Idiocy, Patronage, Clientilism, Tokenism and Lopsided Projects in Counties
Two years down the line, I am persuaded that the letter of devolution has been implemented but the spirit of devolution sacrificed at the altar of patronage, clientilistic grassroots politics and pure idiocy. Consequently, the priorities of county governments remain lopsided driven by expediency, quick popularity gains and tokeninism. Let us unpack some of this accusations using Bungoma County as a case. The spirit of devolution is power to the people. This means that people get to own their development destiny through their participation in decision-making and implementation of decisions. The people (previously, the ruled) are supposed to be at the center of decision making, have the power to veto decisions by agencies and supervise implementation of development projects in the county. In Kenya, the letter of devolution has been followed and mini governments created. Just like the constitution demands, the county governments have been allocated resources, county assemblies