One of the worrying things I have been observing in this blog in recent times is the radical and blind support for certain candidates by many Kenyans who have no idea what their candidate really stands for or what sort of president they would make.
Now an extremely worrying new development has emerged as all leading ODM presidential candidates have recently made an explosive announcement. This is to the effect that they are in full support of Majimboism or a federal and mostly separatist form of administration in Kenya. Their argument is that this is the only way of ensuring equitable distribution of resources.
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This announcement was big news to me and should be to every Kenyan.
The idea of majimboism or federalism is not new in Kenya. It dominated the constitutional talks in Lancaster in the 60s and in fact won the day only to be ruthlessly crashed by Tom Mboya and the Kanu government who were victorious in the general elections of 1963 and were strongly in support of a strong central government.
Majimboism was strongly supported by Kadu leaders at the time, including party leader the late Ronald Ngala and the likes of Daniel Arap Moi. The thinking then was that smaller tribes have a chance of enjoying equitable distribution of resources with a majimbo system of government. What majimbo in essence calls for is regionalism with each region (read tribe) having some sort of regional government and controlling their affairs and development in their region.
Naturally such a system would promote tribalism and the system of tribal chiefs merging in a strange coalition long before elections with the intention of winning the general elections.
One thing is for sure, this is the sort of issue that would easily tip the scales and win an election for any party. It is no secret that the distribution of the natioal cake in Kenya has been very lopsided at best and grossly unfair at worst with only a few tribes greatly benefiting at the expense of others. Take the current Kikuyu-dominated government as an example, then consider the fact that we are seeing a repeat of what happened during the administration of Kenya's first president Mzee Jomo Kenyatta. Then we had 24 years during which the Kalenjin held sway benefiting immensely simply because President Moi happens to hail from that community. In this kind of back drop, telling Kenyan voters that you will introduce a majimbo system to ensure equitable distribution will win you lots of popularity very quickly.
But there are tough political decisions where what is best for the country must prevail over sheer populist politics.
Here are the great dangers that majimboism will pose to Kenya and Kenyans;
i) It wil promote tribalism and destroy any progress that has been made towards making Kenyans view themselves as one nation and one people.
ii) There are several experiments of the past that prove that Majimbosim is no guarantee that there will be an equitable distribution of resources. One that stands out is the district focus strategy launched by President Moi earlier in his presidency that saw DCs (district commissioners) emerge as more powerful than even PCs (provincial commissioners). It al looked very practical and beautiful on paper but in reality national issues and the need for the national government to retain control and power countrywide, continued to dominate and take away resources from the districts. There are numerous other examples that clearly cry out; IT WILL NOT WORK.
iii) It will promote corruption on a massive scale as there are no checks and balances on the ground to keep a leash on the tribal/regional leader and their inevitable excesses. The problems we have seen with some MPs and the CDF funds will be greatly magnified.
iv) Anther majimbo experiment now will be fatal because it will take away attention from urgent national issues that require the whole country to be focused as one people to tackle. High on that list is the unemployment situation that has fuelled escalating crime and poverty amongst a host of other problems. It means that if for example the new government comes up with a massive energy program based in the North Eastern Province and designed to create thousands of new jobs, the efficiency and success of such a project would be greatly hindered by limitations brought about by the sort of rules that Majimboism would call for.
Being one of the most popular parties in the country currently, ODM-Kenya must denounce their majimbo policy or at least call for a national debate on the issue instead of dictating and making sweeping policy statements on crucial issues that are capable of affecting the country negatively if implemented.
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There are always two sides to a coin. I will try to present the other side of majimbo.
ReplyDeleteFirstly, the majimbo system will make leaders directly accountable to the electorate. Apart from Nyanza where there is fanatical support for Raila, all other regions have some sort of political competition. This means that misuse of any funds pegged for development will immediately reach the 'kawaida raia', mostly via the political competitor. In fact, I believe that the greed for power mostly shown by politicians will work towards achieving accountability and transparency. How? Opposing camps will ensure that they monitor expenditure of the 'incumbent' camp and any anomaly detected will be sued to tarnish them.
Secondly, majimbo will totally wipe out the excuse that the central government is to blame for all of an areas problems. This is not to say that it is not partly responsible. Majimbo will eventually force a community to reevaluate their position and contribution toward their own good, and subsequently create cohesion.
Thirdly, symbiotic relationships are bound to occur between regions simpmy because no region is fully endowed with all natural resources. This will mean that communities have to cooperate so as to achieve development which would have been impossible without working together.
Finally, if managed well, Majimbo will facilitate proper devolution of power from the executive. This means that we will not live in fear(as i do now) of a 'mad' man/woman entering State house.
Or what do you think?
I agree with Ngunjiri to a certain extent, but dont agree with the assertion that the electorate in Nyanza might be dictated upon. As it is right now, Nyanza has the following party leaders in their midst; Hon. Nyachae (FORD-P), Hon. Ochuodho (SPARK), Hon. Orengo (SDP) and of course Hon. Tuju (PPP). Nyanza is spoilt for choice as there is also ODM/LDP/KANU, and not to forget that Raila is MP for Langata in Nairobi Province.
ReplyDeleteChris there are many federal systems of government that are a success in Africa and elsewhere, and we should fear this system.
Federal governments in African include: Nigeria, Sudan, Ethiopia and to some extent Tanzania. These governments are breaking apart, yet Anonymous referred to them as success stories. Most federal states in developing countries are disaster spots. Just look at the federated Iraq, Pakistan, Russia, and Venezuela among others. Is that the route Ngunyi, Anonymous, and ODM politicians want to take our country? I urge them to think again.
ReplyDeleteBesides, Majimboism is completely different from federalism. Please go figure out how!
I agree with Kenyanomics although he needs to educate as all as to how majimboism is different from federalism.
ReplyDeleteThe Tanzanian example is a good one because they are so close to home and I am extremely familiar with the country having lived there for 3 years. The fact that majimboism has not worked there despite the fact that tribalism is almost non-existent in tz, should warn Kenyans. You see Nyerere failed at many things but he succeeded in uniting Tanzanians into one nation.
Now lets look at Kenya where Nyachae and Kombo are telling their people to keep out other political parties and views. It is easy to imagine a certain Jimbo waking up one morning and saying that they do not want a certain community in their midst and that will be it. Even if the then federal government would try to intereferee in such a scenario, it could cause plenty of trouble and probably blood shed. For what??
Majimbosim is the worst idea for Kenya at the moment when tribal tensions are so high. It will break up the country before you can say the word "political experiment".
But what is even more disturbing is the fact that this idea stems from an urgency to win an election at all costs (it is a very effective strategy tounite all small tribes against the incubent. regular readers ofthis blog know that I do not support the incumbent). Still this is the dangerous thinking we have in our politicians. The idea is always lets win the election and we'll sort out the fall out and other problems after we are safetly inside state house.
Very selfish and very dangerous. All Kenyans must stand up against this terrible idea before it breaks up a country that is already hanging together on a thread.
-Kumekucha-
p.s. do you guys honestly think majimboism can work in a country where we still have tribal clashes happeneing even as you read this (mt Elgon area) and scores of Kenyans who are refugees in their own country?
Majimboism is the epidemic whose symptoms already have Kenya bleeding from ethnic hatred. And if we were to legalize it then God have mercy.
ReplyDeleteThe whole ODM-K argument for majimbo is pegged on the wrong premise. First even before we engage ourself in the debate, we have to accept the truth that the timing couldn't have been any worse. Kenya is boiling with tribal tension that only need a spark to explode. The ODM chaps are alive to this fact and want to take advantage for political expediency at our collective peril.
Two, the merit and demerits of majimbo are neither here nor there. With persolized and/or regionalized rule, majimboism will be the icing on the cake on emergence of tribal chiefs ready to sell their tribasmen pound of flesh to cobble up tribal collisions. All we need is structured administration build on institutions that can operate independent of the office bearers. Simple put must go back to the basic and not even entertain the idea of taking us back to Misri, as my brilliant granny often wisely warned.
Why would we create mayhem to unsettle the prevailing peace among tribes. Our cheap politics that has perfected the paradigm of our turn is the bane in this poltical madness. A fair distribution of wealth and resources would make us be tribeless.
Unless we stop providing an elastic and infatigiable back for polticians to ride, we are inadvertendtly abetting the speedy slide of of our motherland into abyss. We must stop the politicians from playing the small tribes against the perceived large ones.
All are equal and any trace of calibration is the height of deception anchored on cheap and unproductive leadership. We must resist the lure to opt for cheap plastic options in the face of gigantic problems. Regionalism is no panacea to the present sickning spate of tribalism among Kenyans. If anything it will only succeed in fuelling the vice.
With no dependable institutions, we are simple inviting ourselves to into the jungle with all its unpleasant laws. Lest we want to creat unviablke 42+ jimbos for each tribe, Kenya and Kenyans must retrace their values and agree to either grow together of severaly exterminate each other. There is success story anywhere in the world on this. So why pretend to be having the tools to reinvent the wheel? I rest my case.
For the first time Chris and company have come with what i would call a topical issue. We will now respond to ur case with sobriety and tolerance because it is a healthy discussion.
ReplyDeleteIt doesnt really matter what name we give to our government. When Taabu says that it is good to have structured institutions instead of vesting power in individuals,i cannot agree more. But dont u people think that we can create structured institutions built along these majimbo? I dont really care whether we have majimbo or central goverment (I am not a defender of either of the two) but it is wrong to imagine all that majimbo can bring to the table is civil war,animosity,corruption and all that. The most successful nations in the world today are the US and Australia. Are these not federations? The major reason they are so successful is this federalism. This ensures each region benefit from their resources. For example coast is rated as the second poorest province after Nyanza yet thy have a port serving many countries. All the revenue collected is taken to the exchequer for disbursement around the country. This is not a bad idea but the coast people have been cring for a university for as i can remember. In my opinion whatever income comes out of the port should first benefit the coastals. Every single region in Kenya is endowed with a resource that is not available to the other regions. This in itself is a very useful tool in fostering unity among the different regions. We all know that trade fosters unity among the parties involved.
In the same way that Arizona and Nebraska supply the other US states with beef and wheat respectively,we can have each region do what they know best and buy what they dont have from the other regions.
As I said institutions are governed by statutes and we can legislate taxation laws that govern the same. We can have jimbo (state)tax as well as federal tax. The money under the control of treasury can be used to top up those areas that are not self sustainable. Major national expenditure can also be catered for by the central (federal) government. Economically I think that is the way to go.
When it comes to politics, I will first correct Chris that we should not think of a jimbo as a tribe. As the other guy gave u an example,we would have Nyanza as a jimbo. Nyanza is home to more than 4 tribes. My eastern province can be another jimbo (5tribes) and so on. Its is the duty of those in your jimbo to demand proper governance and not follow an individual blindlyleadership. And again power should be tied to institutions and constitutions as opposed to the present case where individuals set the agenda for the whole nation. If anyone would fear fragmentation of the nation there is nothing to fear coz we are more divided than we can ever get. With each tribe having a chief already the country is as good as a federation albeit in very absurd and unstructured way. We can move from that by formalising everything.
My take on the whole debate is that the central constitution should be the supreme law of the land and any conflicting state law shoul be null and void.
The problem as some of u have already said is that the timing of the whole thing is suspect. The messengers are also suspect. Majimboism is a great idea born by rotten minds with ulterior motives. May be it should be food for thought for the time being. It is something we could implement after the elections if we should at all.
Some of the points being raised are very valid. I must concede that majimbo, politically speaking, can turn out to be the worst mistake for Kenya. However, as vikii aptly put it, economically it might be a good idea.
ReplyDeleteAt this point in time, majimbo is not a viable option. This does not mean that we should never consider it in the future. Anyway, I believe it is being an alarmist to imagine that Majimbo will be formalised, even if ODM forms the next government.