E x c e l l e n c e i n p u b l i c s e r v i c e : D e l i v e r y a n d r e f o rm governments under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya 2010. Conflicts over what should constitute 15 per cent of the block grant and who should be in charge of the equalisation fund occur not just over money or offices, but also over legitimacy so as to gain political support and diminish the support of opponents. This is evidenced by the many cases filed in the Kenya courts over the supremacy of one actor versus another over financial matters.2 Institutional actors The president At the apex of fiscal relations in Kenya’s devolved system is the president, who chairs an intergovernmental forum that brings together him or her with all 47 governors. It is in this forum that decisions about unfunded mandates and the transfer of functions and related resources are discussed and resolved (GoK, 2011). The president also assents into law bills from the national parliament, some of which have been the source of conflict between the actors of the two levels of government. As such the president has been perceived as siding with the MPs and senators against governors. The governor At the centre of fiscal relations in Kenya’s devolved system is a governor who is in charge of the county’s share of the 15 per cent block grant transferred from the national government as well as other resources raised internally by the counties. Under the Intergovernmental Relations Act 2011 the forum that brings together all 47 county governors is known as the Council of Governors (CoG). Within the CoG the county governors elect a chairperson from amongst themselves (GoK, 2011). The governors are the chief executive officers of county governments and therefore control both the county bureaucracy and internally generated resources and transfers from the national government. Much like the president, the governors assent county bills – including the budget – into law. In fiscal relations, the powers of governors lie in the CoG as a collective body and not in the single action of an individual governor. Equally, governors’ close proximity to the electorate, as well as their power over county resources, connects them to their constituency on a somewhat deeper level than other locally elected officials. Members of parliament Members of parliament (MPs) represent the electorate in the national assembly. Their role is to provide corporate oversight over the executive and enact legislation at the national level. MPs also have powers over the budget, including passing the Revenue Allocation Bill that determines the amount of revenue transferred to and shared by the counties. Under fiscal relations, MPs have the power to adjust and approve ministerial allocations of the national government that often include categorical grants given to the counties for services such as health care, roads and water. The genesis of unfunded mandates therefore originates from parliamentary budgetary decisions. MPs also serve as patrons of the Constituency Development Fund3. The CDF constitutes 2.5 per cent of the total government’s ordinary revenues disbursed annually to 290 constituencies (GOK, 2013: Setion 4 (1a)). In fiscal year 2013/14 the total allocation for the CDF was KSh 137.67 billion (US$1.53 billion). On average each constituency got KSh 71,289,310 (US$792,000). MPs have used the CDF to fund capital projects in sectors including health, roads, water, schools, bursaries and agriculture at the constituency level (sub-county level). It is worthy to note that these are the same functions devolved to the county government and also the subject of unfunded mandates agitated for by the governors for funding. The senator In terms of intergovernmental fiscal relations, senators are instrumental in approving the amount of funding to be shared between the national and county governments factoring in the recommendations of the Commission on Revenue Allocation (GoK, 2010: Article 217 (1–4)). They also have legislative powers on county matters and exercise an oversight role in functional transfers and the associated mandates. Senators have no role in influencing resource allocations within either level of government. However, in the past senators were able introduce an amendment to the County Government Act 2012 that established the County Development Board, chaired by senators (GoK, 2014). In principle this gave them an influencing role at the county level (although county development boards failed to take off across the country).4 Members of the county assembly In terms of prestige and affluence of power, members of the county assembly (MCAs) have relatively little but when it comes to Figure 2: Unfunded mandates from national government Commonwealth Governance Handbook 2014/15 60 Function Amount in KSh (billions) Equivalent in USD (US$1=KSh 90) Health 17.83 198,144,444 Water 24.43 271,388,889 Housing and urban development 8.03 89,266,667 Land (management) 19.09 212,144,444 Transport and infrastructure 19.08 211,977,778 Livestock services and management 4.88 54,177,778 Other allied programmes 9.32 103,611,111 Total 102.66 1,140,711,111 Source: Council of Governors, 2014.
CEP template 2012
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