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Updated Thursday, October 11 2012 at 00:00 GMT+3
When six pieces
of legislation to guide the implementation of a devolved system of
government were unveiled by a taskforce to provide the backbone to
manage county governments, there was clearly no turning back on
devolving powers to the newly created 47 counties.The various Bills are meant to ensure functional and institutional integrity of the new counties
To ensure a seamless transition and fundamental institutional re-structuring and re-orientation, the key Financial Management Bill that will check corruption at the counties was included.
The new Constitution is meant to devolve power and resources down to the village level. But that is where the beauty of the goal ends. There is the inevitable cost of an expanded system of governance.
As it stands, a lot of people are scratching their heads wondering where money to run this expanded system will come from.
Obviously, the central government will chip in, but counties will be expected to be sustainable units that can raise revenues for recurrent operations. And as we dismantle the Tenth Parliament, it is hardly the time for a select few MPs to sneak in an amendment awarding themselves usurious send-off package.
That President Kibaki rightly read the hissing mood of his subjects and shot down the insertion into the Finance Bill earns him a large bouquet. That so soon after paralysing street demonstrations and industrial action by teachers, doctors, nurses, ferry workers and university lecturers, it appeared like a mindless act for MPs to barrel through a sweetheart gratuity for January.
The country is yet to punch the figures on the actual cost of the Kenya Defence Forces’ yearlong liberation of Somalia’s Al Shabaab militia. Then the cost of resettling Mau Forest evictees, write off loans for long-suffering farmers in various sectors, to pay for the universal free education programme, rehabilitate the roads network, modernise the century-old railway tracks, provide electricity and clean water to spur development and address historical injustices suffered by long ignored arid and semi-arid lands.
Then there is the upcoming general election that shall have three times the numbers previously on a ballot paper. Without a shadow of doubt, the March 2013 watershed polls shall cost an arm and a leg.
Court of public opinion
Obviously, this a severely shortened list of the various sectors of the economy, but then every shilling counts. In the court of public opinion, MPs — whether or not they were in the House during the passing of the Adan Keynan amendment — painted themselves as self-seekers and raiders of the public purse.
Those expressing outrage after the fact are hard to believe since they would all have gladly benefitted from the largesse at the taxpayers’ expense. No amount of indignation and arguments of entitlement citing reason such as legislators serve a larger constituency will fly.
That civil servants and teachers in the same government received a 30 per cent pay raise compared to MPs’ 12 per cent sounds flawed.
Also, suggesting that salaries and allowances should be rationalised before harmonisation is conducted across the board by the Salaries and Remuneration Commission takes over the function from the Public Service Commission is lame too.
As the economy totters along, no right-thinking Kenyan would support any pay increase to sacred cows that are tax-exempt and wield power to negotiate and approve any perk they wish for themselves.
The President should stand firm should they hold the Finance minister to ransom over the rest of the Finance Bill and even take the decision for higher allowances to a public vote.
It is also a warning light so that Kenyans can consider representing the “MP Recall Clause” that the “forward thinking” legislators expunged from the draft constitution.
Clearly, when a servant fails to follow an employer’s instructions, summary dismissal should be an express option.
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