A central
theme in the struggle to recruit the support of the smaller tribes behind the
ODM banner at the coming election is the promise of Majimboism, a thinly veiled euphemism for the anti-Gikuyu
sentiment the party is feasting on.
No one
knows too well what Majimboism is, it being a loose translation for federalism,
based on a hazy memory of what was the proposed constitution of the newly
independent Kenya. After less than two years of
practice, the experiment was given up on, and the party that had long agitated
for it was ingested by the governing KANU party. Its spirit lived on, and with
the increased inequality of the Kenyatta years it was the dream of Kenya's smaller communities reacting to
what they saw as the monopoly of control the numerically superior central Kenyans
had over the destiny of the provinces.
The ascension
to the presidency of President Moi in 1978, himself one of the most ardent
supporters of the idea of Majimboism did
not lead to the taking up of the system, although Moi busied himself as far as
was possible trying to distribute the national cake in a more equitable manner.
Still, the calls did not die down and as Moi's honeymoon came to an end, and
the repression of the Kenyatta years returned, so did the clamour for Majimboism even in zones that were
ostensibly pro-KANU.
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free us from more government
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But what exactly do the
proponents of Majimboism want, and do they really want it? What does Majimboism
mean in theory, and what is it in practice? Our experience of decentralization and
giving power to the tribes, unleashed from Nairobi has not shown much promise. From
the onset of multi-party politics in 1992, there was a liberation of finances
from the Exchequer to the districts. The 1993 Road Maintenance Levy Fund, the 1993/4
bursary fund, the 1998/99 Local
Authority Transfer Fund, the 1999 constituency Aids fund, the 2003 free primary
education, the 1993 rural electrification levy fund and the Constituency
Development Fund. In addition the local authorities have themselves been in
almost total control of the local political party, and even where they were not;
there was very little control from the party's centre in local decision making.
So we find that two of the aims of Majimboism are already achieved here. We
have local government, elected locally without any meddling Kikuyus in it, and
we also have money sent in from Nairobi for the locals to spend as they
and not Nairobi sees fit.
But the people are not
sated. They want more devolution, more government, more offices. The Bomas
Draft goes so far to propose a four-tier system, and with each tier another
group of bureaucrats, another barrier to easy service delivery and another
source of confusion on who should be in charge of what. We have seen from the
failure of CDF to create true growth that more management is needed at the
local level. It is not enough to have money sent to the people directly. Left
to their own means, the people use CDF to make desks and latrines at hiked
prices, so we need professional staff to make these decisions for them, economists and planners, accountants and auditors, a tax collection service, and they need offices, and the regions need
courthouses, and even regional parliaments, and these will want for more staff and they will have hefty budgets.
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city hall Kisumu
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So it is that the
improvement of our infrastructure, and especially our capacity to compete for
example with Egypt or South Africa will be diminished as these roads, power
stations and railways compete with new parliaments for scarce public funds! So it
is that while countries like India are feeling the pinch of all those layers of
bureaucracy, and as we continue to lag behind in the ‘Doing Business' charts,
we are making it even more laborious to invest in Kenya. The Chinese, with
their more centralized system are benefiting at India's expense, who will benefit at
ours?
But even before we get
there, there's the question of how much time we will spend on the transition to
the new system. Where will the boundaries be? What will the capitals of the
regions be? What powers will be devolved from the centre to the new the jimbo? Presumably they want to make
their own laws, so new judges, new courthouses, new jails and new regulations
to deter and confuse investors. They will also want their own policemen, and
maybe they will even set up their own parastatals. Again, the national budget
gets chewed up with these salaries long before the thought of reforming Kenya's fundamental systems has crossed
our minds. We have not thought either of just how these states will be
sustained. Under our current constitution, the richer parts of the country fund
the poorer parts through an invisible system. This is right and proper, but is
it sustainable when the states begin to see themselves as separate entities,
when Central
Kenya
for example sees that it gives the State 100 billion every year, but only gets
10 billion back, while the South Eastern region earns a net of 20 billion every
year? What happens when Kikuyus are being kicked out of regions that their tax
funds sustain? This is not mere scaremongering. Our economy as currently
made-up is largely agricultural and the bulk of our national income is derived from
specific regions. What happens when these regions feel they do not want to
contribute anymore?
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The dangers of stirring
up separatist and irredentist movements are only too real. The memories of the
Shifta years or the reality of the
strength of the Oromo national feeling may not immediately register on the
national psyche, but there is every danger that Majimboism will weaken our national borders and invite further
divisions and trouble in our midst.
And what of the time
taken in implementing this plan? It is ten years or so since we started work on
a new constitution, we have not yet got one. How much of our national energy
will we take to sort this one out, and at what opportunity cost?
Finally, let's pay some
attention to the consequences of the Majimbo
when finally in place. What will the effect be on national sovereignty, and on
national unity? We have seen already that the majority of these efforts are
informed by a desire to createzones of ethnic exclusion. We have also seen that such
sentiments foment ethnic clashes which again will have a catastrophic effect on
both local economies and the national one. Remember Burnt Forest and Molo; the Coastal clashes
even in urban areas like Likoni were all about zones of ethnic purity. The
Kikuyu interloper in the Rift Valley, the Wabara
taking all the jobs at the coast were told in no uncertain terms that they
were not welcome. What will we do with all these settled people, where will we
relocate them and at what cost?
All in all Majimboism is a terrible idea, the consequences of which have not been carefully
considered. The ODM is a populist party, and this is election season. The organization's
leaders love to throw a party and play on the emotions of the people, but this
is a real powder keg, the idea of Majimboism cannot be treated as an inoccuous plaything. It is a matter that calls for leadership. Kenyans must be told in no uncertain terms that they
already have devolution and that the key to settling their concerns on self-determination and wealth distribution lie in
fairer systems of allocation, affirmative action policies on employment
and better creation and implementation of economic plans, not in creating a
system that is in all ways too expensive for our small economy. We can keep it in our hearts and maybe implement it when we are a less divided and wealthier state.
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Yes, Koigi is a vile crook and the only thing that saves him from the gallows is that he might be too lightweight to be successfully strangled by the rope, but every once in a while, he shows intellectual prowess (usually applied for bad causes such as fostering tribalism and hate-mongering), and his article on Majimbo did exactly that.
Alexander