richdad wrote:According to Kaguthi (Former Nairobi PC and NACADA boss) provincial administration do solve over 75% of disputes in Kenya.
Does it mean that Kenyan will have to travel miles to get burial certs and report petty disputes like land boundaries. We should accept that our society is not that enlightened and the bureaucracy of courts plus corrupt lawyers would make most people shy away from them. Kenyan court process is also too expensive for a commom mwananchi.
The county gvt will be run by politicians who might at times not be at par with the Nairobi government. Disputes will also be biased on where they get support.
The 'installation' of the chief was a resultant of political forces at a certain time. But now we should not simply say whether chiefs should go or not, but we should also interrogate the political context and the roles needed to be played by government at the smallest administrative unit.
One may argue that we are not an advanced country, but he will not be aiding his argument, for the facts of history are showing otherwise. We certainly have more educated citizens than we had in 1963. And besides, we do not need even a half of the citizenry to be 'enlightened' to create enlightened systems.
What kinds of conflict are we going to experience in the villages? Are villages the same as estates? Besides is an urban slum equal to a village?
What kind of leadership is the chief providing? Is it 'pro-people' or is it pro-government? For example, most leaders look at insecurity as a problem brought about by the youth. Is such a view acceptable?
I am finding it very difficult to call for the retention of chiefs. It is expected that if chiefs will protest about these changes but it is up to the leadership of the day to 'manage' this matter.
But look now, if we are so afraid of changing the village, can we change the state?