Kibaki dishes out new districts and varsity as 'No' cries foul

President Kibaki landed in Garissa town for a ‘Yes’ rally, and when he left he had literally changed the landscape of North Eastern Province by dishing out three new districts.

The President’s ‘generosity’ in the heat of the referendum campaigns — he promised he would put up a public university in the vast, arid and marginalised province, which does not have one.

The President’s declaration rekindled memories of his 2005 referendum and 2007 presidential campaigns when he doled out out new districts, in the process taking the number up from 71 to 277. Yesterday’s referendum ‘gifts’ took the number to an all high of 280.

The President yanked open his basket of referendum goodies on a day the ‘No’ team called for the levelling of the political playing field, saying the ‘Yes’ side was unfairly riding on the wave of State coffers and freebies.

They also expressed outrage at the fact the State, which is backing the ‘Yes’ vote, had deployed Permanent Secretaries to campaign for ‘Yes’ in their rural homes along with provincial administrators, and other senior civil servants.

The President carved out Tarbaj, Habaswein, and Mbalae from Wajir East, Wajir South, and Garissa Central Districts at the time a section is fighting against the Proposed Constitution because of what it claims was disproportionate and discriminatory delineation of 47 counties.

Financial burden

The President appeared to ignore both the ongoing review of boundaries by Interim Independent Boundary Review Commission’s work and the heavy financial burden of running the existing districts if only to soften the ground for ‘Yes’ in North Eastern. There is a standing agreement crafted by Parliament that constituencies should share boundaries with districts, meaning even the three he created yesterday could end up as districts.

The ‘Yes’ side seemed keen to leave nothing to chance, as it rode on the back of State machinery — literally on the backbone and network of Provincial Administration, Government vehicles, and choppers, among other resources.

In November 2005, for example, the President received a delegation of leaders from the larger Kisii District and gave them three more districts and promised to upgrade Kisii Campus to a fully-fledged university.

Present in the Garissa rally were 13 Cabinet ministers, and 11 MPs from the province.

Separately, sources within the Provincial Administration told The Standard 15 districts the President created do not have DCs, while others do not have offices. "About three quarters of the 280 districts are being run by DOs who were promoted to DCs," said the source.

Apart from the personnel crisis, there is a standoff between the Public Service Commission (PSC) and Harambee House because the latter has refused to promote the DO IIs to DCs.

"The morale is low because the DOs who are enjoying the status of DCs are still earning the salary of DOs because they are not qualified to serve as DCs," said the Harambee House source.

But the districts appear to be serving sentimental value rather than aiding the provision of services to the people.

DCs are also assisting in distributing copies of Proposed Constitution at public meetings.

Under the proposed law, offices under the Provincial Administration at district level will cease to exist in their current form because they would be restructured to serve under county governments in seven years.

But the ‘No’ side led by its director Tom Namwamba reacted angrily, saying it was wrong for the President to dish out ‘goodies’ to voters only two weeks to the referendum.

Four Members of Parliament – Julius Kones, Kiema Kilonzo, Wilfred Machage and Charles Keter termed unacceptable the creation of the new districts. Keter argued even if Garissa residents deserved a district, its timing was suspect and would be seen as aimed at influencing the outcome of the referendum.

Desperate moves

"He (the President) is hoodwinking people to believe districts would not be done away with, knowing well they would not be there under the new constitution," said Kilonzo.

Dr Kones, who is Konoin MP, asked: "How can he create districts when, their existence is in doubt in the Proposed Constitution?"

He added: "This is one of the many desperate moves by the Government to bribe, cajole, and entice the people to vote ‘Yes’. I believe this amounts to impunity, which we are supposed to be fighting against in the new dispensation."

A section of local leaders asked for the ‘freebies’ during the ‘Yes’ rally at Garissa Primary School. Defence Minister Yussuf Haji led North Eastern leaders in demanding Garissa Teachers Training College be elevated to a university.

The President said the draft constitution catered for the development of bad roads in the province. "While the region’s roads will be expanded from the money already allocated, what is remaining is for you to vote ‘Yes’ and more development would follow," he said.

"I have no doubt you will vote ‘Yes’, with the rest of the country because the new constitution is good for you," he said.

In a thinly veiled reference to Al-Shabaab Islamic militant group, the President said security would be boosted to protect Kenyans.

"We don’t want trouble with anyone. We are peace-loving," he said. On Wednesday an al-Shabaab attack in Liboi, Garissa, left a General Service Unit officer seriously injured.

Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka, Deputy Prime Ministers Uhuru Kenyatta and Musalia Mudavadi, and Internal Security Minister George Saitoti accompanied the President.

Mudavadi said the ‘No’ camp had sensed defeat at the referendum.