are increasingly taxing and regulating SME’s out of businesses in their tragic quest to shore up finances. This is a reality across all the 47 counties. It’s about time devolved systems pay attention to their customers and to learn how to position themselves to be an integral part in the lives of the public they serve. The proposed referendum is a huge political gamble especially for the incumbent county governors.

Kenyans may just vote against devolution, a potential body blow for citizens who sacrificed so much for re-introduction of the devolved system. With the proposed referendum, counties are entering into a period of deep political instability and uncertainty. I’m afraid subjecting devolution to the referendum will go down as the worst self-inflicted political harm, there is absolutely no need for it.

As a country, we run the risk of unleashing forces we wouldn’t have control over. Politics is a high risk game and for devolution, this is a battle to survive. It is no exaggeration to say that people who believe passionately in devolution really do believe that the whole project is under immense threat. The more devolution fails, the more people grow angrier, the more the political establishment in power will lose consensus, the more populist ideas will gain traction and the quicker the idea of dissolving devolution will grow, and unfortunately we don’t have the luxury of time.

Kennedy Oliver Mwenda, policy & communication specialist.