Our poor growth is evidence of not using equalisation fund well

That there are parts of Kenya that are underdeveloped, more than five decades after independence, is alarming.

But even more worrying is that the country seems not to have a future in terms of development, considering the rampant corruption in high places that seems to have overwhelmed the national leaders.

I remember when Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi, in an address attended by journalists on January 13, 2017, urged the county’s residents not to vote for Jubilee.

He accused the national government of derailing projects initiated by his administration by delaying disbursement of funds.

The Constitution addresses the challenge of marginalisation through affirmative action programmes and policies designed to redress any disadvantage suffered by individuals or groups because of past discrimination.

In June 2018, the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) launched a policy and criteria for sharing revenue among marginalised counties.

The Equalisation Fund is a creature of the Constitution, under Article 204.

Money in the fund is public finance set aside to accelerate the level of services in marginalised areas that would bring them at par with the rest of the country.

The fund had been a matter of intense debate during the constitution-making process. A group of MPs from mainly the arid regions argued for the need to anchor it on the Constitution.

The initial idea was that it should make up at least five per cent of the national budget.

The Equalisation Fund was established to plug gaps of underdevelopment in marginalised areas. It was meant to improve infrastructure, water, health and education facilities.

For instance, the arid and semi-arid lands, which make up nearly 70 per cent of Kenya’s land mass, are characterised by high levels of illiteracy, poverty, insecurity, water scarcity, poor infrastructure and basic services.

Greed causes most of underdevelopment. When the new Constitution was passed in 2010, everybody was happy that funds would be devolved and made easily available for local projects.

But when the county governments came to power in 2013, goods and services were procured for up to five times the market price.

This happened because some leaders had a twisted view of devolution. They viewed it as an opportunity to fill their stomachs. They did everything they could to get the biggest share of the loot.

But there is also laziness. Kenya has a population of 50 million with 55 per cent of the citizens being youth for whom gambling has taken the best part of their minds.

Although government launched an initiative to give youth with business ideas capital to start off, 75 per cent of the allocated funds was misused, and the beneficiaries have nothing to show for it.

From social services to infrastructure development, the fund, as its name suggests, should have equalised the regions. But has it?