Germany has offered two of its experts on devolution who will assist Kenya to establish county governments.The offer came as two German ministers Werner Gatzer (Finance) and Ms Gudrun Kopp (Economic Cooperation and Development ) warned that the heated debate on deferrals of the cases facing the Ocampo Six at The Hague were delaying the implementation of the new Constitution.
In a meeting with deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi in Berlin, Mr Gatzer said the experts will help to draft and implement policies and laws on financial relations between the Central Government and County Governments.Mr Gatzer said his ministry was ready to offer the expertise of Mr.Andreas Kienemund, the head of public finance; and Dr Jurgen Michalk head of equalisation funds, Value Added Tax (VAT), grants and tax distribution to help Kenya formulate effective policy and legislation.
He said Kenya could learn a lot from the success and failures of the German federal system especially the weaknesses of financial sustainability of devolved units.
Mr Mudavadi had outlined constitutional provisions on fiscal matters stating that laws were required to ensure harmony in coordination of financial issues between the two levels of government.
At the centre of the financial relationship between the two levels of government are disbursements to counties; accountability at county level and access the Equalisation Fund by counties. "We have a Constitution that is by and large very liberal in its principles, but reveals very little on operational aspects that might become adversarial. This gap has to be filled by enabling legislation, yet the Constitution is very unforgiving on timelines," the Local Government minister said.
Mr Mudavadi had expressed his concern that corruption might be exported to Counties should there be lack of stringent integrity legislation on governance. "We have to find a way around the insurmountable culture freebees that feeds corruption through strengthening integrity in institutions. We have an opportunity to begin with a clean slate at the County level by ensuring that no plunder of public resources will be allowed or go unnoticed", he said.
Mr Mudavadi is leading a Kenyan delegation to study how devolved government works in Germany.In another meeting, Ms Kenya said Germany experience with three levels of Government will come in hardy for County Government capacity building in Kenya after legislations are in place. She said German will support civic education programmes on the working of the new Constitution and build capacity in new constitutional commissions.
However, she said Germany was disturbed by Kenya’s continuing argument on the ICC issue she described as a 'nuisance’ and called for a quick solution. "Kenya is sending the wrong signals that it is preparing to subvert justice and advance impunity in the interest of the few. This situation is unsustainable and is of nuisance value where Kenya had started off of so well in adopting a new Constitution’, she said.
She said German development partnership with Kenya was premised on the reform agenda under a new Constitution and its implementation. "In the middle of this focus, government attention is being diverted to ICC undermining public confidence in the reform agenda", she asserted. The delegation includes Permanent Secretary Karega Mutahi, Parliamentary Oversight Committee on the Implementation of the Constitution Abdikadir Mohamed, Interim Independent Electoral Commission chairman Ahmed Isaack and Economic advisor at the Treasury Kamau Thuge among others.
Kelvin Mwangi,
Nairobi.
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