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Will greedy MCAs, who were meant to save us, destroy us instead?

Thursday May 25 2017

The county assembly in Kenya’s system of devolved government is central to the success or failure of our bold experiment in bringing governance and resources closer to the people.

The county assembly is conceived of as the instrument that brings to life the letter and spirit of the constitutional principles of involving people in governance, and determination of their development priorities.

The County Assembly has the equally important function of checking the county executive, and providing oversight on use of funds. The extent to which the County Assembly succeeds in its functions is the extent to which the idea of devolution will succeed. Therefore, in the devolution scheme, the position of Member of County Assembly (MCA) is more crucial than that of the position of Member of Parliament (MP).

Have county assemblies lived up to expectations? It is true that some counties have seen hospitals where there were none, roads where none existed, improved delivery of services, and so on. But even these kinds of developments pale when measured against the potential of the devolution idea.

The tragedy of Kenya and Africa, however, is that we use low standards to evaluate our performance. Since Independence, we have developed a culture of applauding a half-full glass as success, whereas other regions developed a culture that viewed nothing but a full glass as success. Rwanda succeeds in almost every sector because the country has undergone a paradigm shift in the way it evaluates itself.

We have heard, for instance, William Ruto’s harangues about how the Jubilee government has done better than all the previous governments in fighting corruption.

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According to this “logic,” we should not complain about the billions stolen from NYS, the billions stolen at the Ministry of Health, and all the other corruption scandals over the past four years. Should we persist in doing so, we are reminded that we are better off than Somalia or Tanzania. We are the regional hub. We are the regional economic superpower.

But surely, can a country the size of ours with a GDP of only $60 billion be a superpower? Is there a superpower whose citizens die from famine? Is there a superpower that grovels to the West or East, begging bowl held out? Only a mindset with a cynical vision of Kenyans can spew such nonsense.

Back to the MCAs. Their performance over the past four years has been a study in how policies and principles are laid to waste by a spree of looting and incompetence. It’s like going back in time to the period after Independence and watching promising countries being turned into basket cases.

The MCAs left no doubt whatsoever why they had sought public office: Riches and jet-set lifestyles. They awarded themselves allowance as if they were going out of fashion. They used false travel claims to get more loot. They went on “fact-finding missions” all over the world.

They demanded kickbacks in order to influence county policy or to influence the award of tenders. People who literally lived in their mothers’ houses became instant millionaires. Further, in order to have a free hand in this looting spree, they entered into a quid pro quo with the governors: You let us steal and we let you steal.

Wheelbarrows costing thousands of shillings were purchased by counties. Ordinary biros were purchased at the cost of laptops. Governors allocated themselves discretionary funds amounting to millions of shillings that they used under entertainment and other fictitious budget votes. Governors hired family members to key positions. They awarded companies they owned lucrative tenders. The governors became small Teodoro Obiangs.

Judging by the results of the recent primaries, the calibre of MCAs will get worse. We saw the nomination of petty traders, school cooks, mechanics, watchmen, hawkers, etc. We must ask ourselves: Do these people, with due respect to them, have the intellectual fortitude and integrity to perform the crucially important role of MCA?

Given that the role of MCA is vital to the success of devolution and, therefore, national development, should we not have the highest academic and integrity requirements for the position of MCA?

Not surprisingly, the political class does not think so. At a recent Jubilee conference to endorse Uhuru Kenyatta as presidential flagbearer, speaker after speaker saw the nomination of the people named above as testament to the virtues of Jubilee.

In typical myopia, the political class has failed to see the vital link between the MCA position and our national welfare. God help us!

Tee Ngugi is a Nairobi-based political and social commentator. E-mail: [email protected]

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