This archive report was first published on 30 July 2019.
Published on July 30, 2019, the standoff between the national and county governments is undermining the operations of the State. Those in charge must realise that the country risks grinding to a halt if the different entities fail to work together.
Devolution is about increasing the quality of life of the people, but it requires the support of the people whose lives you want to uplift. The national government must be made aware that counties have tasted economic power and are unlikely to let it go.
Francis Bacon, in an address to King James I on February 25, 1615, said, “Do not discourage the natural desire of your people to associate for economic purposes, lest one day their inhibited desires seek an outlet in the revolution.” This statement captures the true meaning of devolution.
Devolution is not about independence from the central government, but rather about the national government performing only those activities that cannot be done at the county level. The framework under which the national government decides what counties should do and starving them of funds is not true to the spirit of devolution.
Parliament should not be seen to undermine the financial viability of counties by reducing cash allocations. There must be a full understanding of the financial relationship between the two governments. Devolution should be about both revenue and expenditure.
Devolution will only be successful if it is accompanied by resources. Delaying remittance of funds to counties is bad. The sharing of funds between the two governments must be activity driven to address inequalities.
Within counties, the leadership must work to improve lives. Whatever development you bring to a county, be it roads or a new port, must benefit the locals first.
Hopefully, the governors will re-engineer county activities to move away from self-aggrandisement to projects that create jobs for the youth to reduce the dependency ratio.
