OPINION: Does devolution ever work in Kenya?

I have watched a clip of the Senate’s Public Accounts Committee passing a unanimous vote of confidence in Governor Kimani Wamatangi of Kiambu county. In their submissions, they confirm that Kiambu has doubled its own-source revenue to Sh5.45 billion from Sh2.79 billion when the administration took over.

Let me first stop and explain what this means. Ordinarily, counties are allocated resources by the Exchequer (Treasury) to run their affairs. However, because resources are always scarce, counties must rely on their internal mechanisms to raise additional resources to meet the deficit in the National Treasury's allocation. These resources are known as own-source Revenue (OSR).

Counties, as such, have to modernise collection systems, digitise payments and innovate new ways to raise extra resources within their borders. Some of these include business permit fees, parking fees, etc.

For most counties, this is where governors loot, because they under-declare collections and divert the funds to personal investments. So a county that has the potential to collect Sh500 million extra declares that it only collected Sh120 million. The difference is ordinarily the governor’s loot shared with his or her henchmen.

Similarly, some counties declare growth in own-source revenue but are unable to tangibly show how that money has been utilised or the transformation it has achieved. There are no projects outside the original budget that was projected to the Exchequer. Therefore, if it is true that own-source revenues have grown, then the funds have once again disappeared into the hands of the governors and their teams.

Yet, for Kiambu, there seems to be a rare occurrence in which OSR grew by more than 100 per cent, and the money has significantly impacted aspects that would have stagnated for several years had the county waited for national government budget cycles and allocations.

The Senate’s Public Accounts Committee gave a striking revelation that, due to the steadily growing own-source revenues, the county has recently built six level 4 hospitals and a remarkable 28 brand new level 3 hospitals. Wait. Let that sink in. Kiambu has been able to ensure that no patient walks more than five kilomtres to reach a proper healthcare facility. I can safely say that Wamatangi has achieved more than all his predecessors combined in the growth of healthcare facilities. Wow.

I do not even think the people in Kiambu themselves appreciate him as much as they should. I am not sure whether they understand the phrase, ‘A healthy nation is a wealthy nation’, and whether they have internalised the long-term impact of this development. I am not only looking at the overall handling of the healthcare load, which will drastically reduce fatalities, but also at the micro-economies around these facilities, including the jobs that they have created or will create.

And that is not all. In the last financial year alone, he has ensured that more than 220 ECDE classrooms were built across the county. In the previous years since being elected into office, he had done more than 300, making the total number more than 500.

Essentially, Wamatangi has ensured that each sub-location (not ward, but sub-location), the lowest administrative unit of governance, has received two new ECDE classrooms so far. And I can tell you that all this happened while several million shillings also definitely fled through the window. What a remarkably focused leader.

Make no mistake, I am not saying that Kiambu has not suffered the burden of corruption. In fact, I can bet there is still some haemorrhaging of resources. But it must be stated that the leadership has definitely worked to significantly reduce the appetite for graft, leading to tangible impact on the citizens. Something is definitely working in Kiambu.

Imagine if this had been done under the previous regimes in that county. How far would they be? How much more would they have accomplished? They would even have been able to construct bitumen-standard roads on their own for several kilometres. But greed. The calling to become governors for most people has become a calling to go forth and loot. Sad.

Kenyans barely stop to appreciate good progress in governance. As a public policy professional, I am alive to the dynamics of devolution and its challenges, and I must commend Wamatangi for achieving all this while also handling the never-ending politics with some of the MCAs. (Of course, it is politics, and he signed up for it.)

But I want to urge the good people of Kiambu to pay attention to a governor whose heart is in the right place and to ensure they guard him jealously. And no, do not measure success by your personal desire; rather, measure it by the common good achieved for the whole county.

Hongera, governor. You are a powerful example of what Kenya needs to leap forward, but keep at it. Do not mess it up now because praise has been heaped on you. Also, ensure all hospitals have the requisite equipment and staff, and pay attention to other sectors beyond healthcare.

A quick online scan shows that people from a place called Theta have issues. Deal with those issues. I also hope that the attempted meddling in Tatu City has stopped and that investors are facilitated to grow without being harassed for bribes or having their land grabbed. Keep up the good work.

For those who ask whether devolution ever works, there is your answer. #MwalimuChronicles