CIVIC EDUCATION
How National and County
Governments
will operate
By Julius M. Malombe
The National Government is,
among other functions, charged with the responsibility for national policy,
national standards, regulation, national public works, national statistics,
macroeconomic management, foreign affairs, defence and natural re-sources (Fourth
Schedule)
The National Government is also
re-spon-sible for trunk road infrastructure, referral hospitals, national
public works, railways, pipelines, telecommunications (including radio and
television broad-casting), space travel, primary, secondary and tertiary education
etc.
However there’s a notable major
policy shift where critical functions (and infrastructural services) which were
previously under the central government are assigned to county governments
under the new Constitution. These include county health facilities and
pharmacies; am-bu-lance services, promotion of primary health care, cemeteries,
funeral parlours and crimatoria, refuse
removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal water and sanitation services,
storm water man-agement systems in built-up-areas, county transport including:
county roads, street lighting, public road transport, ferries and harbours;
housing de-vel-opment, electricity and gas re-ticu-lation and energy regulation
etc
Other county functions
include: Ag-ri-cul-ture: including crop
and animal husbandry, veterinary services, livestock sale yards, county
abattoirs, plant and animal disease control, and fisheries;
Implementation of forestry,
soil and water conservation policies;
Trade development and
regulation: in-cluding markets, trade licences (ex-cluding regulation of
professions), fair trading practices, local tourism, and cooperative societies,
County planning and development, cultural activities, public entertainment and
public amenities – including libraries, museums, sports and cultural
activities;
Fire fighting services and
disaster man-agement etc.
Counties are Preprimary
education, village polytechnics, homecraft centres and childcare facilities;
County
Finance Sources:
The financing of county
governments is to be from the following sources:
(a) County own revenues
(property taxes, entertainment taxes, any other tax they are authorized to
impose by an Act of Parliament and fees and charges for services) - Article 209(3)&(4);
(b) Loans (borrowing to be
approved by the county assembly and guaranteed the National Government) –
Article 212 & Article 213;
(c) Intergovernmental transfers
from the national government to county gov-ernments including: i) conditional
grants - Article 202 (2); ii) unconditional grants - Article 202 (2); iii)
moneys from the equitable shares of revenues - Article 203 (2); and iv) the
Equalization Fund (Article 204);
(d) Donor Grants (from
bilateral, mul-ti-lat-eral, corporate, foundations, individuals etc).
Proviso for the Equitable
sharing of revenue raised nationally Between the National and County
Governments.
The said intergovernmental
transfers are to be shared equitably in line with the 11 criteria set out under
Article 203 (1) -
The Senate (initially for the
first two 3-years term periods viz: FYs 2013/2014-2015/2016 &
2016/2017-2018/2019 and thereafter once every 5-years i.e. from FY 2019/2020)
is supposed to determine the basis for allocating among the 47 counties the
share of national revenue that is annually allocated to the county level of
government (Article 217).
CRA recommendations and the
views of county governors, the Secretary re-spon-sible for finance, any
organization of county governments, professional bodies and members of the
public are to be taken into account.
Each financial year the
equitable share of the revenue raised
nationally that is allocated to county governments shall not be less than
fifteen per cent (15%) of all revenue collected
by the national gov-ernment - Article 203 (2).
Article 203 (3) – states the
amount referred to in Article 203 (2) shall be calculated on the basis of the most recent audited accounts of revenue received, as approved by the National
Assembly.
The
Governance and Management
Dimension
of Devolved Government
Governance is the process – by
which power and authority is conferred
on rulers, by which they make the rules, and by which those rules are enforced
and modified.
UNDP defines governance as “the
exercise of economic, political, and administrative authority to manage a
country’s affairs at all levels”.
It comprises mechanisms,
processes, and institutions through which citizens and groups articulate their
interests, exercise their legal rights, meet their obligations, and mediate
their differences.
Understanding our devolved
governance system therefore requires an iden-ti-fi-cation of both the rulers
and the rules, as well as the various processes by which they are selected,
defined, and linked together and with the society generally, at both the
national and county governments.
There are critical governance
and man-agement questions for Devolved Governments. These questions are: Who
are the rulers at the national and county government levels? ;What processes
and rules apply in the definition and selection of rulers at both the national
and county governments? ; How are the rulers at both the national government
and county levels linked together and with the society at large? ; What are the mechanisms, pro-cesses and
institutions through which citizens and groups within both the national and
devolved levels of gov-ernment articulate their interests, exercise their legal
rights, meet their obligations, and
mediate their differences?
National and County Government
Rulers, How they are Defined and Selected.
The
National Executive
President - elected universal suffrage
(can be removed from office on grounds of incapacity Article 144 or through
im-peachment - Article 145). Presidential candidates required to nominate
running mates who shall be deemed as elected Deputy President on election of
the Presi-dent.
Cabinet (minimum of 14 and maximum of
22 No) nominated by President, vetted by National Assembly/and Appointed/and or
removed by President or via a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly
(Cabinet also to include D/President & AG)
The Cabinet will be accountable to the President and the People
of Kenya via the National Assembly/Parliament
Functions of National
Government: Outlined in the Fourth Schedule
and entails stan-dards, regulation, national economic policy and
planning, monetary policy, foreign affairs, primary, secondary and tertiary
education, defence, transport and commu-ni-cations, national public works,
national referral hospitals etc
Functions exercised through
departments and cabinet/parliamentary sanctioned/approved policies, long-term, medium and short term
plans involving agreed or projected projects, programmes and investments; that
are funded via annual and medium budgets that rely on tax revenues, dividend
income, fees, charges, loans, grants etc.
Legislature
It comprises of Parliament i.e.
Senate and the National Assembly.
National
Assembly:
It will have a. Total 350 No. viz: 290 elected MPs+47 elected women reps from
each of the 47 county gov-ernments +12 nominated on party strength of the 350+
Speaker – ex-officio)
Functions of the National
Assembly are to enactment of laws, vetting of presi-den-tial appointments,
oversight of the national executive via national assembly committees etc (NB:
National Assembly may originate national bills relating to county gov-ernments)
National Assembly Power will
be exercised via research of facts,
debating, voting, lobbying, party whipping, con-sen-sus building and
trade-offs.Public participation in law making and budgetary matters is
mandatory under the new constitution
Observance of the National
Values and Principles of Governance, the Values and principles of Public
Service and Chapter Six required
Senate: (i.e. Total 68 No. 47 one from each County, 16 Women nominated
by political parties/on strength of the 47; 2 Members, a man and a woman –
rep-re-senting the youth 2 Members, a man and a woman – rep-re-senting persons
with disabilities Speaker as ex-officio).
Functions
of the Senate
Protecting interests of county
gov-ernments, consideration and en-actment of any bill that affects the
functions and county gov-ernments; determination of the 3 or 5-year
for-mu-lae/basis for the allocation of the revenue raised nationally among the
47 counties; decision on the removal of the President; consideration of issues
relating to the stoppage of funds or the sus-pension of county governments etc
- Article 96
Senate Power exercised via
research of facts, debating, voting, lobbying, party whipping, consensus
building, trade-offs etc
When the Senate is voting on
matters that affects counties, other than a
Bill, each county delegation shall have one vote to be cast on behalf of
the county by the head of the county delegation or another member of the
delegation designated by the head of the delegation Article 123(4)). Its
noteworthy all elected and nominated senate members who are registered voters
in a particular county will con-sti-tute a single county delegation for
purposes of voting on issues concerning counties (Article 123(1).
Presidential and parliamentary
candidates must satisfy educational, ethical and moral requirements as per
Articles 99, 137, 193 and 200 of the Constitution; and as specified in various
statutes (Elections Act, 2011; Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Act, 2011;
The Leadership and Integrity Bill, 2012, KRA Act, HELB Act etc.).
Power
of recall
(Article 104): The electorate will have power
to recall elected MPs and Senators following a process outlined in the
Elections Act, 2011.
The
County government
It comprises of the County
Executive and County Assembly
County
Governor
The Governor is the CEO and is
elected by simple majority of the entire county elec-torate/registered voters
(can be removed from office - Article 181 or 192 or). Gubernatorial candidates
are required to nominate running mates who shall be deemed as elected Deputy
Governor on election of the Governor.
County
Executive Committee
There will be a maximum of 10 –
if county has more than 30 electoral wards or one third of elected members if
county has less than 30 electoral wards, and will be nominated by the Governor,
vetted by County Assembly and Appointed/and or removed by the Governor or via a
vote of no confidence in the County Assembly. County Executive Committee to
include Deputy Govenor. Neither the Govenor nor his deputy are members of the
County Assembly.
Executive Committee members are
accountable to the Governor and the people of the County via the County
Assembly.
Functions
of county governments
They are Outlined in the Fourth
Schedule and entails planning, and
implementation of development projects and programmes at county or inter-county
level in the areas of agriculture, health services, transport, roads, water,
county planning and de-vel-opment, markets, cooperative societies, housing
development, electricity and gas reticulation, tourism, trade development and
regulation, cultural activities, public entertainment and amenities etc
Functions of county governments
are exercised through departments and executive committee/county assembly
sanctioned/approved policies, long-term,
medium and short term plans involving agreed or projected projects, programmes
and investments; that are funded via annual and medium budgets that rely on
equitable shares of revenue raised nationally, conditional and unconditional
grants from the national government share of national revenue, equalization
fund, contingency fund, property and
en-ter-tainment tax revenues, dividend income from county corporations/companies,
fees, charges, loans, donor grants etc.
County
Assembly Representatives (CAR)
County assembly
Representatives are elected from each
ward (No. of wards in a county are dependent on the number of constituencies –
and the distribution of wards within a county dependent on the population of
the constituency) (Macha-kos County – just like Kitui County has 8
constituencies and hence 40 county wards; whilst Makueni with 6
con-stitu-encies has county 30 wards)
There’s a constitutional
proviso for special seat members – for gender balance – no more than 2/3 of the
same gender rule applies
Members from marginalised
groups, people with disabilities and the youth WDs and the Youth 2 each – man and woman
Speaker (ex-officio) - elected
by the Count Assembly from outside its ranks - role to preside over the
sittings of the county assembly or in his/her absence another member of the
assembly elected for the purpose
Nominated ward reps to be on
the basis of party strength of elected ward reps.
County Assembly Functions:
to make laws, necessary for
effective performance and exercise of the power of the county government,
Vetting of ex-ecutive committee members and other senior staff nominated by the
Governor or the County Public Service Board. The may receive and approve of
plans and policies for the management and exploitation of the county’s
resources and development and management of its infrastructure and institutions
Exercise oversight over the
county executive committee including its approval of budgets, development
plans, county audit reports from the Auditor General etc.
