New structure should not hinder devolution

President Uhuru Kenyatta has effectively changed the composition and structure of the national government through an executive order issued this week. The Cabinet Secretary for the Interior and Coordination of National Government becomes a de facto coordinator of government programmes, chairing a newly created committee in charge of national development implementation and communication.

Subsequently, the positions of regional commissioners and county commissioners have been elevated and given powers to coordinate national development matters within their respective jurisdiction. Essentially, the new structure is a recreation of the old provincial administration that comprised provincial commissioners and district commissioners with wide-ranging powers.

It is understandable that the objective is to create coordination, predictability and consistency in management of government affairs. Importantly, it will enhance security operations, especially in the era of terror attacks. Which is the reason police officers at the regional and county levels have also been given more powers.

But the whole structure elicits constitutional and governance questions. It also creates administrative challenges.

In the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, the national government is charged to restructure the provincial administration but with a clear caveat: That it has to accord with and respect devolution. However, a critical evaluation of the roles and powers accorded to the regional and county commissioners denote emasculation of other agencies and institutions.

Concentration of powers in the hands of the commissioners is at variance with the spirit of the Constitution, whose centre piece is devolution. Powers are dispersed to two levels of government — national and county — two chambers of Parliament (the National Assembly and the Senate) and various constitutional offices. Underpinning this is promotion of good governance characterised by public participation in decision making.

Various functions such as agriculture and health are devolved. Land management is vested on the National Land Commission. Management of education at the county level is charged to the County Education Board through the Basic Education Act. In principle, these functions, among others, are managed by independent entities outside the purview of the regional and county administrators. Such an arrangement promotes effectiveness.

Whereas the national government has the liberty to organise its structures in a manner that best supports coordination and implementation of programmes, that should not conflict with the Constitution and reverse administrative and governance gains.