Photo/FILE Uhuru Kenyatta, Kalonzo Musyoka, Raila Odinga, Mwai Kibaki, George Saitoti, Charity Ngilu and William Ruto outside Harambee House, Nairobi after a past meeting. Since independence, politicians around the presidency have dominated and dictated on regional politics, even determining success of failure of other politicians.
By KIPCHUMBA SOME ksome@nationmedia.co.ke
Posted Saturday, July 9 2011 at 16:43
Posted Saturday, July 9 2011 at 16:43
Cabinet ministers, industry captains, high-flying professionals and sitting and former MPs are lining up to vie for the post of governor in their respective counties, now considered the most influential position created by the new Constitution after the presidency.
The governor, it is emerging, will play a key role in the presidential campaigns besides influencing management of public resources and political affairs in the new era following next year’s General Election.
The candidates for governorship will be crucial to presidential campaigns since, to clinch the victory, a candidate for State House will require to bag more than 50 per cent of all votes cast in addition to winning at least 25 per cent of votes cast in at least 24 counties.
“They (governors) will be barometers of a presidential candidates’ popularity because they are the ones on the ground,” said former Siakago MP Justin Muturi, also a board member of the Centre for Multiparty Democracy.
The new Constitution provides that at least 15 per cent of the annual national budget will go to county governments.
This is in addition to the 2.5 per cent Constituency Development Fund and five per cent from the Local Authorities Transfer Fund.
The governor and his “Cabinet” — to be known as the county committee — will manage these funds.
If the counties existed today, each governor would have received an estimated Sh3 billion from the county kitty.
“It will be a substantial amount of money. A governor can grow his influence depending on how he spends these monies for the benefit of his constituency.
“If he uses it properly, most probably he can use that as a springboard for the presidency,” said Mr Mutakha Kangu, the chairman of the taskforce on devolved governments.
Given the powers the 47 governors will wield, how will they shape Kenya’s political landscape? “They are the game changers,” said Dr Adams Oloo, a political scientist and lecturer at the University of Nairobi.
“Governors sound the death knell for regional kingpins,” he added. The regional kingpins Dr Oloo was referring to are those select politicians who informally command near absolute following from their respective communities.
They rose to the informal positions in the by-gone era of the old Constitution since they were perceived to have access to the presidency either through Cabinet or other public positions.
As it were, the President wielded near-absolute powers and this attracted the regional kingpins to the centre.
In return, they would often have goodies to take back home whenever they would convince the President to issue Executive orders about this or that development project or public appointment.
The patronage system was used widely by founding President Kenyatta and perfected by President Moi after him.
These powers have been immensely curtailed and decentralised in the new Constitution.
The governorship is now viewed as one of the more influential new centres of power because of the resources the holders of that office will control.
Politicians who are currently regarded as informal kingpins — a hangover from the previous Constitution — include Prime Minister Raila Odinga (Luo Nyanza), Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka (Lower Eastern/Ukambani), Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta (Central Kenya), Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi (Western/Luhya), Eldoret North MP William Ruto (Rift Valley/Kalenjin) and National Heritage minister William ole Ntimama (South Rift/Maasai).
As it turned out at the formation of the Grand Coalition government, they were considered a necessary part of the Cabinet.
But the new Constitution has cut up the regions they represent into counties and opened them up for grabs by the governors to be elected next year.
Mr Musyoka’s Ukambani will now have three counties while Mr Odinga’s will have four. Similarly, Mr Ruto’s Kalenjinland will be divided into seven counties and Mr Kenyatta’s Central Province five.
Mr Mudavadi’s political turf will have Busia, Vihiga, Bungoma and Kakamega while Mr Ntimama’s turf has also been segmented to form Narok, Transmara and Samburu.
The new Constitution has further complicated matters for the regional kingpins. Cabinet ministers will no longer be drawn from the political field.
They will be professionals whose nomination by the President will have to be approved by Parliament before the nominees can assume office.
Their loyalty will also not be limited to the President alone since Parliament will have the power to fire them.
This simply means there are actually few positions at the top which a presidential hopeful can use to entice regional leaders.
Take the example of the G7 alliance — the budding alliance between Mr Kenyatta, Mr Ruto, Mr Kalonzo, Saboti MP Eugene Wamalwa, Tourism minister Najib Balala, Dujis MP Aden Dualle and former South Mugirango MP Omingo Magara.
A deal for the 2012 election can only accommodate the president and the vice-president.
The parliamentary Majority Leader will only be determined after the elections depending on how many MPs a particular party is able to bring to the House.
So, what happens to the other leaders in the political alliance? Most probably they will be satisfied running as MPs, senators or governors in their respective home turfs.
Given the substantial powers it has over the other posts, Dr Oloo says they will most likely run as governors.
But then will they, the four members of the G7, still be considered as regional kingpins? Not anymore, he says.
“They will just be among the many governors in their communities,” he said.
“I don’t think a governor will accept to be dictated upon by a fellow governor. After all they have equal powers under the Constitution. You will likely see these regions that were monolithic in terms of their political unity splintering,” he said.
But Moi University law lecturer Onesmus Murkommen says that constitutional powers alone do not make an individual influential.
“Although the Constitution has made them all equal by granting them equal powers, they will not by any stretch of imagination be equal.
“Some, as a result of their own personalities, will be more influential than others and let it not surprise you if they will control political happenings outside their own counties,” he said.
Initially, captains of industry and commerce were the majority among those cited in the media as having an interest in positions of the governor.
It was argued that their managerial skills were most needed to run the counties. However, lately, a number of the bare knuckled politicians, including seasoned street fighters, are seen to be taking a keen interest in the post.
“In my opinion, the MPs we have are just a bunch of opportunists masquerading as leaders.
“When you hear some of them readying themselves to be governors, you shudder at the thought of what they will do when given such powers, yet they cannot even manage their own CDFs,” Mr Kangu said.
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