Department of Social sciences
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Item From Center to Margin: An Appraisal of the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF) as a Decentralization Strategy in Kenya(2015-09-30) Mwenzwa, Ezekiel MbithaSince independence in 1963, the governance of development in Kenya has faced numerous challenges leading to poor economic performance and hence negative consequences on Kenyans. The poor-rich gap has not only widened over the years, but the poverty situation has worsened. Consequently, the government has identified centralized planning as a serious development bottleneck and devised strategies for gradual devolution of decision-making power to the local level. Among other development blueprints is the Constituencies Development Fund (CDF), which aims at decentralizing development planning to enable grassroots communities maximize their welfare in line with their needs. This fund is a consequence of the Constituencies Development Fund Act of 2003, which provides the governance framework for a transparent and accountable utilization of the funds. Although CDF is a noble decentralization strategy, it is still prone to centralized planning and hence cannot holistically be regarded as having moved the decision-making power from center to the margin. The paper examines the governance framework availed by the Act in the context of decentralization paradigm, the possible impact of passive civic participation and proposes strategies towards effective local level participation in the utilization of the fund.Item Nepad from below: Towards Intra-country Peer Review Mechanism (iprm) in Kenya(Elixir, 2012-01) Mwenzwa, EzekielKenya is administratively divided into forty-seven (47) counties each of which shall be under the stewardship of a County Governor once the new constitution is finally implemented. These officers shall be tasked with the coordination of governance and development in the respective administrative areas. Like specific country Heads of State in the case of New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), County Governors shall be regarded as peers and hence accountable to both the government and the local community for any development activities. In the NEPAD development thinking, specific countries are required to undertake in-house reviews of their development policies and performance in governance, human rights and social service provision among others. The resultant data are presented to other African Heads of State and Government for peer review and the particular Head of State/Government made to answer for any development shortcomings. Similarly, to improve governance and accountability of leaders in areas under their purview, County Governors in Kenya could be subjected to the same peer review, hence NEPAD from below. This paper examines the APRM philosophy as a development archetype and argues for its intra-country domestication in Kenya focusing on the CountyItem Augmenting proletariat governance: lenses on chapter eleven of the constitution of Kenya, 2010(Elixir, 2012-06) Mwenzwa, EzekielSince independence, the governance of development in Kenya has for the most part been centralised under the armpit of government officials. As such devolution is vaguely understood especially by grassroots leaders and communities. Consequently, central government officials have continued to determine the path of development at the grassroots especially so since they also control financial resources through the district treasury. However, the government has recognized this top-down development archetype as a major bottleneck to welfare and has been implementing policies to bring on board the beneficiaries. One major attempt was the District Focus for Rural Development Strategy of the early 1980s, which made the district the local level planning and development coordination and implementation unit. This policy faced several challenges which necessitated more focused strategies to move decision-making powers from the center to margin. The early years of the 21st century marked increased resource devolution and decentralized decision-making to the grassroots including Constituencies Development Fund, recruitment of some cadre of staff, management of health facilities and water resources among others. The Constitution of Kenya endorsed by about 70% of votes cast during the August 4th 2010 Referendum and subsequently promulgated by the president on August 27th 2010 is yet another devolution stab to enhance development and governance at the grassroots. This paper highlights the devolution proposals and the envisaged benefits to grassroots communities in Chapter Eleven of the Constitution of Kenya.