Policy Monitor, Issue 6 No. 1, July-December 2013 on Devolution is more than "Equitable" Sharing of National Resources

Abstract

There is a skewed perception in Kenya today that devolution is just about “equitable” sharing of national resources. This perception of devolution has its roots. The emotions and passions that energized Kenyans to work for and pass the 2010 Kenya constitution was largely premised on the perception that there are widespread regional disparities (in terms of income earnings) in Kenya. Since independence, political regimes have tended to use public resources and national revenues to reward cronies, and disproportionally allocated the same along ethnic interest. However, the extent to which allocation of national revenue has contributed to variation in income levels among different regions in Kenya is debatable. We note that regional disparity may result as a natural consequence of development process where various regions in Kenya, characterized by different agro-ecological zones with unique resource endowments, attract different sets of economic activities that the market responds to differently...