From: Ouko joachim omolo
The News Dispatch with Omolo Beste in images
WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 2013
March 3 will be the eve of general elections in Kenya, the third Sunday of Lent. The Kenya Episcopal Conference, Justice and Peace Commission in their Lenten campaign chose “county governance” as their specific theme.
There are 47 counties in Kenya representing the initially recognized districts and each one of them forms a county government. Every county government shall further decentralize its services and coordinate its functions in order to efficiently serve the interests of the people of Kenya at the local levels.
Better known as majimbo in Kiswahili, commonly used to refer to political devolution of power to the country’s regions, its entrenchment into the new constitution was heavily opposed by some section of religious leaders and politicians who had their own interest.
Like some religious leaders who were opposed to devolve government system in Kenya, retired President Daniel Moi spoke strongly against introduction of majimbo, saying it would divide Kenyans along tribal lines, warning he would campaign against the Proposed Constitution if it includes majimbo.
While some religious leaders backed Moi’s views, saying majimbo is likely to spark tribal animosity, in Coast Province, leaders threatened to shoot down the Proposed Constitution if it failed to provide for majimbo.
The Coast people like other marginalized ethnic communities rooted for majimbo to ensure that residents benefit from enormous resources in the region, arguing it would ensure equity and encourage economic productivity.
Historically, the coastals have been fervent proponents of majimbo, spearheaded by Ronald Gideon Ngala, Kenyan politician whose life was marked by a realistic approach to politics and by a devotion to Kenya which allowed him to place his country’s stability and growth first over his own political ambition.
Ngala co-founded Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU) in 1960 when several leading politicians from marginalized communities refused to join Jomo Kenyatta’s African National Union (KANU).
KADU’s aim was to defend the interests of the so-called KAMATUSA (an acronym for Kelenjin, Maasai, Turkana and Samburu ethnic groups), against the dominance of the larger Luo and Kikuyu that comprised the majority of KANU’s membership.
Even though religious leaders and churches opposed to devolved government described the system of governance as “disastrous”, arguing that Kenya was not ready for devolve government, up to almost 95 percent Christians and other religious affiliates opted for the new constitution and entrenchment of devolve government system as opposed to their religious leaders. This was because of their bad experience with the old one.
Kenyans had suffered great deal under all regimes since independent that is why the vast majority of Christians and other religious affiliates opted to oppose their leaders this time along. They pushed for devolve government because they wanted resources closer to all Kenyans, especially the marginalized groups.
They believed that a well thought out devolution system will ensure that they will have a better access to resources as opposed to a purely centralized system which they believe will concentrate resources in Nairobi.
They also perceive that devolution will help to reserve all jobs, resources, businesses etc for the people indigenous to that particular region. To the best of the understanding, after their version of devolution also known as Majimbo is introduced, all the people who have residences, businesses, properties, jobs etc in these regions will be required to surrender the same to those indigenous to that area.
Yet there are those who argue that majimboism had been tried in 1963, it failed, and must be forgotten. It failed because the 1963 majimbo experiment was a hastily conceived, clumsily crafted and badly presented variant of federalism.
Partly because the powerful presidency of the time (as it is today) was never enthusiastic about the idea, it is why Kanu government was reluctant to adopt the system.
Majimboism is about letting Kenyans take ownership and full responsibility for the economic development of their regions by managing the planning and day-to-day management of their affairs. Majimboism is about taking the CDF concept further and truly localizing the local authorities.
The North Eastern Province, for example, may soon turn out to be the richest region in Kenya when drilling for oil and gas starts. The Coast Province is endowed with a lot of wealth and has the port facilities to generate revenue. The Central Province is already well ahead of other regions in development.
Most of Rift Valley is endowed with good agricultural land and can easily take care of the development of drier parts of the Province. The same goes for Western and Nyanza provinces. Most of these two provinces have very good agricultural land and the fishing industry can become a major income earner in the two provinces.
In addition, most parts of Eastern Province have good agricultural land whose potential can be fully tapped if irrigation is widely used. Understood in this way, Majimboism is about cutting wastes and eliminating corruption by reducing the number of pest-like middlemen.
With Majimboism for example, it will mean that there will no longer be KTDA but local Tea authorities. For example, there will be Rift Valley Tea Development Authority which will be responsible for managing the growing, processing, and export of Tea that is grown in Rift Valley within Rift Valley.
In Nyanza, there will be Nyanza Tea Development Authority which will be responsible for managing the Tea affairs within Nyanza. The same goes for Western, Eastern, and Central Provinces.
The first reading for third Sunday of Lent is taken from the book of Exodus, 3:1-8, 13-15. The reading portrays Moses as a good shepherd who is committed to tending the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian.
As he led the flock across the desert, he came to Horeb, the mountain of God where an angel of the LORD appeared to him in fire flaming out of a bush. As he looked on, he was surprised to see that the bush, though on fire, was not consumed.
When Moses decided to go over to look at this remarkable sight, and see why the bush is not burned,” God called out to him from the bush, told him to remove the sandals from his feet, for the place where he was standing was holy ground.
God told him “I have witnessed the affliction of my people in Egypt and have heard their cry of complaint against their slave drivers, so I know well what they are suffering. Therefore I have come down to rescue them from the hands of the Egyptians and lead them out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey.”
Moses said to God, “But when I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”
God replied, “I am who I am.” Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the Israelites: I AM sent to you.”
God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the Israelites: The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. “This is my name forever; thus am I to be remembered through all generations.”
Responsorial Psalm Ps 103: 1-2, 3-4, 6-7, 8, 11 says how God is merciful, God who forgives all our iniquities, heals all our ills, and redeems our life from destruction, crowns us with kindness and compassion. He secures justice and the rights of all the oppressed.
The second reading is taken from 1 Cor 10:1-6, 10-12 – Even though all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from a spiritual rock that followed them, the rock was the Christ, yet God was not pleased with most of them, for they were struck down in the desert.
These things happened as examples for us, so that we might not desire evil things, as they did. Do not grumble as some of them did, and suffered death by the destroyer.
These things happened to them as an example, and they have been written down as a warning to us, upon whom the end of the ages has come. Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing secure should take care not to fall.
Gospel is taken from Lk 13:1-9 –It talks of some people who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the blood of their sacrifices. Jesus wants people to repent: “But I tell you, if you do not repent you will all perish as they did!”
And he told them this parable: “There once was a person who had a fig tree planted in his orchard, and when he came in search of fruit on it but found none, he said to the gardener, ‘For three years now I have come in search of fruit on this fig tree but have found none. So cut it down.
Why should it exhaust the soil?’ He said to him in reply, ‘Sir, leave it for this year also, and I shall cultivate the ground around it and fertilize it; it may bear fruit in the future. If not you can cut it down.’”
Fr Joachim Omolo Ouko, AJ
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Real change must come from ordinary people who refuse to be taken hostage by the weapons of politicians in the face of inequality, racism and oppression, but march together towards a clear and unambiguous goal.
-Anne Montgomery, RSCJ UN Disarmament Conference, 2002