This archive report was first published on 15 August 2020.
As Kenyans prepare for the 2022 election, it is time to make it a referendum on devolution, not just on the failures of the Jubilee Administration over the last seven years.
Published on August 15, 2020, in The Standard, a professor at Georgetown University argued that the 2022 election should be a referendum on devolution, citing the ongoing impasse in the Senate as a clear indication of the elite's refusal to accept the 2010 constitutional settlement.
According to the professor, Kenyans voted overwhelmingly for the devolution of resources and policy making to the grassroots, but there are those who want to continue with the old politics of presidential favours and corruption through the budgeting process.
The professor noted that the national government's health budget continues to be bigger than the combined health budget of all the 47 counties, despite health being the biggest and most important devolved function.
The professor argued that the mantra for the 2022 election should be 'Money Should Follow Functions,' emphasizing that Kenyans must be made to understand that the use of public money is not a presidential favour, but a decision that is at the hands of legislators in the National Assembly and Senate.
The professor also highlighted the need to break the backs of national-level cartels that have captured the budget-making process, suggesting that a bigger share of the public budget should go to the counties to pay for vital services and infrastructure.
Devolution, the professor argued, is wildly popular across the country, and Kenyans have a sophisticated understanding of what is at stake in the ongoing revenue sharing negotiations.
Ultimately, the professor urged William Ruto and Raila Odinga to realize that Kenyans care most about having a public sector that works to improve their living conditions, and that they want well-resourced self-government in each of the 47 counties, not handouts or favours from the central government.
