Showdown looms over DCs and Dos

By PETER OPIYO

A clash between the Executive and Parliament is looming large after the two parties failed to agree on the fate of Provincial Administration as the country prepares to roll out County governments.

The new twist comes after Parliament took a bold step by confronting the challenge that the Executive had been hesitant to face, by finding a soft landing for District Commissioners, District Officers, Chiefs and Sub-Chiefs.

According to MPs, Provincial Commissioners are heading regions that are not recognised by the Constitution and the National Government should work on how to redeploy them. [PHOTO: FILE /STANDARD]

At about 11:30pm last Thursday the MPs introduced a new Clause into the County Governments Bill, creating new offices for the provincial administrators at the Counties by making them report to the Governors in the new order of governance.

But the Executive, which was represented by Local Government Minister Musalia Mudavadi at the time the Bill was being scrutinised on Thursday, has criticised the changes proposed by the MPs.

Assistant Minister for State and Provincial Administration Mr Orwa Ojode said there was no way provincial administrators would report to a Governor.

He added that his ministry would advise the President against signing the Bill into law. "We will advise the President not to assent to the Bill because there is no way the Provincial Administration can report to the Governor, they must report to the Central government," said Ojode.

Parliament sat up to 11:40 pm on Thursday to pass the Bill, together with Transition to Devolved Governments Bill and Intergovernmental Relations Bill, to beat the February 27 deadline.

The new Clause introduced by Bura MP, Abdi Nuh, gives the DCs new jobs to serve, as sub-county administrators while DOs would work with the ward administrators.

According to the new clause the Chiefs and sub-Chiefs would work as officers of decentralised units. The DCs shall be responsible to the relevant County Chief Officer, who works under the County Governor.

The DOs would work with the ward administrators who are responsible to sub-county administrators.

However, the fate of the eight Provincial Commissioners is still unknown as the Bill, which was passed by Parliament on Thursday night, is silent on them.

Nuh said their fate should be decided by the national government, as Parliament had done its part.

"The PCs are heading regions that are not recognised by the Constitution so it is upon the national government to think about how to redeploy them. We have dealt with the bigger baggage and what is remaining for the government is smaller baggage," Nuh told The Standard on the telephone.

Usurp role

Ojode however, said it was decided that every ministry comes up with a plan on how to deal with Devolution and the aspects of provincial administration; He argued MPs couldn’t usurp this role. "This midnight amendment would not be accepted by the government. We are working on ways of ensuring the Provincial Administration works harmoniously with the County governments but they will not report to the Governors. They will report to the Central government," Ojodeh told The Standard.

However on that Thursday, Mudavadi agreed to the new Clause, saying it would settle doubts on the fate of the Provincial Administration. "This will eliminate all the doubts that have been in the papers and coming up about the issue of the Provincial Administration …I think it covers the concerns MPs have been having," Mudavadi argued when the new clause was floated.

Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Local Authorities and Kinangop MP, Mr David Ngugi said the Provincial Administration must report to the Governors in the new dispensation.

Colonial relic

"The Provincial Administration has to report to the Governor because it is a colonial relic. We need to convert them into development co-ordinators working under the Governors and that is what Parliament has done," Ngugi said.

Ojodeh dismissed claims that the government has been reluctant to deal with the matter, saying the five-year timeline given by the Constitution is yet to elapse.

He said the government would not rely on Parliament’s proposal as President Kibaki is set to appoint a taskforce to look at the whole aspect of Provincial Administration.

He said it would be hard for the Provincial Administration to report to a Governor, especially the ones picked from political parties that are different from the President’s.

But Nuh argued there are provisions in the law to ensure the Governor does not mistreat public servants working under him. "Public servants are devoid of political intrigues so politics should not come into play. In fact the Governor is not given leeway to misbehave since the County Assembly is there to check him or her and he or she can be impeached," said Nuh.

He called upon the Executive to take Parliament’s input as a way of solving the problem. "Let them at least buy this from us. We have given them a solution and we think this is the way to go. They may modify it if they have different proposals," said Nuh.

In the amended Bill the DCs shall be responsible for the coordination, management and supervision of the general administrative functions in the sub-county unit. Their functions would include development of policies and plans, service delivery, developmental activities to empower the community, provision and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities of public services and the county public service.

There shall be a sub-county unit in every constituency, meaning there will be 290 sub-county units after the delimitation of the new electoral boundaries.

Policies and plans

According to the new Clause, the DOs will serve with the ward administrators in the wards. In the Bill the ward administrators shall co-ordinate, manage and supervise the general administrative functions in the ward unit including development of policies and plans, service deliver, developmental activities to empower the community, the provision and maintenance of infrastructure and facilities of public services.

In carrying out these functions and obligations the ward administrator shall be responsible to the sub-county administrator. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has capped the number of wards at 1,450 but Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs want them increased to 1,510.