It is with no doubt that when the Constitution was
promulgated in August 27th 2010 it signified a new era of hope
especially with regards to devolution.
Initially,when the New Constitution was being drafted,the
various stakeholders concerned had clearly set out the academic threshold for
one to be a Member of County Assembly.Unfortunately,or fortunately,depending on
how you view it , the purpoted academic qualifications were watered down and
even done away with.
As a matter of fact, this is now proving to be futile if the
wave of initiating and executing impeachments is anything to go by.A spotcheck
across Embu,Kericho,Baringo and Elgeyo Marakwet counties speaks volume about
this.
The first fundamental question that I pose is:Are these MCAs
‘infatuated’ with power? Absolutely yes.I tend to think that giving so much
power to uneducated and semi-educated leaders is indeed socio-economic
development in jeopardy.To make matters worse, majority of the MCAs do not even
understand the Stranding Orders.It is high time the electorate vote in MCAs who
have at least a tertiary level of education which goes a long way in aiding to
have prioritized debates in the various County Assemblies.
The second fundamental question that I ask is:How about
Governors and their executives who misuse funds? Well, corruption has been a
juggernaut in Kenya since independence.If a county govt department has been hit
by corruption , the executive member in charge should be held responsible.This
is because impeaching a Governor would have a severe implication on nearly
every aspect and functioning of the
county govt.Imagine if the MPs could be executing impeachments against the
President,one after another? Therefore, it calls for tolerance to abandon the impeachment gimmicks and nurse
the newly born county govts.
My point of view is that the MCAs should blow the whistle,
gather the evidence, inform the necessary authorities and let the law courts do
their work.In addition, the MCAs should
prioritise their debates and should engage constructively to benefit the
citizenry and MUST abandon the ancient politics of witchhunting.
SITATI WASILWA.
