KIPS GRADUATION 2011

RATIONALE BEHIND DEVOLUTION

Wikipedia defines Devolution as the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level. Devolution can be mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government. However, the power to make legislation relevant to the area may also be granted.

Chapters eight, nine, ten, and eleven establish the structure of the Kenyan government. The government of Kenya consists of The Legislature, The Executive, The Judiciary, and The Devolved Governments.

Kenya is reeling from bad governance and unitary economic exploits that have been favoring individuals at the expense of the greater majority for 48 years now. The presidency has been very powerful and seen as a financial magnate to tycoons in search of favors and this has been a humble aboard for tribalism and nepotism. The political tensions that have been witnessed in Kenya are as a result of unequal distribution of natural resources which has contributed to high poverty levels amidst a high population increase in the country. Currently, the cost of living has sky rocketed behind a backdrop of high inflation rates. The situation has also been grim to the businessmen and women in the country as a result of the unstable shilling. The marginalization of other regions in the country such as the Coast and North Eastern provinces has reduced the residents of the regions to mere beggars and squatters in their own country. Bad governance has been a cancer that is eating up the country form Mandera, Malindi, Turkana and is now moving closer to the nervous system of the country Nairobi. The only way to trim this at the bud is through devolution in terms of political and economic decentralization to units at the grass root levels.

Before the constitutional referendum in 2010, there was much debate whether devolution will lead to a more equitable distribution of resources throughout the country. It was argued that a centralized, unitary system is more suited to equitable distribution and even development than a regional system, as the former collects and can distribute revenue and resources without the encumbrance of regional powers, politics and institutions. The practice, at least in Kenya, with the dominance of ethnic politics and of elites who fatten on state resources, does not bear this out.

According to Yash Ghai, former constitution review Chairman, Centralization had led to the concentration of economic activity in and around the capital city. A huge proportion of the GDP is produced in Nairobi, and a disproportionate expenditure and the consumption of goods take place there, certainly greater than the rest of the country put together.  There has been little re-distribution to the poorer parts such as the North East Province (and potential of the development of economic activity, especially regarding the livestock industry, has been frustrated by favoring abattoirs further south). Nairobi continues to be magnet which draws investors and the unemployed alike.

In the absence of regional politics and institutions where regions can make them heard and taken notice of, the government and these elite have little reason to distribute resources away from their charmed circle. Both in the CKRC and Bomas, great attention was given to mechanisms of equitable distribution and even development through devolution—in the way taxation powers were allocated, the enunciation of principles of equalization and the design and functions of the fiscal commission with the primary responsibility for distribution. This scheme would have placed constitutional and legal obligations on the government to re-distribute state resources. The composition of the second chamber would have given regions clout in the central government through the representation of regional governments. The development of regional governments would exert pressures on the central government to pay more attention to the concern and aspirations of people outside Nairobi.

The redistribution that the scheme for devolution would promote is necessary not only in the interests of social justice but also for the promotion of a sense of nationalism. Nationalism is inevitably weakened or challenged if there are gross regional disparities. The people of the North East, who have suffered neglect or discrimination throughout the modern history of Kenya and consequently feel left out. Regional policies through devolution would integrate its people socially, economically and politically with the rest of the country.

Most recently, there is a push by some pockets of the legislature to weaken the devolution system tactfully by trying to put a motion to scrap of the senate due to its cost implications. Ironically, a good number of these MPs do not pay taxes as other ordinary law abiding citizens. From their spirited efforts not to pay taxes and to increase their salaries at will and wish, it is foolhardy to believe that these ‘honorables’ have the country’s interests at heart. I deliberately refuse to stick to such a discourse due to its myopic and gluttonous nature, instead take you through African states that have tried to embrace devolution.

Decentralized governance is increasingly being favored by many African countries as the most suitable mode of governance through which poverty reduction interventions can be conceived, planned, implemented, monitored and evaluated. Many hope that the process of decentralization will facilitate greater participation of communities in problem analysis, project identification, planning, implementation as well as oversight which in turn will increase ownership and the likelihood of sustainability of such initiatives.

In some of the African countries, the rationale behind devolution was in response to the political and economic problems in their history. For instance, in South Africa, promoting local governments was aimed at “rebuilding local communities and environments, as the basis for a democratic, integrated, prosperous and truly non-racial society” following the trauma of apartheid in the country. In Rwanda decentralization was to “provide a structural arrangement for government and the people of Rwanda to fight poverty at close range, and to enhance their reconciliation through the empowerment of local populations” following the trauma of the genocide of 1994. In Uganda decentralization is “a democratic reform, which seeks to transfer political, administrative, financial and planning authority from central government to local government councils and to promote popular participation, empower local people to make their own decisions and enhance accountability and responsibility ”following the brutal and ineffective regimes of Idi Amin (1971 -1979) and the Obote II regime (1981-1986).

According to John-Mary Kauzya,  the Chief of Governance and Public Administration Branch -United Nation, Political empowerment,  economic development, improvements in the efficiency and effectiveness in the delivery of services, ownership of local programs by local people, participation of the people in planning and implementation of development activities as well as improvement in democracy and accountability are common household  terms in the decentralization policy of the three countries.

Political leaders opposed to majimbo say that it would balkanize the country, promote ethnicity and ignite land clashes (which given their rhetoric, could turn out to be a self-fulfilling prophesy). Moi now opposes majimbo, although his own rise to political power was tied to the advocacy of majimbo at independence and KANU proposed strong provincial government to the CKRC. He says that the people had rejected the Bomas draft; whereas the truth is that it was the Wako draft, bereft of the devolution provisions of the Bomas draft, that the people rejected—and perhaps for that very reason. Mutula Kilonzo, on this point at odds with his leader, says that federalism would tear the country apart.

It is should be instructive for those elements in government against or unsure about devolution, to heed to the call by Kenyans who overwhelmingly supported the new Constitution that they are ready to pay the price for devolution in Kenya. They should follow the spirit of the new Constitution to the latter.

Farmer picking tea in Nyayo 

Kenyan are aware that devolution can also lead to more rapid and more balanced economic and social development. The centralized system, with the concentration of all government institutions and decision making in Nairobi, leads to the concentration of economic activities in the capital city area. It leads, more generally, to uneven development and growing disparities of economic opportunities. This results in the impoverishment of many regions and communities—and the drift towards urban areas, particularly Nairobi. With regional and district governments spread throughout the country, there would be greater incentives and opportunities for economic and social development outside Nairobi, as these governments take their responsibility for the welfare and development of their constituents. There will emerge new centers of growth, in which people have opportunities of investment and employment.

A WEEK OF STREET ANTICS FROM KENYAN TEACHERS.

HOW RAILA IS GRADUALLY BECOMING POLITICALLY STERILE.

                   

Raila could be having a great knack for politics but recent activities appear to be dimming this perception.. The premier has unparalleled wit and clout to maneuver enormous  political turmoil and is the defacto enigma of Kenyan politics. His presence in the political arena has given political tyros the opportunity to build their political careers either through supporting the PM or hitting-out publicly at him. He is undoubtedly the benchmark for politico-standi in Kenya.  Raila basks in the political limelight which a product of his charm with friends and foes alike. 

However,  since he joined the government, Raila has been losing his political  support and charm  by the day  and it all started after the post poll marriage,  then the environmental concern which had him play the messiah to nature( Mau Forest) and the hall mark was the ICC naming of his former allies particularly Ruto. This cocktail provided fodder for  politically mediocre minds to lash out at the PM with a limited wisdom of hindsight and since politics is all about perception, they(politically mediocre) are getting mileage from like mindsets. 

Raila with his First lady in Hospital bed
PHOTO/newstimeafrica

The decision to drop the perceived rebel  from the cabinet is a plus towards appeasing the ODM supporters, however, he ought to have done better ….if the possibility of killing two birds with a single stone is a real cliche. For instance if I were the PM, then in replacing the rebel MPs, I would have adopted a deeper approach rather  than just a mere substitution. I would have upheld value and relevance to the  portfolio dished to the loyal supporters in proxy to their constituents. I would have looked at what value my backyard [Luo] ministers are adding to my 2012 vision and do a serious polito-ethnic mix and come up with the near perfect reshuffle. 

Kalenjins are not so much interested in education or  EAC integration as much they are interested in land. Raila ought to be having advisors with great political intelligence that not only comes with great education but with wisdom of a hindsight and a meticulous eye for 2012. This should have given him a chance to wipe the wounds of his afflicted 2007 supporters by his passion for playing messiah for nature. Raila would have not lost so much by swapping James Orengo with Musa Sirma in favor of the later in the lands ministry. 

Kalenjins are interested in land more than anything and by having one of their own in the portfolio , the premier would have systematically evaded from the Mau forest blame of landlessness among the evictees. The land ministry was a perfect goldmine for Raila ….[with the next year] – to redeem himself at least,  for people who now perceive him as a traitor.

   The son of doyen of Kenyan politics clearly missed out on this great opportunity to turn the Rift-valley tide to his side in . The reshuffle does not add value to his political stamina and he needs to work out more to regain the political muscle for 2012. In a nut-shell, the move has only appeased his die-hard fan base and done very little if nothing to the drifting supporters. 

“THE HACKED WATERS”

There is one thing that political and economic mindsets have in common- The need and use of information for manipulation to achieve their interests. Information has over the time been seen as power and he who has it, is empowered albeit relatively. The 4^th estate uses information to set the agenda as other disciplines such as the Science, use information to solve real life problems. In Kenya, the NSIS uses information for intelligence surveillance in quest for national stability. Information just like waters is multi purpose and can be used for cleansing, tainting and quenching-just like water information can be constructive or even destructive and once let out, can never be redeemed. As the river begins from a tributary and finally drains into the Lake in either contaminated or purified form, is a semblance of how information moves.

Richard Nixon, the 37^th US President who happened to be a Republican between 1969 and 1974 resigned after the infamous Water-Gate scandal that changed the political paradigm of the most powerful state in the world. The Watergate follow-up commenced from the time a popular paper-Washington Post-Sunday June 18^th 1972 published the story-‘Five held in Plot To Bug Democratic Offices’. This is the story that would convulse the Washington for months through the Agenda Setting function of the 4^th Estate, intriguing two young reporters on The Post's staff, Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward who were called in to work on the story. As Woodward's notes show, he learned from police sources that the men came from Miami, wore surgical gloves and carried thousands of dollars in cash. It was, said one source, "a professional type operation."  As the reporters found out, the burglars- James Mc Cord was on the payroll of President Nixon’s re-election committee. It was also discovered that Nixon ran a massive campaign of political spying and sabotage on behalf of reelection effort. This was a schematic and well calculated approach to gain access to information on the strategies of the Democratic candidates directly.

Richard Nixon, former US President.

Richard Nixon was overwhelmed by the evidence adduced at the jury against his aides which culminated to indictment, trial, conviction and incarceration of several his administration officials. The investigations revealed that President Nixon had a tape recording system in his offices and that he had recorded many conversations. Recordings from these tapes implicated the president, revealing that he had attempted to cover up the break-in. After a series of court battles, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the president had to hand over the tapes; he ultimately complied. On sensing that he was facing a near-certain impeachment in the House of Representatives and a strong possibility of a conviction in the Senate, Nixon resigned the presidency on August 9, 1974. His successor, Gerald Ford, issued a pardon to President Nixon after his resignation

The thirst and fetish for gathering information in the most unethically brutal fashion saw the crumbling of the world's second largest media and Entertainment Company in respect to its credibility. The  News International phone-hacking scandal, also known as Murdochgate or Rupertgate, is an ongoing controversy involving the News of the World, a British tabloid newspaper formerly published by News International, a subsidiary of News Corporation. Employees of the newspaper were accused of engaging in hacking, police, and exercising improper influence in the pursuit of publishing stories. Investigations conducted from 2005–2007 concluded that the paper's phone hacking activities were limited to celebrities, politicians and members of the British Royal Family. However, in July 2011, it was revealed that the phones of murdered schoolgirl Milly Dowler, relatives of deceased British soldiers, and victims of the 7/7 London bombings were also accessed, resulting in a public outcry against News Corporation and owner Rupert. Advertiser boycotts contributed to the closure of the News of the World on 10 July, ending 168 years of publication.

Rupert and Richard apart from sharing the 18th letter of the alphabet as their first letter to their first names, also share some form of rabid libido for control of information for monetary and power trappings respectively. Rupert had some of his employees sucked into phone hacking sprees to get first hand information for publication and as it were, journalists are not expected to name there sources-so they took a ride and spiffed off this privilege to maxima. The editorial philosophy of Murdoch’s media empire was sensationalism and his employees diligently worked to smoke out celebrities and politicians from their holes of privacy. Richard on the other hand, had a cowardly modus operandi on his political schemes where he piped in a structure to get first hand information about his political foes. This was executed with the aid of his allies.

According to Wikipedia, Information in its most restricted technical sense is an ordered sequence of symbols that record or transmit a message. It can be recorded as signs, or conveyed as signals by waves. Information is any kind of event that affects the state of a dynamic system. As a concept, however, information has numerous meanings. Moreover, the concept of information is closely related to notions of constraint, communication, control, data, form, instruction, knowledge, meaning, mental stimulus, pattern, perception, representation, and especially entropy. All the canons and artillery for information are regarded with utmost fear and equal respect due to their ability to change human mindsets and perceptions into logical or illogical assumptions. Politicians use this effect to woo followers as entrepreneurs use this to lure the public into making rapid decisions about product and service usage. The end result-the user of information in the most manipulative ways gets his/her way through riches and power as the financial and political lives of the two R’s can attest to it.

MURANGA 6 COUNTY EDITION-Trailer

MUGATANA IS A WANTED MAN!!!

A Nairobi court has issued a warrant of arrest against Garsen MP Danson Mungatana for failing to appear in court to answer charges of issuing a bad cheque.

Chief magistrate Gilbert Mutembei gave orders after police prosecutor Onesmus Towett informed him that the police have been unable to trace or arrest the MP since the investigations began.