Just in:
Experience Ultimate Shopping Freedom at 4.4 Shopee Spree: Don’t Worry, Shop Shopee! // Near Miss at Kolkata Airport: IndiGo Plane Makes Contact with Stationary Air India Express // Party Nominees Refusing To Contest: Major Perception Threat For BJP // Sunshine’s Debut Features Leave Tech World Scratching Its Head // Renewables Surge Sets Record, But Global Equity Lags // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // 2024 Lok Sabha Election Is A Historic Battle Against The Advent Of Fascism In India // Study: Stainless steel circular economy significantly reduces the risk of climate change in Thailand // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // HSBC Streamlines Gold Investment for Hong Kong Residents with Tokenized Product // Konica Minolta is named ASEAN 2023 Market Leader in Colour Light and Mid Digital Production Printers // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // In Lok Sabha Polls In Punjab, AAP Is Advantageously Placed As Against Its Three Rivals // Hope for Respite as UAE Endorses UN Plea for Gaza Truce // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // The World’s First & Wettest Party: “S2O Hong Kong Songkran Music Festival” proudly returns Get an immersive water and music experience on 8-9 June during Dragon Boat Festival long weekend at Central Harbourfront Event Space! //
HomeFT SelectKenya backs devolution to defuse political tension

Kenya backs devolution to defuse political tension

b14f9bee a758 11e6 8b69 02899e8bd9d1

The reputation of the main hospital in Iten was so bad that the only people who went there were those who wanted to “die quickly”, says Alex Tolgos, the county governor.

But four years since Kenya started what the World Bank calls “one of the most rapid and ambitious devolution processes” on the planet, the hospital in the western Kenyan town has been transformed. More than half the patients in its 200 beds are from nearby counties, a sign, hospital administrators say, of its success. 

ADVERTISEMENT

The turnround, Mr Tolgos believes, is largely the result of new funding local authorities receive. “Before devolution you could not even quantify how little the districts got,” he says. “A lot of money was held in Nairobi and swiped for other budgets, but now people can feel it’s not.”

More than 20 per cent of government funds, or several billion dollars, are now allocated every year to the 47 Kenyan counties created from scratch in 2013. Money that once never left the capital or was embezzled is being diverted to rural areas, where social media and local awareness contributes to greater accountability.

This “game-changer for development”, as Erik Habers, an EU diplomat, describes it, has also shaken up the political landscape in a country known for its election-related violence. 

With the political temperature already rising ahead of general elections set for August, the stability of east Africa’s dominant economy is becoming ever more important in a region blighted by conflict and internal unrest. 

There used to be a premium on the presidency but as devolution gets entrenched people are keener on seeing who will be the next governor because he or she will have most direct impact on their lives

Some 1,100 people were killed and 600,000 forced to flee their homes in fighting — mostly in the Rift valley between the Kikuyu and Kalenjin tribes — following Kenya’s 2007 election. The 2013 ballot, after the promulgation of a new constitution that introduced devolution, was much more peaceful. 

ADVERTISEMENT

Paul Korir, Anglican bishop of Kapsabet, 80km south of Iten, echoes the views of many when he says it is “50-50” whether the election will mirror the 2013 or the 2007 poll.

“We didn’t deal with the root causes of 2007-08,” he says, referring to land rights and marginalisation of some tribes. “It’s a utopia to think we’ve moved beyond 2007. If people believe they are marginalised, on the periphery, while others are not, it could act as a flashpoint.” 

Devolution has thus become a crucial factor in helping defuse tension. Not only do previously neglected communities have better services, decentralisation has diluted the political stakes by creating local positions with real power. 

County governors, county assembly members and senators in the national parliament are all directly elected. And unlike in 2013, when the system was brand new, people now know how crucial these posts are. 

“The national mindset is changing,” says Kipkorir Arap Menjo, an opposition politician in Eldoret. “There used to be a premium on the presidency but as devolution gets entrenched people are keener on seeing who will be the next governor because he or she will have most direct impact on their lives.” 

The first big test comes this month when local party members select candidates for election, a process that in areas such as the Rift valley is more important than the vote itself. The unity of people from the Kikuyu and Kalenjin tribes in the ruling Jubilee party means that its candidates are almost certainly guaranteed victory there.

But there are fears that the selection process may be manipulated.

“If the nominations are not done well first of all it will cause violence and then it will risk the election of the presidential candidate because if people feel the process is not free and fair they will not vote,” says Mr Tolgos, a Jubilee member who is seeking re-election as governor.

Of equal importance is how the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission conducts the election. Last year, nationwide opposition protests against perceived bias led to the deaths of half a dozen people. “If it is not well managed there will be problems,” Mr Tolgos says. “In 2013 there was no violence partly because the election was run so much better than in 2007.” 

Analysts believe devolution could be game-changing on another political level; it offers an alternative path to the presidency.

“If a governor is seen as a good performer then that could, and over the next decade is increasingly likely to, be a ticket to national-level politics,” says Abdullahi Abdille of the International Crisis Group think-tank.

However he adds a critical caveat: “You will still have to be from the right community though.”

Via FT

ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISEMENT
Just in:
AI Boost for Galaxy Devices: Samsung Expands One UI 6.1 Update // Ajman Celebrates Conclusion of Ramadan Activities with Grand Ceremony // The World’s First & Wettest Party: “S2O Hong Kong Songkran Music Festival” proudly returns Get an immersive water and music experience on 8-9 June during Dragon Boat Festival long weekend at Central Harbourfront Event Space! // Arvind Kejriwal Was Used By BJP In 2011 Movement To Take On The Congress // Study: Stainless steel circular economy significantly reduces the risk of climate change in Thailand // Party Nominees Refusing To Contest: Major Perception Threat For BJP // Meta Earth Official Website Launch: The Pioneer Explorer in the Modular Public Blockchain Domain // HSBC Streamlines Gold Investment for Hong Kong Residents with Tokenized Product // Arvind Kejriwal Gets International Heft Against The Deshi Vishwaguru // Sharpening the Focus: Sharjah Health Department Refines Evaluation Criteria for “Healthy Schools Programme” // Infineon and HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering jointly develop ship electrification technology // Superland Announced Annual Results for 2023, 2023 Net Profit Increased approximately 39.5% to approximately HK$22.2 million as Compared to the 2022 Adjusted One // 2024 Lok Sabha Election Is A Historic Battle Against The Advent Of Fascism In India // In Lok Sabha Polls In Punjab, AAP Is Advantageously Placed As Against Its Three Rivals // Hullabaloo About Electoral Bonds May End Up As A Whimper Pre And Post Poll // AIA Hong Kong Wins More Than 20 Accolades at MPF Ratings MPF Awards, BENCHMARK MPF of The Year Awards and Bloomberg Businessweek Top Fund Awards // Lisboeta Macau’s world first LINE FRIENDS PRESENTS CASA DE AMIGO and BROWN & FRIENDS CAFE & BISTRO has officially opened // Universal Language for Healthcare: General Authority Embraces Global Coding System // Emirates Post Speeds Up Deliveries for GCC with Special Day // Court Sides with Coinbase on Wallet Service, But Staking Program Remains in Limbo //