Migori Stakeholders express key concerns ahead of Elections

Stakeholders in Migori County have expressed a serious fears and concerns ahead of the next General Elections if the implementation of the constitution is derailed by what they said were “emerging cases of resistance by both sections of the government and the political class.” During a recent two day County Forum in Migori town organized by the Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FES) and the Kenya Correspondents Association (KCA), the stakeholders called on the government and parliament to faithfully implement the constitution and particularly the devolution framework, if the country is to avoid further conflicts and violence. The more than 40 stakeholders who were drawn from different sectors and all the constituencies in the county said the hopes of the citizens who voted for the constitution rested on the full and timely implementation of the constitution, adding that there was growing unease over delays and attempts to subvert the implementation process. The leaders spoke during a forum organized by KCA and FES under an ongoing dialogue project being implemented by the two organizations dubbed “National Cohesion and Devolution: The Ethnic Challenge of Devolution” which has been on since last year, targeting selected counties with mixed community populations and ethnic minorities. Other counties, apart from Migori, where such forums have been organized include Bungoma, Taita Taveta and Kajiado. Similar forums are planned for Tran Nzoia on July 20-21 and Kisumu County on August 17-18, 2012. The forums aim at fostering debate and dialogue on key issues in the counties on how to effectively deal with conflict mitigation, cohesion and integration among ethnic groups, resource sharing and accountable governance in counties with restive ethnic minorities. During the Migori Forum, the participants adopted resolutions addressing key concerns and spelling out a framework for continuous dialogue among local leaders and citizens ahead of the Elections and the formation of the County Governments. On governance, the forum called for the election of credible leaders based on Chapter Six of the Constitution and resolved to constitute “a Vetting Committee” to ensure aspirants with a tainted past are not elected to the County Government The called on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEB) and all political parties to ensure the coming General Elections are “credible, free and fair, right from the parties’ nomination stage” saying anything short of that would result in fresh protests and violence. On ethnicity tensions and other conflicts, the forum resolved to promote continuous dialogue through existing citizen and stakeholder forums formed since the promulgation of the constitution in August 2010 to deal with any fears and iron out any differences that may emerge. Resource allocation and distribution, they said must be equitable and take into consideration minorities and marginalized communities and regions of the County, emphasizing that effective citizens participation in all decision making processes and project prioritization would be desirable. They called on national media outlets to start devolving and to capture and report County issues “fairly, accurately and more comprehensively”. However, they also called on professionals and business people from the area to consider investing in serious “County Media outlets” which they said would be more responsive to the local issues. The forum resolved to work with the existing government structures including the provincial Administration but warned against appointment of public servants in contravention of the constitution as had happened with the appointment of the County Commissioners. Under the project, KCA and FES are facilitating and capacity building County Dialogue and Conflict Mitigation Committees in the targeted counties to deepen citizens’ engagement in the governance issues ahead of the formation of the county governments.