I'm not a jaluo but I am Kenyan too.

On federalism
I agree with the stance on federalism. But not merely the transfer of power to the provinces. I go further to say look at the map of Kenya - do you see any equality in the division of the provinces? It occured to me this morning that a great amount of discourse is directed to the arbitrary division of Africa by colonialists - however we are content with the arbitrary division of the country itself. We are content to see a province like Rift Valley stretching from the north to the south of the country. Tell me, even given the most development minded leader - how can you govern that space? If we are to go for federalism, may I suggest we go back to the drawing board and rethink the internal boundaries. we have 8 ridiculously sized provinces, WHY? Is this model better to administer? of course not. In my craziness I say lets redivide it! Lets get areas roughly the same size. If you ask the PC of Eastern or North Eastern province whether he has visited all of his province, I'm sure he will say no. How then can he represent the needs of those in the periphery far from the main cities. It is not simply about handing power over to regional leaders. It is about reshaping Kenya in a way that whoever the power is eventually handed over to, will be able to adequately administer it, and will not be overwhelmed by size and diversity of issues in one single area.

But does equal size mean equal?
It is true that because resources are not equally distributed, some areas may be at a disadvantage. But another way of looking at this these shortages of infrastructure and resources is to view them as specific identifiable development priorities. If an area does not have a university, we don't moan about it, we set about building one. There are many governments and organisations that would be willing to help in such identifiable goals.

Who will lead us?
Essentially, the leaders of these units would be elected by the people of that area. They then have a choice of whether to elect career politicians, or visionaries with expertise in economics, agricultural management, cultural integration etc.

What about the presidency? Why should it matter to have power concentrated at the top. Look at Switzerland. It doesn't seem to matter who's at the helm, the important decisions are made by those closer to the people. The presidency can even be on a rotation basis according to the leadership of the provinces.

The concept of power in Kenya is miscontrued. The unpleasant leadership battles in Narc would benefit from federalism as there would be 10 or so important elections to be held for provincial leadership.

But I don't speak Kikamba?
What about tribalism? We cannot pretend that tribes don't exist. You only need to look at the riots in France to see that identity matters. But tribalism has been used as a tool for discrimination and has negative connotations. It shouldn't. Why should a Kikuyu be embarrassed to say so, just because there is a Kikuyu president in power. Recognition of all the tribes, large or small should be done at all levels. Equality or 'ethnic minority' monitoring in recruitment should preclude this discrimination against small marginal tribes. Each province should positively encourage people from minority tribes into jobs and this should be monitored by the central government. What's the purpose of the Ministry of Culture - or as it is now Minister of Gender, Sports, Culture and Social services (what do you think is this guy's focus?)

Federalism or tribalism? If the intention is to create (yes, some from scratch) 10 major cities which will be responsible for attracting investment and stimulating development, the question of tribalism will not arise. If these leaders are allowed to apply for grants from foreign governments without the need be vetted by the central government, the focus should shift from who is leading to, how much money can he bring into the area.

Are we all equal? The answer is no! At present the life of a Turkana is worth far less than an urbanite in Nairobi. This should not be the case. Opening up this areas and mandatorily developing them will help to value everyone's life equally. Why should the north of Kenya subsist on foreign handouts and be robbed of all dignity? Are they lesser citizens?

who's eating the nation's cake?
Terms such as redistribution of wealth are inaccurate. We aim for creation of wealth. There's plenty for everyone. So we have some regions with rains and others without. Here is where we think outside the box. Dry land that is inhospitable to any crops can be used for property development. Free up the fertile land for cultivation, move towards largescale cultivation instead of tiny plots of tomatoes and spinach. Concentrate on internal food security rather than mass export of cash crops. Concentrate on water technologies including desalination. Look to Israel and American for irrigation technologies.

But a rock can't produce a flower. Well, look at Saudi Arabia - if no crops will grow, concentrate on services - tourism, business parks etc. Quoting from a cheesy film 'if we build it , they will come'

And on and on.

We cannot go forth because the barriers are in our own minds. Many people in in the central and south of Kenya have never been to the north. I haven't. And it is not for the lack of roads or railways or dodgy aircraft, it is for the mental barrier that I have nothing to offer there.

Let's talk more about this. Let's talk seriously about this.

C. Ingham

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