EDITORIAL
Why Citizens need to plan
for the future of their counties
RIGHT across the country, reports are filtering through that communities have been meeting to map out strategies of how they can build firm foundations for their respective Counties.
Ideally, professional people from Kenya’s many communities have been meeting in ostensibly citizen driven pursuits, seemingly desirous on paving the way forward ahead of the establishment of County Governments in the next General Election.
The meetings have been called by well meaning citizens. Those who have followed the deliberations have seen that some citizens are keen to help form a basis upon which the coming County Governments will build to help steer the counties to development in coming days.
When one reads Chapter 11 of Kenya’s Constitution that deals with Devolved Governments, one sees , among others, a clear objective of devolution- the desire to squarely place the destiny of counties in the hands of communities that reside therein. Section 174(c) says among the objects of Devolution is ... “ To give powers of self governance to the people and enhance the participation of the people in the exercise of the powers of the State in making decisions affecting them””.
In 174(d) another of the nine objectives of devolution is... “ To recognize the right of communities to manage their own affairs and further their development...”
Clearly therefore, those citizens currently holding meetings to plan for the foundation of their counties are certainly not just doing the right thing but are indeed carrying out one of their core obligations as citizens as provided for by the new constitution.
These meetings have been reported widely by the daily media and are seemingly going to increase as time goes on.
Kenya’s 47 counties as they are now are still trapped in the hangover of Cap 265 of the Local Government Act that created Kenya’s 147 Local Authorities. Thought Local Authorities have previously been deemed as elements of devolution, what has been experienced can hardly be described within the objects captured in Chapter 11 of the new Constitution of Kenya.
It is for this reason therefore that the devolution spelt out in the Constitution must be clearly internalised and implemented beyond the shadows of the current Local Authorities.
Thus, as communities meet to plan the future of their counties thy need to come up with Strategic Plans- citing the path of development they want to take and how they will walk the talk. They must analyse the Strengths, Weaknesses and Opportunities available. Counties must identify their challenges and how to circumvent them; they need to construct a clear road-map to where they what to go and who- in terms of calibre- will take them there, and if need be, lay out the time-frame.
A close look at the Constitution shows that County leaders of all shapes will be elected. The Governors, for instance, though they seemingly are anticipated to be good managers, will have to face an election- meaning that they must have a political face.
Looking at the criteria set out by the Constitution on eligibility for election as County Governor, it is very possible that any sort of politician who has the eligibility to be elected as a county Assembly Member and gift of the garb to convince voters in a county can easily slither into the governorship an wreak havoc at the helm- a trend that is very worrying indeed.
It is for this reason, among others, that communities must make very binding plans for their counties so that if the threshold of eligibility for election for governors is not raised, whoever comes- whether a clown, an impostor, a near-do-, a statesman a dictator or even a sage will have been bound by some arrangement.
Citizens within a County must be extremely vigilant about the kind of people they elect to provide leadership.
In the same spirit, Parliament- or whoever it is- ought create a tight criteria for eligibility for position of Governor and County Assembly Members and disabuse the notion going round that it will be as low as that used to elect councillors.
Leaders to be elected to discharge responsibilities in the County Governments must be equal to the tasks ahead.
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