Kenyans have barely recovered from a long and gruelling election that threatened to tear the country apart and now some politicians are talking about changing the Constitution through a referendum. Yet, a referendum may end up pulling the country apart despite the handshake between bitter rivals, Mr. Kenyatta and Odinga which has brought about a semblance of peace and cohesion.
Some of the changes that are being flown left, right and centre are meant to change Kenya’s system of governance. A number of the proposals are just fancy and may not necessarily solve Kenya’s governance structural problems.
Take for instance, a referendum to have a Parliamentary system with a powerful Prime Minister and a ceremonial President. This is a debate that has a potential to divide the country into two. Numbers are at the centre of politics and there is a flimsy possibility in Kenya that a person elected by a group of 300 people would legitimately govern Kenya.
The proposal of an executive Prime Minister has always been suffocated by communities that have many votes but less representatives in Parliament. To date, there is no evidence showing that leaders especially from the Gikuyu community are willing to take this lying down.
On the other hand, there is a fancier proposal that wants to pursue a three tier system of government in Kenya. This debate was re-introduced by Raila Odinga recently when addressing Governors in Kakamega at the devolution conference.
Let us interrogate the ‘three tier’ system. Firstly, in a three tier system a country will have a national government on top. A regional government at the centre and local governments at the bottom. The National government may mean the government in Nairobi, regional governments may take the shape of the former eight provinces and finally county governments as they are, may remain at the bottom as local governments.
|
