The advent of devolution is by all standards an epochal event. If solidly implemented it will revolutionize grass-root development of this nation and lessen the burden of fighting poverty. So far we have seen many strides in terms of service delivery and general appreciation of government presence.
Many hitherto “locked” counties are up on development scales. Communities that for years depended on the goodwill of those pulling national political strings are beginning to "taste the value of their taxes". Many schools, health facilities, community centers et al are popping up across this country. The recently released World Bank report is a clear testimony of this.
However, the unchecked negative influence of local elites coupled with ignorance among members of the public vis-à-vis accountability and budgeting prove to be the foremost obstacles to a successful devolution take-off.
Put it differently, local “boys and girls” have strategically positioned themselves to “eat from home pot” thanks to the ignorance of their people.
We need not move far to point out that real enemies of devolution are not stationed in Nairobi but right at the doorsteps of our village folks. They masquerade as leaders who espouse willingness to make real the fruits of devolution.
Being ranked as the best performing county by World Bank is not in my view the ultimate mark that should be relied upon to either critique or praise county governments' leadership. For me a county government is the engine that translates the procurement complexities of Nairobi's bureaucracies to simple procedures bearing in mind the dynamics and contexts of village folks.
Counties are specially designed to rope in the hitherto “valueless village people” into governance and development chain. It’s not about creating a special niche through which friends and relatives siphon public funds.
Brandishing endless pages of procurement annexes to justify why certain groups and personalities have an upper hand in scooping contracts and tenders adds no value to mama mbogas' businesses dotting our villages.
Turkana County, despite its sterling performance records, has a long way to go to make real the benefits of devolution to her mama mbogas.
To channel all tender/contract adverts through newspapers and expect Turkana's illiterate population to access the required information is a fallacy of the highest degree. (Remember eighty percent of these people depend on word of mouth to access any information!)
This is clearly a technical maneuver to lock out our local traders and open doors for predetermined suppliers and contractors.
It’s about legitimizing “eating”. It has nothing to do with stimulating local economies but to accumulate contract coins in few known pockets. We must exorcise these spirits as early as now!
We know it. This is the handiwork of procurement mafias populating Turkana county “ministries”. Hear what they say. That local people have no capability to supply and/or execute a contract. That their economic muscles are not at par with the demands of the said contracts and/or tenders.
Of course exceptions exist. Some works demand expertise and deep pockets to execute. But exceptions ought not to be the order of the day. If the "small fish" are capable of doing something why lock them out? By the way we can create "big fish" from our many small fish by empowering them through welfare groups. This is the import of devolution!
Tellingly, it demands some foresight to dismantle these procurement mafias before they spread all over and derail the devolution train.
Devolution is not just about building dispensaries. People are equally entitled to know who were contracted to build them and if local business-people were part of them. I don't suffer xenophobia. So this is not all about locking out perceived non-locals from winning contracts and/or tenders.
It's about striking a middle ground. It's about eliminating these greedy chaps who belittle local traders just because they are “locals”. It's about fighting poverty through entrepreneurship.
For this to materialize Governor Josphat Nanok has to shout out and go after the necks of these procurement mafias. His continued silence will be his greatest undoing. Leadership must be felt by all.
The cattle herders of Oropoi, the mango traders of Kainuk, the charcoal burners of Kibish and many others across Turkana stand to lose if these procurement mafias aren't knocked out of the way.
I don't advocate for tribal preference when awarding tenders. I am for openness and empowerment of lowly-classed investors. Procurement must be tinged with patriotism for it to benefit all.
Will the good Governor seize the moment?
Lemukol Ng'asike is an architect. Email: lemoseh89@gmail.com.Twitter: @mlemukol.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your thoughts? thanks for dropping them here...