BEYOND THE 47 COUNTIES

BEYOND THE 47 COUNTIES

As the county assemblies settle down to work with their governors, the big question is how each county will perform. Devolution is taking shape as the reality dawns on the residents after elections. The expectations are very high in the majority of Kenyans across the 47 counties and the need to be realistic arises.

Facts should be made bare to allow for a realistic expectations and priorities of Kenyans. Although the new constitution is very clear on the roles and structure of governance, many of us are not conversant .During the campaign period, gubernatorial aspirants made all manner of promises but now it’s upon the elected leaders to explain to the electorate what to expect.

Remember we did not do enough civic education before elections.

The performance and success of each county will not depend on resources or potential in the county but on the clear and simple plan on delivery of key services. The amount of resources and level of potential will be leveled by the successful performance of other counties which may appear “weak” at start. I have seen analysts put figures on potential and resources formulating chances of them succeeding or failing. This is not always true when you look at success and failure of business enterprises regardless of their resources.

If you take a quick look at the success stories in both private and public sectors, the success path can be easily traced. When the late minister for transport John Michuki was appointed, he didn't comment on what he would do, He didn't start with amending the rules or fighting for more funds from treasury or location of his office; he did the small things that mattered: implement the traffic rules and amend later.

A similar trend is displayed in the private sector with a good degree of success. Michael Joseph delivered success first by making access to mobile network as easy as possible and then embarked on innovation to make Safaricom successful. Equity Bank, arguably the most successful indigenous financial institution in Kenya focused on the unbanked masses, a move that brought huge success not only to the bank itself, but to the whole sector and country.  It all starts with those small things done with passion and then the other things follow.

In most success stories, a small difference in start may appear very small at the start but will become very huge in the future. If the leader understands the small things that will lead to what author Malcolm Gladwell refers to as the ‘tipping point’, that organization will take a huge leap ahead of the others.

A small difference at the start of the devolved government will lead to huge success of county governments across the country. The one common agenda in the 47 counties is efficient delivery of services to the residents; the others are secondary.

There might be a feeling that some counties are disadvantaged and may be unable to perform efficiently. This may not be true depending on how you look at the potential of all counties and the way to bring about success. Today, all counties have one particular resource that is very important for their success: young people. Those counties near Nairobi and the coast may appear to have potential due to the proximity to the capital city and transport corridor. Counties with high agricultural potential, mineral resources, tourist attraction sites and developed infrastructure may appear to have a lot of potential.

The success of each county will not depend on the resources it possesses or the level of potential, but on the first things they embark on at the beginning. The main work for the new governors is to lead the county to start on the important things as opposed to the popular. Such a governor may be unpopular at first but the success in the long run will be significantly huge for others to catch up. Nothing starts from the top unless you are digging a hole.

I wish all the governors all the best in the new calling. I specifically wish Nairobi county governor success for the pivotal role he is going to play to lay a foundation and leadership for his county which will be yardstick and gateway to other counties’ success.