Devolution report: Kenyans unhappy with levels of corruption, nepotism in counties
Corruption and lack of transparency are part
of the main stumbling blocks to service delivery in the counties.
This
is according to a survey conducted by a group of civil societies under the
Kenya Devolution Working Group dubbed ‘Devolution at 10’, on the progress and
mandate of devolution since its inception in 2013.
The
survey established that nepotism, cronyism, favouritism, and tribalism threaten
the concept of devolution which was meant to share resources and power nearer
to the people.
With
the 47 counties getting an approval rating of 41 per cent, the low index rating
was largely attributed to widespread corruption more than a decade since its
inception.
“Many
services that citizens expected from counties are ranking very low, implying
that the level of satisfaction is negative,” Evans Kibet, National Convener of
Kenya Devolution Forum said.
The
survey also cites a lack of transparency and accountability across most county
governments as a stumbling block to service delivery.
“Citizens
expected that devolution would change their lives, but instead they have encountered
massive corruption which has slowed service delivery to the extent that
critical services such as health and agriculture are affected,” Kibet added.
The
survey further highlighted how human resource challenges have jeopardized
service efficiency and timely delivery.
“There
is massive tribalism in some counties which gives room for massive corruption,”
noted Kibet.
Silvia
Vundi, Director, Intergovernmental Relation Division, State Department of
Devolution, added: “As a national government, we appreciate that it’s a challenge
we need to overcome. We want the investigating agencies to bring to book
culprits involved in corruption so that we eliminate this cancer.”
Other
challenges that have affected the operationalization of devolution include weak
legal frameworks, delayed disbursement of equitable share of revenue collected
nationally to county governments, ineffective cooperation and consultation
between the two levels of government, and limited citizens’ decision-making
engagement in formulating regulations.
“Above
all, it is upon every citizen to understand that they do not need to give a
bribe to obtain services,” Dr Vundi stated.
The launch
of the survey report which was conducted by 61 civil society organizations in
47 counties came a day after a similar one by EACC revealed massive bribery in
both national and county governments.
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