Catching up with neighbours on gender parity

This would be best determined in the manner and extent of the revenue base of the governments.

Under the draft law, the national government retains its authority to collect revenue within the provisions of the fifth schedule, with taxation powers intact.

The counties too have been provided with taxation powers under the draft.

Overall, the Kenya Revenue Authority has been retained with its overriding powers within the draft, though under a different name.

The cardinal object in the Kenyan draft is given, inter alia, as ensuring a democratic state, recognising the right of local communities to manage their own local affairs to assist in that management, and accountable exercise of sovereign power and promoting social and economic development for the people.

Overall, it must be stated that the governments of the region have made a good attempt at ensuring that public expenditure is governed by law, in an effort not only to stem spiralling corruption but, more importantly, to ensure proper systems of accountability and transparency.

The people of East Africa have long been asking for accountable governments, and through devolved systems of administration and governance, and through proper and accountable use of revenue and regulated taxation, previously glaring loopholes in the public granaries of finance may well be a thing of the past.

The people of Kenya must now rise to the occasion and determine their own fate by subjecting the new draft constitution to public scrutiny and inexhaustible debate.

But this must be done with sobriety and objectivity, in order to give this great East African nation the benefit of a much needed constitutional order for generations to come.

So as not to transform the Committee of Experts into dictators, the constitutional review process has made provision for the people of Kenya to subject the document to thorough public debate within 30 days, thus empowering the citizenry to feel that they truly own the whole process, thus enabling them to make whatever amendments they in their opinion deem necessary.

Okong’o Omogeni is an advocate and chairman of the Law Society Of Kenya and chairman, Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission Advisory Board