By Bosire Boniface in Garissa
As Kenya begins to devolve from central government rule, three governors from the northeast say they plan to reduce tensions among clans by instituting equitable hiring policies for county civil service jobs.
"An all-inclusive government is crucial to stemming the wave of inter-clan violence that has hindered development in the region," said Ali Ibrahim Roba, the newly-elected governor of Mandera County.
Roba said he would try to change long-held perceptions that regional leaders favour fellow clansmen in hiring for civil service posts in their administrations. Such practices effectively shut out members of other clans, sparking violent backlashes, he said.
"Now, we will be guided by the constitution that stipulates that a county has to factor in all the communities and special groups in recruiting and sharing of resources," he told Sabahi, noting that Mandera County has three main clans and at least seven minor ones.
Through a process of devolution stipulated by Kenya's 2010 constitution, and made into law by the country's Transition to Devolved Government Act of 2012, counties will replace provinces as a secondary tier of government under the national government.
The administrative region formerly known as North Eastern Province has now been devolved into Mandera, Wajir and Garissa Counties to decentralise resources away from Nairobi and closer to citizens.
Counties will control their finances and their recruitment practices for county-level civil service jobs, said Transition Authority Chairman Kinuthia Wamwangi.
The County Public Service Boards (CPSB) came into being on March 28th to vet and hire staff for the 47 different county governments. The CPSB is taking over from the Public Service Commission, which had been responsible for national government recruiting of civil servants, he said.
Quota or merit-based system?
Quotas in which jobs are divided among various clans are necessary because of the region's history of inter-clan rivalries, said Garissa County Governor Adam Nathif Jama.
"Sharing posts among clans does not mean merit will be compromised. Clans and special groups will be accommodated. If [a job] is qualification-based, each clan and special groups will have qualified persons within their ranks," he said.
Although he backs quotas, Wajir County Governor Ahmed Abdullahi said it will be tough to implement such a policy and ensure that each clan or sub-clan receives a share of county government jobs.
"There are too few jobs to ensure that each clan has a slot. But it is better than the free-for-all because that would lead to one clan having everything. This will be a recipe for clashes, as those left out may sabotage any development that is in store," Abdullahi told Sabahi.
Nonetheless, under devolution, recruitment practices for civil services jobs will be more fair and transparent, he said.
Quotas should only be used as a short-term measure, said WomanKind Kenya Executive Director Abdullahi Mohammed Abdi. He favours a hiring policy that encourages people to qualify for jobs by merit.
"The county government will have to transition from clan system to merit system in the long term in order to encourage competition and quality," he said. "In some instances, the county governments will compromise merit to make a tribe happy, which will compromise on the output."
