The first term of Uhuru Kenyatta's Presidency was characterised by conflicts between the two levels of government.
There is optimism that this time around devolution may deliver intended outputs.
This is mainly explained by an improved working atmosphere between the national and county governments with an apparent alignment of socio-economic development objectives between the two levels of governments.
The first term of devolution was characterized by obvious political conflicts between the two levels of government prompted mainly by misunderstood roles, and misplaced competition for control and power. Partisan politics were also a notable block to consensus on development agenda.
Further, wasteful tensions existed between county executives and assemblies. As a result, opportunities were missed and critical public resources wasted resulting in limited services delivery.
The recent “peace and unity” handshake between President Uhuru and Raila Odinga appears to have provided essential “political lubrication” which will hopefully reduce wasteful political intrigues and allow for effective coordination between the two levels of government and across the entire country.
For both levels of government, the target outputs must translate in improved quality of Kenyan lives measured by enhanced employment opportunities; improved household incomes; better access to healthcare; suitable and affordable housing; and freedom from hunger.
All these are amply contained in the “Big Four” agenda whose opportunities are essentially domiciled in the counties where most of the action will happen.
A critical success factor therefore is that the Cabinet Secretaries (CSs) are visibly seen in the field working hand in hand with the county governments, under the principle of shared goals.
In respect of healthcare, there are already good signs that the national and county governments are reading from the same script. A flurry of health services capacity building activities is evident as specific programmes are rolled out.
This is a good start that now needs persistent follow-through to ensure quality healthcare and sustainability. Indeed, healthcare looks like the one key item that will define the second term achievements for both the national and county governments.
Agriculture is the other common denominator opportunity with the highest potential to deliver multiple socio-economic outputs for the Big Four agenda. These include food security, employment, household incomes, and agro-manufacturing. This is why agriculture should be receiving the highest possible level of attention, visibility and resources at the national and county levels.
Each county has its unique socio-economic opportunities and corresponding challenges. It is therefore for each county government to creatively and realistically prioritize the opportunities that have the most impact on county populations. Where possible these can be aligned with the ongoing “Big Four” national programs.
The smart and forward-looking counties will also leverage and capture additional development funding from private investors, NGOs, and indeed from global multilateral partners. It is this avenue of funding that will push incremental development in the counties.
However, to attract the external cash, the counties will need to prepare appropriate development plans on which such funding can find space. In the case of NGO and donor money, counties will need to have in place transparent financial managements systems which are always a condition.
In the case of the two city counties of Nairobi and Mombasa, there are special development and services expectations that go beyond the Big Four agenda.
This is because these are international gateway, conference and business cities that contribute to the wider national economy, a fact which I doubt is sufficiently reflected in the budgetary allocations from the Treasury.
There is a need to ensure that, as quickly as possible; the two cities provide services that reflect global standards and expectations.
In this respect, the two cities should be seen to be working together with relevant ministries who may have the expertise and resources to effectively deliver on projects and programs. The end result should be cities that are smart in every aspect, and where traffic always flows.
Finally, it is hoped that the counties have sufficiently learned from numerous pitfalls and excesses during the first term of devolution. Specifically, development projects will require to be protected from skewed recurrent spending.
Yes, devolution is still very much work in progress, but I believe it is gaining good momentum which requires effective nurturing.
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