MLGI and Katiba Institute host “Kenya – South Africa Conference on Devolution” in Nairobi – Kenya
19 August 2013 - The Community Law Centre's MLGI and the Katiba Institute held a two day conference dubbed “Kenya-South Africa Dialogue on Devolution” on 14 and 15 August 2013 in Nairobi, Kenya. The conference was held as part of a book project sponsored by a grant from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP). The project seeks to evaluate and identify lessons that both Kenya and South Africa can share in the implementation of the devolved system of government, and especially from South Africa which has 17 years of experience with implementing devolution.
During the conference, Kenyan and South African experts participating in the book project presented papers on various aspects of devolution. The topics covered included: the history and background to devolution in the two countries, the size and character of devolved units, the institutions and structures of devolved government, the powers and functions of devolved units, financing of devolved units, the place of marginalised groups and communities in the devolved system of government, and the process of implementing the devolved system of government.
The conference had the participation of a wide range of stakeholders who included representatives from government agencies involved in implementation of devolution in Kenya, academics, community groups, media organisations, etc. Among the participants were Mr. Kinuthia Wamwangi, the Chairman of the Transition Authority, Micah Cheserem, and Chairman of the Commission on Revenue Allocation both of whom chaired sessions and plenary discussions during the conference.
Other notable participants included Prof. Peter Wanyande, a commissioner with the Commission on Implementation of the Constitution (Kenya) and Mr. Bongani Khumalo, the acting chairperson of the Financial and Fiscal Commission (South Africa) both of whom presented papers. Prof Wanyande presented a paper on implementation of devolution in Kenya while Mr. Bongani presented a paper on the financing of devolved units in South Africa.
Participants at the conference also witnessed the historical signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the CRA (Kenya) and the FFC (South Africa) aimed at formalising the sharing of information between the two institutions. The CRA and the FFC have the core mandate of advising on sharing of revenue between the different levels of government in Kenya and South Africa respectively. The closing address of the conference was given by H.E Isaac Ruto, the Chairperson of the Council of Governors, and Governor of Bomet County, at the end of the second day of the conference.
During the conference, the main challenges facing devolution were discussed and these included: inadequate resources to support the effective implementation of devolution, political resistance to the implementation of devolution, a lack of a common understanding of the roles of the different institutions involved in the implementation. The fact that implementation of the devolved system of government has just began in Kenya (after the 4 March 2013 elections) also compounds the challenges of devolution in Kenya. However, it was also noted during the conference that South Africa, which is in its second decade of implementing devolution, still faces pretty much the same challenges.