What the New Constitution Portends for the Pokot County

The New Constitution 2010 provides for a county government which will have both:

i)                     the county assembly , and

ii)                  A county executive.

I will equate the county assembly to it being ‘the parliament’ of the county where its issues are articulated by its representatives elected in their respective wards. The county executive is more of what the president does, the powers he has and whatnot. Therefore, where the president at the national level exercises his respective powers, the county executive is a similar thing but at the county level.

This is to be expected. Whereas the county assembly will be charged with the responsibility of ‘passing its laws’, for it to be implemented there must be a body clothed in county executive. The roles of these two bodies in the county will perform complementary roles. County assembly will pass laws and check on the ‘excesses’ of the county executive. This means that if the Governor, the Deputy Governor and other members which the Governor appoints decide one day to do pull down some shops without authority then the county assembly will question this.

So, what constitutes the county assembly? It will consist of councillors, special seat to cater for the least-represented gender but not more than two-thirds of the membership of the assembly, marginalised groups including persons with disabilities and the youth and the speaker. This is in accordance to Article 177 of the Constitution. It will be worthy to note that their term will be for 5 years.

The county executive committee will consist of the county governor and the deputy county governor and members appointed by the county governor, with the approval of the assembly, from among persons who are not members of the assembly. Article 179(2) of the Constitution provides for this. Of particular interest is Article 179(3) of the Constitution. The ‘other members’ forming the county executive committee will not exceed one-third of the number of members of the county assembly if the assembly has less than thirty members. Also, these members cannot exceed ten if the assembly has thirty or more members. It appears therefore, that these members would be ten on the maximum.

I will not dwell on the eligibility criteria of these office-holders or how they could be removed from office. The constitution clearly provides for them. Rather, I will examine the functions of county executive committees. 

Article 183(1) of the Constitution provides:

A county executive committee shall—(a) implement county legislation;(b) implement, within the county, national legislation to the extent that the legislation so requires;(c) manage and coordinate the functions of the county administration and its departments; and(d) perform any other functions conferred on it by this Constitution or national legislation. 

Further, Articles 183(2) and 183(3) indicate that the county executive may prepare proposed legislation for consideration by the county assembly and provide the county assembly with full and regular reports on matters relating to the county.

These are vast powers bestowed upon the county executive committee. The task of implementation holds the greatest key to the success of the county. The county assembly might pass good laws, rant and rave all they want, but the decisive steps of the executive committee matters a great deal. The office-holders—County governor, deputy governor and ‘the members’ the county appoints with the approval of the assembly—should be persons who not only satisfy the eligibility requirements but should have a proven track record of development, the ability to grasp and implement a wide array of factors, be visionary and more of ‘doers’ and not ‘talkers’.

It saddens me, therefore, as I skim through the county debates that some of these pertinent issues are least discussed if at all. What we need to appreciate is how the county assembly and the county executive will operate. Who will run them? What statements of mission will guide them? How will they fit into the bigger picture of the national landscape? What policy considerations to be considered? How will the county resources be tapped and in what best ways? What will be the checks and balances? Objective politics and how to be achieved? Issue-driven debates as opposed to euphoria-centred cheap talks?

These are the issues. These are the sad realities.  I got this quote from J.G. Holland:

‎"GOD give us men! A time like this demands strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and ready hands; Men whom the lust of office does not kill; Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy; Men who possess opinions and a WILL; Men who have honour; en who will not lie; Men who can stand before e a demagogue and damn his treacherous flatteries without winking; 'Tall' Men sun-crowned, who live above the fog in public duty and private thinking."

Need I add more? Nay. I rest my case.