10 October 2008
editorial
Nairobi — For the first time in a long while, the Government has directed its attention to the long-suffering provincial administrators.
It has allocated some Sh66 million for operations for the divisional and locational offices which, for lack of resources, have always been maintained by wananchi through illegally imposed taxes.
Since they are never provided with office equipment and stationery, district officers, chiefs and assistant chiefs have made it a routine to enforce a levy on any person who visits them for a service, which range from applying for the national identity card as well as birth or death certificates to arbitration in land and other disputes.
Not surprisingly, many rural folks dread going to these offices and suffer in silence for lack of services they are legally entitled to.
As a result, the monied and propertied lot take advantage of the situation and get things they want, to the detriment of the majority rural poor.
Disputes, mainly over land, are won or lost simply on the basis of the pocket.
The long and short of it is that the divisional and locational offices have been turned into a theatre of corruption, deal making and favouritism.
But this should change now with the State funding.
At least these officers will no longer have reason to openly ask for cash and other gifts from the public.
But even then, it is not lost on anybody that the amounts are quite modest.
For example, chiefs are being allocated Sh2,000 for office supplies for four months, or Sh500 a month. District officers, on the other hand, will receive Sh15,000 every quarter for vehicle maintenance and Sh5,000 for office supplies.
Certainly, these sums are too small to run an office. But since this is just the start, we believe the figures will be increased in future to strengthen and give dignity to these offices.
What is important in all this is the principle -- the fact that the offices must be supported and empowered to carry out their responsibilities without external interference.
As State agents operating at the local level, the Government needs to do more to improve these offices, including providing the holders with training and improving their working conditions.
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