‘Devolve’ energy and effort to county elections

By Willy K. Rotich

In the heat of this election season, the real epicenter of our impending transformation, the counties, seem to have been relegated to the back burner, yet they form the very basis of our devolved national soul. We as a nation will  thrive or stagnate depending on how the running of counties turns out following next year’s polls.

Outside the presidency, perhaps among the next most important positions of direct consequence to the citizenry is that of governorship.

In any case, the powers shaved off the presidency will end up in the counties’ executive mansions. That is why we should actually expend the most effort on contemplating how we want them to be managed.

An inordinate amount of attention and energy is being sucked by the tremendous interest surrounding the coalitions and presidential politics which may end up giving the process of electing county executives countrywide a short shrift.

The importance of getting it right at the county level  in this election cannot be gainsaid.

At the outset, the governors’ position looks all glamorous given the fact that the holders will wield executive power and enjoy the trappings that come with the office.

The inaugural governor class will however, find a totally different ball game altogether because they are essentially going to be presented with the unenviable task of cobbling together a county government from scratch.

It will be long before it becomes an attractive political office that many contenders presently imagine it to be.

The reality is that the most challenging of all the political positions up for grabs right now is the gubernatorial job and it is doubtful that politicians seeking this job understand this. What is not in doubt is that it will be hard work and a thankless endeavour. 

That is if you consider the swift judgement, some unfair, that will be abundantly rendered as the county governments get underway. 

Cheerleading prowess

Decisions we make on gubernatorial races across the country, therefore, should assume immense importance and should be watched very closely as they call for rare selflessness, sacrifice and competence.

Our major concern as we prepare to elect prospective governors  is that some of the candidates are favoured to prevail because one of their main qualifications has been their cheerleading prowess to party leaders of coalition P, Q or R. Or their membership in the coalition whipping up most euphoria.

Running a new county will be akin to managing a start-up company. For most of these governance units, it will take years before they attain solvency and full viability.

Every county will be hard pressed to find a candidate suitable for a task of such enormity and patience.

It becomes abundantly clear that the person entrusted with the stewardship of this all-important position should look nothing like the itchy-fingered class of politicians whose exploits we are too well accustomed to.

Needless to say, the majority of them, who cut their teeth pilfering the CDF kitty, are already whetting their appetite for a place in the county gravy train.

However, not all candidates should be condemned.  There will be  many   well meaning governors  who will nevertheless be swamped by the enormity of the monumental duty of building a county government.

Besides coming up with innovative ways of generating revenue, plugging budgetary shortfalls and keeping a whole cadre of county employees on the payroll, these governors  will also have to contend with competition from well resource-endowed counties.

Sometimes there will be competition for business  between counties  and so the governor who is able to maneuver through  this  intricate system  will have the edge.

Another issue  we will have to deal with is that of our political culture of platitudes and licentious promise making that has come to define our body politic, especially during elections.

We have come to believe  that the politician  who deserves our votes is the one who promises to get everything done.

That all we have to do is elect him or her. This governor will not be able to deliver on promises made on the campaign trail.

Preferred candidate

Even those leaders who  find their way to the governors’ mansions courtesy of zoning and horse trading in the coalition talks going on  now will still be expected to perform.

It is doubtful if county employees will tolerate going without pay for any length of time however much they like their governor. 

When all is said and done, I am afraid that in the inaugural class of 2013, a  good number of governors will  fail to deliver on the promise.

This is because the odds are less than a snowball’s chance in  hell that we now have a reformed class of politicians equipped with the skills to manage this new county entity.

The writer is Assistant Professor of Education, St. Bonaventure University, Western NY.