KIBABII UNIVERSITY

Department of social sciences

Course outline
Course code: KUC214
Course Title: State, Society and Development
(This is a common course offered university wide by the department of social sciences)
PURPOSE
The purpose of this course is to introduce the student to the social, political and economic
developments in Africa that have made Africa what it is today. This is expected to enable students to
appreciate Africa’s past from pre-colonial, through colonial, to the present times and how the rest of
the world has contributed towards this development.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
Nation and Nation- state; their foundations, government and concepts; objectives and practices of
Nationalism; classification of states; stratification and its impact on resource distribution; problems of
power; influence of Globalization and development of external trade as a factor in development;
Millennium Development Goals [MDGS] and Vision 2030; Devolved government in Kenya.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, the students should be able to;
A) Explain the role of the state in the development process
B) Evaluate the social- political problems of resource distribution in the development process.
COURSE CONTENT
1) Pre-colonial nation in Africa; foundations, characteristics and role in development
2) The Nation- state in Africa –origins, characteristic and underdevelopment in Africa
3) The Nation –State in other parts of the world; Britain, USA, Europe- foundations and role in
development.
4) Comparison between a Nation and Nation – state.
5) Development and underdevelopment in Africa during the colonial era.
6) What went wrong in Africa after independence/failure of Nationalism?
7) Failed states in Africa; The case of Somalia.
8) The influence of Globalization on development and external trade as a factor in development.
9) Millennium Development Goals and Vision 2030.
10) Devolved government in Kenya.
MODE OF DELIVERY
Lectures, collaborative discussions and students presentations.
COURSE ASSESMENT
Students will do at least 2 assignments one of which must be a SIT-IN. There will be a take-away
assignments and presentations by individual students. This will account for 30markd. The end of
semester examination, taking 02 hours, will carry 70 marks.
GRADING SCALE
70-100= A
60-69 =B
50-59 =c
40-49 =D
00-39 =F

CORE REFERANCES
1) Assa Okoth (2006) History of AFRICA, Vol 1
2) Assa Okoth (2006) Histoty of Africa, Vol 11
3) Kevin shellington (2005) History of Africa, Revised Edition, Macmillan.
4) Walter Rodney (2003) How Europe underdeveloped Africa, Dar-es Salaam

FURTHER READING
1) AKE,Claude (1973)Apolitical Economy of AFRICA, Nairob
2) AMUTABI, E and Were, E (2003) Nationalism and Democracy in Africa, Eldoret.
3) ANYANG ‘Nyongo,P, (1992) Thirty years of independence in Africa, Nairobi.
4) BROOKFIELD, H, (1975) Interdependent Devolopment London.
5) JALEE, P., (1971) The Third World in World Economy, London.
6) KARIBU,K,et al (Eds) (1994), Africa perspectives in development, London.
7) RUNAKU,J,B,R,(1995) The Chaotic Horn of A FRICA, Matsapha,
8) LAYS, C,(1975) Under development in Kenya; THE political Economy of Neo-
colonialism,Nairobi,
9) OSAGHAE, E (Rd) (1985) Development options for Africa in the 1980’S and beyond,
Nairobi.

LECTURER: MR WAKHUNGU MAASI

CONTACT: 0729378768
 KUC 214: STATE, SOCIETY AND
DEVELOPMET

BY

JAMES B. R. RUNAKU

What is a Nation?
A Nation IN PRE-COLONIAL Africa was a group of people bound together by one and the same
language, practicing the same culture and some other common heritages like descent from the same
ancestor and they lived together in their entity, we call a nation. The people in a Nation share
common values including culture, and all these must have been inherited from their ancestors, but not
acquired or borrowed. Such values may include the culture of male and female circumcision known
as clitoridoctomy in female, which is the cutting of the clitoris.
Since a Nation commonly refers to a people, the ideas of a Nation should not be seen entirely in terms
of one political entity only, although such entities exist as nations in Africa. A good example of such
entities is the Swazi Nation, where the people sharing the same culture, speaking the same language
and claiming the same ancestor, live in the same political entity called Kingdom of Swaziland. Often
the term nation is used synonymously with a country or state as in the case when member states
register themselves at the United Nations. The United States of America (USA), for example, is
referred to as a Nation or a country, but the USA is a federation of States. In that case it should be
called a Nation – State. Oxford dictionary describes a nation as “a Country and all the people who
live in it.”
It should be noted that the word nation implies more than the existence of boundaries or political
institutions like Parliament, the Coat of Arms, the National Anthem and State House which is the
centre of power or governance. The Nation in actual sense means people, who are all related that is
having the same ancestor like the famous children of Mumbi.
People speaking the same language, sharing the same culture and having the same nationalistic
feelings towards a given entity where they were born or where their ancestors came from are called a
nation. In this case, therefore, what are sometimes called nations like in the case of Kenya, which is a
Colonial creation, should be called nation-states. This implies the collection of different people, call
them nationalities into one place larger than their original one. People can be put together into a new
place by historical events or developments such as colonialism, migration, as a result of various
causes, environmental and wars.
In Kenya, which is a colonial creation, many nations were brought together in which case, for
example, you find the Luhya, the Luo, the Agikuyu, the Kamba, the Kalenjin, the Arabs, the
Mijikenda, the Somalis, the Samburu and the Maasai among others. In the Pre-colonial period, these
people had their own social, political and economic organizations based on their traditions hence the
reason they were called nations. They had boundaries, they had leaders, they had armies (warriors)
they had laws (Taboos) they had centres of Governance, the Palace, they had places of worship (the
shrine), they had means of communication (the drums and trumpets) they paid taxes, they traded
(barter system) they had symbols and they had cabinet members (Councils of Elders).
Outside Africa there were strong nations which were very strong like Israel and Germany. Sometimes
these nations can develop into extremists, claiming to be above others. This is a result of
consciousness and pride in themselves. Indeed, many leaders have encouraged the idea that their
people are God chosen like the Jews. The Jews are a nation that claims direct descent from God. They
call themselves the people of God. The German dictator, Adolf Hitler, argued

Traditional African Attire

that there was a class of white people called the Aryans who were pure and above all other white
people. And it is believed that in starting the Second World War, but to exterminate all other races to
make way for the superior class to rule the World. It is on record that Hitler killed Six Million Jews in
experiments trying to find out why they were so clever, and yet he did not consider them to be more
superior than the Aryans.
QUESTION: What Happened to the Nations which existed in pre-colonial Africa? Or: Do you
agree that “the pre-colonial Nations in Africa disappeared in the nation-states”?
References: Fattovich, R.(2010): The Development of Ancient States in the Northern Horn of
Africa C300BC-AD 1000 An archaeological outline.
Vansina, J. (1990): A Comparison of African Kingdoms of Africa: Journal of International African
Institute

Characteristics of a Nation in Africa

The nation was an entity more or less identified by boundaries. These boundaries were not as clearly
marked but as we have seen that the nations were in a sense a collection of people who claimed the
same ancestral origin and in most cases they spoke the same language, which no doubt was the
mother tongue, the language was the boundary of the African Nation. Nations spoke different
languages, each people with their own. Therefore, once you travelled and reached where your
language was not spoken, then you knew you had crossed the boundary of your nation. In most cases,
the style of dress also differentiated people in one nation from the other nations.
Perhaps more interestingly would be the body decorations as another mark not only identified but
also to help one know that he or she had left their own nation once strange marks appeared.
As far as language is concerned, there may be variations where a group of people may be separated
by war so that they are divided into two or more groups who speak different dialects but of the same
language.
The people in a nation had their own leaders who were recognized in their nations and greatly
respected. These leaders were traditional and the government seat was hereditary, that is to say that
the leaders of these nations were born not chosen. In most cases, there were clans regarded as royal or
special which supplied Chiefs, Kings and Queens in these nations. Some nations had what is called
matriarch where women ruled and Patriarch where men ruled. That means that where women ruled
girls inherited the leadership from their mothers as new Queens and where men ruled, the boys took
over on the death of their fathers. Normally it was the first born who inherited the nation’s leadership.
In an African nation, leadership was hereditary and for life in that the leader was replaced only after
his or her death. While the first born son succeeded the father and the daughter the mother to the
throne, there were communities where leadership alternated such that leadership alternated between
King and Queen. An African nation, which in modern times can be referred to as a tribe (an ethnic
group), for example, the Luhya, the Luo or the Agikuyu, was a collection of clans and sub clans.
It is possible that clans were as a result of sons of an individual growing up and separating from their
father and brothers to establish themselves outside their father‟s original compound. The case of the
Luhya, for example, shows that there are Maragoli, Isukha, Kabras, Tiriki, Bukusu and many others.
Note that these clans are even stronger than the nation, hence clanism can overshadow tribalism.
The nation had only two ways of changing leadership and the most common one was death, because
the African leaders ruled for life. That means that the Chiefs, King or Queen could be killed either by
assassination or at war since he or she was the army commander and led the soldiers to the war front.
African Chiefs, Kings and Queens were almost everything in the nation in the pre-colonial period.
These leaders had great powers since they headed almost everything from having all the powers of
governance concentrated in their hands to religious matters. The leader of an African Nation was not
only the head of the government, the nation and the court, but also the chief priest, that is the
religious leaders.
In addition to all these, the pre-colonial African leader owned everything in the nation from wealth to
people‟s own lives. That means that if the leader wanted anyone killed, he or she could be easily
killed. Killing in the pre-colonial African Nation was not a problem because the leaders were very
powerful and greatly feared. Although it is said that an African King or Queen ruled through a
Council of Elders composed of Chiefs and some other prominent members of society, the Kings or
Queen‟s word was final. There were no courts of law or democracy in a pre-colonial Africa Nation.
The African leader was all powerful and that is where one can say that jungle law ruled supreme.
The leader of a Nation spoke the same language as the people that he or she led since they all had
originated from the same ancestor. Good examples of such nations still exist in Africa, such as the
Swazi nation where the King is hereditary. The other is Lesotho where people speak the same
language and this can be used to identify the nationals and foreigners that is people who cannot speak
the local language.
As noted above, there were no elections in an African nation as all the people were being appointed
by the head, namely the King or the Queen. He or She chose the people he or she could work well
with, and those chosen had to listen to their master. Call it to toe the line, because the leader of an
African nation could not be contracted.
The leader of the nation conducted government business from his or her own residence called the
Palace or the Chief‟s Kraal. The African leader in a Nation used his or her subjects for building the
Palace, construction of projects and cultivating the land for planting, weeding and harvesting. He or
she also received tributes from the subjects after their harvest or part of the animals they kept. The
King or Queen collected these from the people who had so that he or she could redistribute them to
others in the nation who were less fortunate.
But under normal circumstances, many people, even those more fortunate benefited because of their
being close to the leadership and became rich though they had to toe the line or they would lose
everything if they lost favour. They could even lose their lives.
Naturally a nation was a small entity covering only one ethnic group like the Abagusi or the Maasai.
People in a nation used to accumulate wealth through the exploitation of natural resources like
digging their land most of which they owned communally, hunting wild animals and gathering
leaves, roots, fruits and fishing. The people in a nation kept animals they grew food crops in addition
to doing trade business through the system of barter which was the exchange of goods for other
goods. In some cases, it is reported that people in a nation exchanged people for goods, especially the
young girls. Those people traded even far away from their nations. The Nyamwezi people of
Tanganyika, for example, were very well known for trade in what is called long distance trade from
their land in the interior to the coast where they sold goods and people, who normally went carrying
those goods.
The fact that a nation was made up of people who had the same ancestor and spoke the same
language, it was like a family or a village where people knew one another and they worked
collectively and trusted one another. It has been suggested that because people trusted one another,
nation building was easy. The resources available were shared equally to meet each individual’s
needs.
The idea of working together and helping one another was universal. Probably this togetherness could
explain there were fewer criminal acts in the pre-colonial nations of Africa. As people used the same
language there was no problem of communication between the people and their leaders in the nation.
The leaders at times communicated in parables but these were easily understood by all in the nation.
The use of parables eliminated strangers who came to spy on another nation from outside.
Since they shared the same culture, the people in a nation had a closer bond connecting them
together. They celebrated the same events which were all national and in most cases involved the
leader of the nation. A good example is circumcision where the whole nation gathered to witness the
event presided over by the King or the Queen. If the people practiced circumcision, for example, all
the age groups in the nation gathered for the ceremony. These ceremonies and the fact that the head
of the nation, the King or Queen was the head of religion, the ceremonies kept the people united.
The fact that the head of the nation was also the religious leader, people in the nation practiced the
same religion which was African and national in that it involved everyone in the nation. Each nation
had its own unique traditional or national practice different from those of other nations.
People had a meeting place called the Shrine where in most cases they sacrificed animals and in
some cases it is said that humans were sacrificed.
The nations had symbols like in the case of the Luo’s who had a snake commonly Omieri, and these
symbols are known as totems. The people were also guided by taboos, i.e. „what you can do and what
you cannot do‟. The people in a nation had rules and regulations based on their traditions. In terms of
security, the nations had soldiers but they did not have standing armies. The people were busy doing
their own things but in case of war they were called to arms. They only assembled when there was
need for them to gather for the events of the nation.
The fighters were summoned either by beating the drum or sounding the trumpet which was sounded
in a particular manner. The fact that the nation had no standing army there was no need to feed people
who were doing nothing for the citizens when there was no fighting to do. That means that in times of
peace, the people concentrated on their own work. This means that everyone who lived in the nation
contributed to nation building without depending on the nation’s resources.
Traditional African Governance in Colonial Africa can now be described as dictatorship since people
had no chance to elect their representatives at any level. For that reason African Kings and Queens
regarded themselves as special given that their birth was confined to particular families that are the
royal family and the fact that they were born but not elected or chosen they Pre-colonial
African men on a hunting mission
The Real African man!

felt special. That once in power those leaders picked those with whom they worked their positions
was strengthened. In case someone else showed interest in leadership was eliminated immediately,
that means that power was concentrated into the hands of one individual, the King or the Queen.

However, with power to direct the affairs of government without opposition, the leader was
able, so it is said, to develop the nation faster than would have been the case where voices of
descent existed. It means that if the King or Queen was good he or she would spend national
resources the way he or she wanted which would push development using the power of
government for the benefit of the people.
Communal Mode of Production had various characteristics in its practices. Some of those
features were as follows:
IN PRE-COLONIAL AFRICA>

★Communal ownership of the means of production.

All means of production such as land, animals and tools were owned by all members of the society.
★Low productivity.
The tools used by man were crude and skill was low, thus production was for consumption.
★Subsistence economy.
Due to low level of productive forces, people could only produce to sustain their daily life. Food
production was much encouraged.
★Dependence on nature.
People could not master their environment. They hunted animals, gathered fruits, vegetables, eggs,
carcasses and roots.
★Low level of specializations.
The division of labour and specialization was based on sex, men hunted and gathered while women
cooked food, took care of children and sick people at home. ★Equality:
All people were equal, no one exploited another. All able – bodied people participated in production.
The product of labour was shared equally among the members.
★Absence of specialization.
The division of work was based on age and sex. Men hunted and collected food while women were
responsible to take care of the young, old men and women, children and sick persons at home.
★Absence of classes.
Classes refer to the division of people according to their status. In communal mode of
production there were no classes as people were living together, sharing productions equally.
★No exploitation.
Because there was no private ownership of the major means of production, hence in a long run
caused equal distribution of products and also every able-bodied person worked as matter of
routine.
★Simple social organization.
Because of low population involved political organization in this mode was very simple. It
was mostly based on blood ties/kinship relations such as clan system organization. They lived
in small groups tracing their origin from the same ancestors.
★Decision making made by all people.
All decision had to be made by all the adult members of the group regardless of their sex. They
had no coercive power and exercised their power purely through respect and need.
★Long existence.
It existed much longer than any other mode of production, it ranged from the emergence of
man, more than 1 million years ago and in some societies went on until the beginning of the
20th century. In fact the present day hunting and gathering societies still practice this mode of
production although they are influenced by the neighboring communities.
★There was respect of humanity and human rights.
As there were no classes due to presence of equality. There was no so called humiliation and
inhumanity; all human rights were followed then.
★No surplus production.
People were only able to produce according to the needs of the people due to the low level of
science and technology, thus the use of poor production tools and less care in crops against
diseases.

★Equal division of production - the products produced in the society were distributed equally
to all members of the society; no one gained a line‟s share under this mode of production
FACTORS FOR TRANSITION FROM COMMUNALISM TO FEUDALISM

As the African societies were not static/stable, stateless and backward in the whole process of
development they underwent a transformation from communal mode of production to feudal mode of
production from the 15th century.
The factors for the transition were as follows:
★Environmental factor/Mastering of the environment –
many people tend to migrate to where the environment allowed a number of economic
activities like fishing, farming, animal keeping and hunting. As man mastered his
environment production become more advanced, hence the mode started to pave the way for
the next stage of man‟s life. ★Climatic condition – many people preferred areas with good
climate such as reliable rainfall, soil fertility and moderate temperature. The conducive
climate favoured man in the production process for example the reliable rainfall allowed
expansion of agriculture, hence permanent settlement eg. Zulu of Southern Africa, Tutsi,
Hutu, Baganda and Bunyoro of East Africa and Mandika & Yoruba of the Savanna and forest
region in West Africa. The fertility of the soil favoured man to really engage in real
agriculture which led to the increase of production, hence exchange begun in the societies
★Development of productive forces – as time went on skills and experience of man increased
such as invention of new ways and technology of organizing labour, the development of
technology such as iron technology increased production and created specialization. Thus the
change in productive forces influenced the transition from primitive communalism.
★Population growth – caused by the improve standard of living, the increase of population
led to the shortage of land which resulted into class struggle between the landless and those
who own land, thus few people took that advantage to own land privately, due to this social
stratification emerged in the society. ★Agriculture – agricultural development led to the
surplus production where man did not produce only for subsistence, hence emerged within
African societies, thus the change of the mode of production.
★Development of political organization – the political organization controlled both the
landlords and the serfs, although it protected the interests of the landlords. ★Development of
science and technology – through the process discovery of iron technology that produced iron
tools which increased production in agriculture and also iron tools used as commodity for
exchange.
★Specialization – the emergence of specialization forced people to work in different
professionals such as farmers, rain makers, iron smith, hunters, fishers and cultivators. This
system intensified production and differentiation, hence the new mode emerged.
(Pictures showing BUSHMEN-good examples of societies in Africa with Primitive Communalism )

QUESTION: Characterise the Pre-colonial African Nation. Or: Examine the characteristics of a pre-
colonial African nation. Or: Show that Africa had nations before the Europeans came to the
continent.

The Nation State in Africa

A Nation State in Africa is a post-colonial entity or community of people put together by the
Europeans as a colony in the colonial period. We can say that a nation-state is a federation of what
were pre-colonial nations which are now called “tribes”. As we have already seen, in the precolonial
period, that is before Europeans came to Africa to create colonies thereby collecting people who lived
independently into one large entity the people who spoke the same language, shared the same culture
and had the same ancestor, like the Agikuyu or the Luo, lived together as one nation. These were the
people who were brought together in the process of colonization to form large entities various called
colony or protectorate in the colonial period.
The question is often asked as to whether European created the nation-states in Africa, though we
know that they created colonies. The European colonies in Africa like Kenya are the ones which
became nation-states after they gained independence from European colonizers. It is therefore, logical
to say that indeed, the Europeans created the nation-states in Africa by virtue of creating colonies.
Through the process of scramble and finally partition as we shall see, the Europeans put the people
into the counties in which they now live as the boundaries they have are exactly those of the former
European colonies. While Kenya was called a Colony, Uganda was called Protectorate. The
differences in name can be traced to the fact that Kenya was settled by Europeans who thought that
they would stay permanently while Uganda was managed without European settlers.
People in a nation-state because of their diverse backgrounds do not share a common religion unlike
those in the pre-colonial nation, who shared religious traditionally passed to them by their ancestors.
Most of the religions practiced in the nation-states are foreign such as Christianity and Islam. These
religions have different sects like Catholism and Protestantism for Christianity and Suni and
Ismailiya for Islam. The people in a nation-state do not share the same political philosophy, hence the
rise of political parties unlike those of the pre-colonial nation who did.
However, the fact that the people in a nation-state have different political parties does not mean that
they do not have a uniting factor. The different ethnic groups who were forced to live together in
colonies which are now nation-states have, with time become attached to their country, especially
through the process of liberation like M.A.U M.A.U a Swahili rallying call that “Muzungu Arudi
Ulaya, Mu Africa Apate Uhuru.” Thus with time people in a nation-state began to share history and
they have a common destiny. That is to say that although these people did not come from common
descent they have a common future. They, for example, know that they can only be Kenyan and
nothing else. These people share a sense of nationalism.
The nation-state like Kenya, being their birth place they love it. This attitude is normally strengthened
when a group of people from one nation-state are threatened by people from another nation-state or
even in games like football. People in a nation-state are bound together by a national flag, for
example, a nation called Kenya. The people may not agree politically, but they share one elected
president. Since the nation-states in Africa were created by Europeans, these were colonies ruled by
their creators until they got independence. The colonies in Africa were created by the Berlin
Conference of 1884-1885. As a result of the Industrial Revolution which started in Britain, machines
were made which made it possible to produce more goods than before. The goods needed markets
while the industries needed raw materials. When the Revolution reached Europe all the European
nations came to Africa causing the scramble for territory known as the Scramble for Africa. As the
scramble was likely to cause war between the different European nations
Prince Otto von Bismarck, the Chancellor (Prime Minister) of Germany called the Berlin Conference
to settle the scramble, caused by the claiming of the so-called spheres of influence, which had no
head or tail, for example, Cecil Rhodes claimed that Britain‟s land ran „from Cape to Cairo.‟ While
the other Europeans behaved like many dogs seeing one bone Bismarck saw opportunities, thus he
suggested the principle of effective occupation which meant demarcating the spheres of influence
into colonies with boundaries, administrations and identified by the claimant‟s flag. This way each
European nation would get and let others make their own claims without conflict. Thus sitting at
Berlin in Bismarck‟s own home, the Europeans partitioned Africa on the map before coming to the
continent to effect the plan of parceling Africa like an animal carcass. Some came signing agreements
with African Kings while others came with force of arms. The Europeans became more interested in
Africa after 1875. The year is significant in the history of Africa and Europe. This is the year France
paid 150 million dollars to Germany as discussed.
Kenya for example, was created by the British in 1895, and they held it until 1963, when it became
independent. That is when African leaders took over from European rulers. Colonies and
Protectorates were created as places of interest and European trade if not exploitation. Colonies were
sources of raw materials, mistakenly called cash crops. At the same time these European possessions
were markets for manufactured goods all made in Europe. It was European exploitation that made
Africans fight for their independence.
As a result of many years of colonialism when independence came, the nations put together by the
Europeans into colonies could not go back to their pre-colonial status. They had to stay together and
accept their fate. They are, for example, forced to accept a common language, which was different
from their vernaculars. In Kenya, for example, the common languages are Kiswahili and English, but
in other countries, they use their former colonizers languages, for example, English,
Portuguese, French, Spanish and others. Kenya‟s now can be said to be bound together not only by
boundaries created by the British but also by the struggle for independence through M.A.U. M.A.U
movement.
The nation-state is recognized as an entity for purposes of diplomacy, trade and other relations. It has
a national flag with distinct colours. These are called national colours. In addition a nation-state must
have a national anthem. A nation-state has a parliament which is elected by the people, but some
nation-states are led by the military after coups d‟etat. A nation-state is independent just like a pre-
colonial nation was and has a constitution which is a set of laws by which the state is governed.
QUESTION: Critically examine the origin of nation-states in Africa. Or Do you agree that the
nation-states in Africa were created by the European clonisers? Or: “Europeans found nations when
they came, but they left nation-states.” Discuss Or: Trace the origin of the Nation-states in Africa.

The Origin of Nation-States.

The Nation-States in Africa were created by the Europeans who came to the continent in the 19 th
Century TO CREATE COLONIES. The creation of Nation-States in Africa contrasts sharply with
that in Europe. While in Europe nation-states were created by the European people themselves
through revolutions in Africa they were created through colonization. The people in Europe rose up
in revolutions fired on by nationalism to get rid of their oppressive rulers. We have, for example, the
English Revolution, the French Revolution and the American Revolution common known as the
American War of Independence.
In Europe the people united in the spirit of nationalism to fight the old system and the regimes of
Kings and Queens which they saw as autocratic and selfish. These had to be removed because they
were autocratic and oppressive. Yet it is believed that development can only take place in a
democratic environment. The ancient regimes exploited their people where the rulers looked at their
people as subjects created to serve the interests of loyalties. As a result of this attitude, the people
gained nothing from their labour and taxes. The rulers were extravagant such that inspite of the high
taxes people paid, the countries were always short of money.
The subjects who suffered under these regimes saw the need for change so that people could have
freedom not only of speech but also of self-determination. Thus autocratic leaders were removed to
create democratic systems where leaders were elected. These new leaders were expected to spearhead
development as they were answerable to the people. Indeed, people embarked on development after
getting political and social freedom. One of the results of such development was the 18 th century. As
a result of this revolution, Europe underwent change both economically and politically which show
that autocracy was not good.
From England the economic, political and social changes which started in England spread to the
whole of Europe. At first, England was the workshop of the world as factories there produced
manufactured goods like cloth and machines. These goods were sold across the English channel to
Europe in countries like Germany, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain among others. These same goods
crossed the Atlantic to the American continent.
At that time the American continent, North and South was an Agricultural and market centre where
most European Countries used slave labour from Africa to produce Cotton, Sugar and Wool among
others like Butter and Ghee to name just a few. Britain owned North America where it controlled nine
colonies and the farmers there were Britain‟s. The fact that the farmers were English settlers, Britain
got the products very cheaply. But in 1776 the American colonies rebelled against their masters in
what came to be known as the American War, England was expelled from the American colonies
then in1789 there was a revolution in France. The most well known among the leaders of the
revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte refused Britain from selling its goods in France first and then the rest
of Europe which France had conquered in the name of the revolution. This was known as the
continental system.
By blockading British goods, Napoleon wanted to protect markets for French young industries so that
they could grow. He was removing competition and at the same time it was meant to bankrupt Britain
as an economic weapon. By excluding British goods Napoleon made Europe the market for French
goods from 1806. This continued until Napoleon was defeated in 1815.
Having been excluded from Europe and after the American colonies had defeated Britain, the English
had to look for alternative markets for their goods. Thus Africa and Asia were seen as the new places
to exploit. Africa was well known from the slave trade though Europeans had not ventured into the
interior. Britain had the need not only for raw materials, but also a NEED for markets where to sell
the manufactured goods. Thus at the beginning only Britain had an interest in ending slave trade so as
to make the people of Africa stay at home and supply raw materials like Rubber, Ivory, Copper, gold,
diamonds and Silver among others or be able to grow cash crops like coffee and Cotton.
Slowly many other European nations like France and Germany also developed industries and needed
both raw materials and markets for their goods. When Britain was monopolizing the trade in Asia and
Africa there was no need for control hence there was no need for colonies. But this had to change
after 1871. In this year Germany defeated France in what is known as the FrancoPrussian War of
1870-1871. Germany imposed a high war indemnity on France (£150,000,000) and was to be paid in
ten years. France was not only suffering an army of occupation from Germany, she was also forced
out of her rich Iron ore territory. Faced with these problems, France came to Africa to look for
wealth. Indeed, through the exploitation of central, North and West Africa, France was able to pay the
war reparations within five not ten years. The money that was supposed to be paid by 1881 was paid
in 1875 by a once crippled country. Indeed, resources from a dark continent had saved a civilised
European nation from being annexed. Had France failed to meet Bismarck‟s deadline, one cannot
imagine what the ruthless German Chancellor would have done after 1881.
This development surprised many not only in Germany, but in the whole of Europe. France had lost
the rich sources of its industrial resources but quickly recovered by exploiting resources in Africa.
This made the rest of Europe to rethink their attitude of Africa as a mere Dark Continent. The
German Chancellor, Prince Otto Von Bismarck had already said he could not go for colonies in
Africa. But for France‟s achievement Europe came to know that Africa had a lot of wealth. As a
result other European nations came to look for wealth, namely Germany, Portugal, Spain and Italy.
They wanted markets for their industries and raw materials to feed the industries.
The coming of many European nations to Africa created competition and the result was the scramble
for territory. The place which Britain and France had exploited freely suddenly became too small and
hence the need to control and exclude. The resources seemed to be too few for all of them to share.
This meant that Britain excused France from its territory where English traders were and France did
the same and so were other nations. Britain and France, for example, competed for East Africa
namely Kenya and Uganda, but France lost. While these two were busy, Germany took Tanganyika
while Britain was able to beat France to control the two countries: Kenya and Uganda.
When the Europeans developed interest in Africa, they first sent spies called explorers then came the
Missionaries who were nothing but colonial harbingers or forerunners of European governments.
When the Africans saw these people, they welcomed them, because many came with gifts and others
with the word of God, the good news, the good teachings. At this time many African communities
were involved in tribal wars, the Europeans claimed to have come to establish law and order so as to
stop Africans from killing each other. The tribal wars were the main source of slaves sold to America
and the Caribbean, Asia and Europe. But the concern of the Europeans in coming to Africa was not
really to establish law and order so that African nations could develop. Their main aim was to
establish sources of raw materials and preparing markets for their manufactured goods. To be able to
exploit the Africans there had to be order. As the people were fighting they could not supply raw
materials and they could not be markets for the raw materials as they would have nothing to give in
return. The slave trade had outlived its usefulness with the invention of machines.
The Europeans knew that they needed to organize the people not in their nations but in larger entities
so as to maintain law and order which guaranteed raw material production and markets for European
manufactured goods. That is why people speaking different languages were collected into what came
to be known as colonies. There were many reasons why people had to be collected like in the case of
Kenya. First and fore most there was the need to destroy a peoples‟ identity as a nation. Then a large
community managed by a few people was economical in the sense that Kenya or Uganda would need
one governor not 43 for Uganda or or 42 for Kenya. And the qualification of an African govern was
the ability to control nursery school children in Class in Europe. That means African adults in Africa
were equated to the nursery kids in mental capacity. Perhaps the explorers and missionaries had done
their home work well.
 QUESTION: Assess the significance of the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71 in the European
colonisation of Africa. Or: In what way did the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71 open the eyes of the
Europeans to the wealth of Africa? Or: Discuss critically the significance of markets for European
goods and sources of raw materials in the European scramble for and partition of Africa.
Traditional African Homestead

European Colonies in Africa

The Europeans created colonies in Africa without regard for the African nations which had existed
for centuries. It was those colonies which became nation-states when they got their independence.
Kenya, for example was a colony of Britain between 1895 and 1963.
Probably the Question one needs to ask is why the nation-states had to be created out of the
precolonial nations. As we have noted the European nations had developed industries whose products
needed markets and the industries needed raw materials. There was need to supervise the exploitation
of African resources and managing the markets economically hence the creation of large colonies.
Small pre-colonial nations could not be economically exploited or governed as they were.
Societies in Africa were reorganized into large entities for economic exploitation. The creation of
colonies was the beginning of effective exploitation of the African resources both human and
material. Production of raw materials which needed extensive labour required that societies be
organized and managed not for their own good but for the good of Europe. The Africans were also
organized to provide a large enough market for European goods.
The people in the European colonies grew such crops as coffee, cotton, cocoa, tea, groundnuts and
pyrethrum among others for the European industries. In addition ivory, palm oil, rubber and minerals
such as copper, silver and iron ore had to be found and supplied. In return for these raw materials
which were greatly needed in Europe, the Africans in the colonies consumed manufactured goods
made in Europe. The crops grown by the Africans in the colonies were called Cash Crops. Most
goods produced in the colonies were for sell not for consumption in Africa. They were sold to Europe
cheaply while the manufactured goods were sold to the Africans at a very high cost. This was to
make the Africans supply more of their produce for less European goods. This was maximum
exploitation.
It should be noted that the Europeans owned the colonies and so the people who lived in them were
subjects of the colonizers. That means there was nothing like trade in the real sense of the word,
because the exchange was not between equals. The Europeans decided the price of the raw materials
which they did not supply and the manufactured goods which they produced. After all slave trade had
been ended so that the Africans would stay at home to produce raw materials. The Africans in the
colonies were still slaves of the Europeans not free people as the Europeans claimed.
The African societies had been freed from slave trade to serve the Europeans in a new role as subjects
not slaves. The African societies were not free to do what they wanted, but to serve their colonial
masters for the development of Europe. African products such as Coffee, Cotton, Tea or Copper were
not processed in Africa so there were no industries. The products were carried raw to Europe to
provide jobs for the workers in Europe. With jobs available in Europe there was prosperity in Europe
while the Africans were kept poor.
It should be noted that when the Europeans showed serious interest in colonising Africa, the Africans
put up resistance which was crushed. Thus the Africans in the colonies were conquered subjects after
the war of resistance. As a defeated people, the Africans in the colonies had no say in as far as the
colonial administrations were concerned. The Africans had to work for the Europeans and hope for
the day when they would fight again for their freedom.
As a result, the African resources were exploited for the development of European nations, which
meant the under development of the African nation-states. These nation-states were the property of
the Europeans when they were colonies and so they were exploited and all resources taken to Europe.
For that reason, therefore, Africans now do not have resources enough for development. Even the
soils were left without fertility. Minerals were taken in large quantities just as was Ivory. African
countries have now to spend large sums of money buying fertilizer and there are no significant
industries in Africa. Such products as vehicles have to be imported from Europe since Africa has no
industries. The industries were developed in Europe using the resources of Africa.
The absence of industries in Africa could partly explain why nation-state in Africa is underdeveloped.
Even after they achieved political independence, the African nation-states continued selling cash
crops cheaply in exchange for expensive European manufactured goods. Yet when the American
colonies defeated Britain they grew economically to the extent of overtaking their colonial master.
The explanation remains speculative, but the nature of politics in the African nation-states may be an
indicator. One of the problems in Africa is corruption.
It can be said that for many years the African people were working not for themselves and their own
development but for the development of Europe. This is called exploitation, because the Africans did
not get actual returns for their labour. The Africans did not work for wages or sell their pr. The
Africans did not work for wages or sell their produce at market, price, but work as slaves and were
paid prices determined by the colonizers. Since the drive for colonies was economic, the Europeans
put together pre-colonial nationalities in order to serve their colonial interests. These interests were
land and cheap labour for the production of raw materials needed in Europe and a large market to
consume European manufactured goods.
In Kenya, for example, nationalities, that is people who had been living separately. like the Luo, the
Maasai, the Luhya and Agikuyu to name just a few were put together without caring about their
culture, their languages and ways of life where there was need for land, the Europeans removed the
Africans from the areas and put them into reserves where there was no land for cultivation and
grazing was confined to some barren areas without minding about overcrowding. The Maasai were
removed from Nairobi to Narok, a dry and barren place. In Rhodesia the British also removed the
people from their fertile and safe from disease areas to barren and disease prone ones as the fertile
lands became European farms.
Then there was also need for people to work the land then cleared of people and animals. The
reserves so created provided cheap and at times free labour for the European farms. The people who
lived in overcrowded reserves had no land to cultivate and grow food so they needed handouts, and to
get food they had to work. This was economic exploitation intended to increase or maintain European
development. One of the driving forces of colonization in Africa was European nationalism.
Nationalism in Europe had led to the unification of Germany and Italy in 1871 after Prussia had
defeated France. A powerful France had kept the people of these nations divided for its own benefit.
The defeat of France created a balance of power in Europe, meaning there was no more war which
created opportunity for industrialization hence the need for markets and raw materials for many more
European nations, where Africa was the source.
A defeated France came to Africa to look for money to pay German War Indemnity so as to free itself
from a German army of occupation. Nationalist French men and women worked hard to free their
country but the nationalist Germans too had to follow France in Africa to make sure that France
would not overtake them. As a result of the struggle in Europe, Africa became the centre of play as
European nations fought to keep their industries ahead of one another. Britain had been chased by
France from European markets and so Africa and Asia became the alternative, but as European
nations developed their industries they too followed Britain the result was the creation of colonies for
exploitation to benefit Europe. But with time they fought for independence and became nation-states
as we know them today.
QUESTION: Explain the interests of the Europeans which made them colonise Africa in the 19 th
Century. Or: Examine critically the role of the Industrial Revolution in the European scramble for and
partition of Africa. Or: Why did the Europeans need colonies in Africa in the 19 th Century? Or:
Explain comprehensively why Otto von Bismarck who had said that African colonies were not worth
e the bones of even one German soldier grabbed four colonies before the end of the partition of
Africa. Or: To what extent does King Leopold ii‟s activities in the Belgian Congo represent „the
white man‟s burden in Africa‟?

The Origin of the Nation-States.

While in Europe, Nation-States were created through revolutions, in Africa they were created by
European colonialism. In Europe there were such things as the French Revolution of 1789 which had
learned a lesson from the American war of independence of 1776.
In Europe, the people united against the old system of Kings and Queens and removed them because
they were autocratic and selfish. They exploited their subjects who gained or received nothing in
return for their labour or the taxes they paid. There was no development in-spite of the high taxes
people paid and no freedom of speech or expression. Thus autocratic leaders were removed to create
democratic systems where leaders were elected. These were leaders expected to spear head
development. The development which took place in Europe after these revolutions clearly shows that
autocratic leaders were not good the revolutions took place in Britain and France. People embarked
on development after getting political and social freedom.
One of the results of such developments was the Industrial Revolution which began in England in the
18th Century. By this revolution, Europe underwent an economic change after the spread of the
English Revolution and the Industrial Revolution Factories in England produced manufactured goods
like cloth and machines like spinning machines. These goods were sold across the English Channel to
the European Countries namely Germany, France, Italy and Spain among others like Portugal.
England was known as „the workshop of the world.‟
At that time the American continent both North and South were Agricultural Centres where European
countries used slave labour from Africa to produce Cotton, Sugarcane and others.
Britain controlled North America where many farmers were Britons.
But in 1776, North America which was a colony of England rebelled against its master in what came
to be known as the American War of Independence. At the conclusion of the war, Britain was
expelled from the American colonies. Then in 1789 there was a revolution in France. One of the
leaders of this revolution, Napoleon Bonaparte refused Britain from selling its goods first in France
and then the rest of Europe from 1806.
It should be noted that those who started the French Revolution had been soldiers whom the King of
France had sent to help the Americans win their war of independence in 1776. Napoleon‟s interest in
blockading British goods was to protect young French industries from British exploitation and then
make Europe the market for French goods which was still going on by1815 when Napoleon was
defeated thus ending the export of French ideals to Europe..
Because Britain was barred from Europe and its markets in America having been lost it was forced to
look for markets else-where and Africa and Asia came in handy. At first Britain and later other few
European nations traded with Africa without the need for control as there was no competition. At that
time few European nations had interest in Africa having not yet developed industries. But that was
bound to change with developments in Europe.
Then in 1871 Prussia (Germany) defeated France and imposed on it a huge war indemnity which
France was required to pay within 10 years. Forced out of its iron rich territory, France came to
Africa to look for wealth. Within five years France was able to pay the war indemnity to Germany
which surprised many in Europe including the German Chancellor at the time, Otto von Bismarck.
From this achievement, the Europeans came to know that Africa had wealth. Then Italy, Spain and
Germany also came to Africa, they wanted sources of raw materials for their industries and markets
where to sell their manufactured goods. As time went by each one of them developed their own
industries and wanted to protect them by putting up tariff barriers that is refusing the goods of another
nation from selling there.
When all the European nations developed interest in Africa, the place seemed too small for all of
them to exploit freely as competition set in and rivalry for resources between different traders led to
the scramble. George Goldie a British trader was in the Niger, where he was being threatened by the
French traders and needed British protection. This was the beginning of the scramble for Africa. They
scrambled to control territory so as to control the resources from being exploited by traders from
another European country if it had traders from another. Britain, Germany and France for example
competed for East Africa where Britain and Germany won against France.
At first when Europeans came to Africa as explorers Africans welcomed them as strangers coming to
visit and would later go away. Some came with good tidings or good news in the name of religion
and even brought gifts for African rulers. But these have now been found to have been spies, the fore
runners of colonialism. In the end the Europeans claimed to have come to establish law and order for
the good of African people. Worse still is the obscene claim that the Europeans came to Africa to
civilise the Africans, hence the creation of colonies. Indeed, African colonies were lave camps in
Africa to hold labour for European farms and produce raw materials as they consumed European
manufactured goods.
Before then many African nations were involved in what has been called tribal wars with each other
and selling their natives as war captives to America, the Caribbean Islands, the Middle East and
Europe. But the concern of the Europeans in coming to Africa to establish law and order was not for
Africa nations to develop, but a way of getting raw materials to feed their industries and also markets
for their manufactured goods. The Europeans knew that once Africans stopped fighting and selling
slave, then they would supply raw materials like palm, oil from West Africa or ivory from East and
Central Africa as well as minerals.
There was need to supervise the exploitation of resources and managing the markets by the
Europeans in the name of maintaining law and order in Africa. This was the beginning of effective
exploitation of the African resources both human and material. By this move slave trade in Africa
was over and it was now time to organize societies in Africa for production not for their own good,
but for the good of Europe. The African grew such things as Coffee, Tea, Cotton and Pyrethrum for
the European industries. Such things as ivory and minerals like iron ore, copper and gold had to be
found and supplied. These were called raw materials needed in Europe. Perhaps they were called cash
crops because the Colonisers paid cash. After independence African leaders failed to pay for the raw
materials farmers supplied. This is what killed the production of raw materials in post colonial Africa.
In return for the supply of the raw materials, the Africans consumed manufactured goods from
Europe. The raw materials were called cash crops sold to Europe very cheaply while the
manufactured goods were sold to Africans very expensively. After all, the exchange was not between
equals as in the case of normal trade. The European colonizers were mere looter out to enslave the
Africans in their own continent after slave trade had declined. The Europeans had ended slave trade
to enslave the Africans at home to work for them from there. The machines from European industries
had ended the need for manual labour hence no need for African slaves in America and Europe.
Many Europeans who were not skilled were also out of employment. Even professional soldiers had
lost their jobs after the Franco-Prussian War. The balance of power in Europe meant no more wars
hence the retrenchment of army men. Captain Lugard, for example, is known for helping Britain get a
big share in the partition of Africa from East to West Africa, namely Nigeria and Uganda.
The Africans at the time were subjects owned by the colonisers in Europe. The societies were no
longer free to do what they wanted but to serve their colonial masters for the development of Europe.
African products like tea, coffee or cotton could not be processed in Africa as this was likely to create
industry say in Kenya if a coffee processing factory was put up. The export of raw materials was to
give European jobs and prosperity which Africans were denied. Since the Africans had been
conquered after the wars of resistance had failed they had no say in what the colonizers were doing.
As a result, the African resources were exploited for the development of Europe nations leading to
the underdevelopment of Africa. Africans now do not have the resources like ivory, mineral or even
soil fertility. Large amounts of money have to be spent on fertilizer and there are no industries to
produce goods like cars, which exist in Europe and were built with African resources. That partly
explains why Africa is still behind in development as compared to America and Europe. While
America was at one time a slave of Britain today it is even more development and stronger than
Britain itself.
It can be said that for many years African people were working not for their own development but for
the development of Europe. This is called exploitation, because the Africans did not get actual returns
for their labour. Since the drive for colonies was economic, the Europeans put together precolonial
nationalities in order to serve their colonial interests. These interests were land and cheap labour for
the production of raw materials needed in Europe and a large market to consume European
manufactured goods..
In Kenya for example, nationalities who had live freely like the Luo, the Maasai, the Luhya and
Agikuyu to name just a few were put together into Kenya colony without caring about their culture,
their language and ways of life, and where there was need for land, the Europeans removed the
Africans from the areas and put them in reserves while grazing was confined to some areas without
minding about overcrowding or diseases.
Then there was also need for labour to work the land now cleared of people and animals. The
reserves provided cheap if not free labour for the European farms. Reserves in the colonial period
were pools of cheap labour for European farms. This was economic exploitation to increase or
maintain European nationalism. Nationalism in Europe had led to the unification of Germany and the
unification of Italy in 1871 after the defeat of France which had kept the people of these nations
divided for its own benefit.
But defeated France had to find money to pay the German indemnity to free itself from German
occupation in the name of nationalism. As a result of the struggles in Europe, Africa became the
centre of play as European nations fought to keep their industries ahead of one another. Britain had
been chased by France from Europe to Africa and Asia, but as the Europeans developed their own
industries, they followed Britain and the result was the creation of nation-states for exploitation so as
to maintain the development of Europe.
QUESTION: To what extent was the European colonisation the result of problems in Europe rather
than in Africa? Or: Do you agree that Africa was colonised so that the Europeans could civilise it?
Or: Was the colonisation of Africa the white man‟s burden?

A Nation and a Nation – State.

The nation just like a nation-state today was an entity but the two are different. First and foremost we
should acknowledge that a nation is defunct in that case it no longer exists. What were nations are the
ones the Europeans used to build colonies and once independence came they were no more. But we
can say that a pre-colonial nation was a set up where people spoke almost the same language. A
nation-state is a federation of what were African nations before colonization. At the time of
colonization different communities who had lived independently were put together in colonies. Since
it was the European colonies which became nation-states the later are larger than the defunct nations.
A nation commonly refers to an entity where people with a common origin, common language and
common culture lived. On the other hand a nation-state has people has people with different origins,
different languages and different cultures.
A nation was a natural set up in that people spoke their mother-tongues and practiced their cultures,
inherited from their ancestors like the pre-colonial Maasai people, the Agikuyu, the Luo and Luhya
among others. These people had their own economic, political and social organizations independent
of one another. It was this natural set which the European colonialists destroyed by removing the
people‟s traditional leaders to create large colonies which at the time of independence became large
entities like Kenya, Rwanda, Tanganyika and Uganda, among others in post-colonial Africa.
Thus we can say that while nations existed in Africa in the pre-colonial period, nation-states are a
recent and are a creation of colonialism and are a result of foreign influence. As a result of this
influence which led to the collection of different language-speaking nationalities into colonies, the
nation-states which resulted from them have people who speak what are called official languages.
Since these people in nation-states cannot communicate in mother tongues like those in nations, they
had to find a common language to bring them together. Most of the nation-states use the languages of
their former colonial masters.
We find that the post-colonial nation has a government just as a pre-colonial nation had one. The
nation had leadership and organizations just as the present nation-state. The difference is that while
in the latter, the leaders are elected, in the former leadership was hereditary and traditional. The
nation-state normally has an elected leader, who in order to communicate to his or her people must
use an interpreter when there is no National language. The leader could be imposed on a nation-
state by coup-de‟tat or the result of defeat through a civil war as was the case in Ethiopia, Liberia
and Somalia..
In a nation, the leader used to be the head of almost all the institutions, like religion where he or she
was the chief priest. He or she also has the military and commanded the community if there was war.
In state matters, the decision of the King or Queen was final while in a nation-state there are divisions
such as the Executive that is the head of state, the Legislature which is the parliament and the
Judiciary which involves judges, the courts and lawyers to interpret the nation-states‟ laws. In effect,
one can say that in a nation there was one man rule or dictatorship while in a nation-state we talk of
democracy, which is also associated with political parties, and elections. Election rigging and post-
election violence, rigging and election cheating and violence are also part of democracy in Africa it
seems.
People in a nation used to accumulate wealth mainly through the exploitation of natural resources like
digging their land, hunting and even gathering fruits, leaves and fishing among others. They also gave
labour in exchange for other services like food rations or even animals and birds like chicken, they
paid their taxes in kind and worked for their leaders and gave ten percent of what they produced to
them as taxes. In the nation-state on the other hand they accumulate wealth through trade with other
states using currency and they work for government or for other people and paid in currency money.
Yet the people in the nation used the barter system, which is the exchange of goods for other goods in
the absence of currency.
The leader of a nation conducted state duties from his residence, the palace in the case of chief, the
king or the queen while in the modern times, a nation-state‟s leader has a designated residence called
State House. The laws in a nation-state are made in parliament under normal circumstances. But at
times councils make the laws in countries under military rule which does not use parliament. In the
nation, the laws were said to be traditional and were interpreted by the leader and the council of
elders.
A nation-state, being a collection of nations is quite large and a complex entity compared to a
precolonial nation. Kenya, for example, comprises many nations, namely 42 which once existed on
their own in the period before the coming of the Europeans to set up colonies in Africa. Kenya has an
emblem which is a mark of identification, has a flag, a trained standing army and elected members of
parliament, who also serve as Ministers. In a nation there was the council of elders whose members
were chosen by the leader the nation, and theirs was to approve their leader‟s decisions. They could
have been rubber stamps put in place to give the leader legitimacy.
In an African nation when need for defense arose, a war drum was beaten or a war trumpet sounded
for all the able-bodied men and women to assemble for military service. The men did the fighting
while the women supplies the requirements like food and carrying weapons as well as taking care of
those wounded and also delivering messages.
When looking at the organization of a pre-colonial African nation one can liken it to a large
homestead or a village where people knew one another or a village where people spoke the same
language unlike the nation-state which is a collection of strangers. In that case, therefore nation
building was much easier than in a nation-state where people do not trust each other when it comes to
sharing the national resources.
It has been even argued that by using a new language other than the mother tongue, people in a
nation-state end up failing to communicate effectively. For that reason, people in the African nation-
states try as much as possible, to work with their own ethnic groups in running the affairs of the state,
like a president who employs all people his home area, sometimes without regard for their
qualifications. Take an example, where a personal secretary to the minister, personal assistants, body
guards and all the people in the ministries are normally from his home area. This has an impact on
national development if for, example, finances are allocated to one region of the country because the
head of the nation-state comes from there and other areas are neglected completely. Yet the nation-
states‟ resources are supposed to be shared equally by all the citizens. Acts like this, among other
misdeeds of the post-colonial African leaders are the ones that fertilise tribalism, ethnic rivalry and
open conflicts that some times end up becoming civil wars for which Africa is known
QUESTION: “A nation and a nation-state can be compared and contrasted.” Discuss
Or: Compare and contrast the defunct nation and the existing nation-state in Africa. Or: “The
present nation-state is a federation of what were nations in pre-colonial Africa” Discuss

The Africans under the Europeans

African people were forced to work for Europeans without pay comensulate to their work and at the
same time they were required to pay several taxes. The taxes the Africans paid included poll tax or
head tax, hut tax and those who owned arms paid the gun tax. As if this toil was not enough, every
adult man in the European colonies was required to work for 28 days in a year for free on a
government project like road building, railway construction or government houses. In some cases as
in Kenya and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) the African communities were moved from their ancestral lands
and settled in reserves in barren and infested areas, where they were overcrowded. In these reserves
the Africans could not carry out any meaningful development activities. They could not grow food
crops, they could not keep chicken or even cultivate and supply cash crops. This also means that they
could not keep animals. This greatly affected the Maasai and the Nandi who were traditional cattle
keepers. Their grazing lands were taken over by the European settlers who made the lands into farms
where pools of landless Africans from reserves went to work. Reserves were nothing but labour
camps for African slaves rescued from slave trade, but work at home in the same capacity of slaves.
The purpose of reserves was twofold, namely to create large areas of fertile land for European farms
and secondly to make available a large pool of cheap labour who would have no choice but to work
on Europeans farms. Apart from exploitation, the Europeans wanted to deny the Africans the
opportunity to develop. Most of the lands where reserves were created were barren like Narok. The
Africans were denied access to the most important resource which is also a factor in development. In
other words instead of working to create wealth, the Africans only worked for food rations. Even in
Uganda and Tanzania, where Africans were allowed to grow and sell cash crops they were not
allowed to process them. The processing of cotton and coffee, for example, was given to the Asians.
These also owned the shops which sold consumers goods manufactured in Europe such as sugar, tea,
hoe and clothes.
By confining the Africans to the provision of manual labour and production, of raw materials the
Europeans denied them the opportunity of participating effectively in economic and beneficial
exploitation of their resources. This means that the Africans were not working for themselves or for
their nations being denied value for their labour and the goods they supplied. The people who
benefited were the Asians and the Europeans who processed and exported products from the colonies.
At the same time they imported manufactured goods which they sold expensively to the Africans who
sold their produce cheaply as the price was determined by the buyers of African produce. This means
that the Africans remained in debt and so they could not save and invest which would have resulted in
development. But we have to agree that colonies were not created for the development of Africa and
the reason the nation-states, their products can‟t develop either. The problems we see in South Sudan,
after it seceded from the main country following protracted wars, is a clear indication of what post-
colonial Africa is and will continue to be.
The Africans were not only refused effective participating in their Countries economies, they were
also denied a chance of ruling themselves. After all, their own governments had been destroyed, so
the Africans had to live under foreign rule with policies, orders and rules issued by the colonisers.
Even where local chiefs were appointed, they worked as agents of the colonial master carrying out
European orders and helping the Europeans to oppress their fellow Africans. The efficiency of the
colonial chief as far as the colonisers were concerned could only be seen in the way he harassed the
people in his area. An African chief was not an important person in the colony, because he could be
treated like any other subject. The chief owed his position to being obedient to his European masters.
After all, most of the chiefs in the colonies were appointed by the colonialists, so they were civil
servants employed by the Europeans..
Unlike the pre-colonial chiefs who had all the powers over their people, an African colonial chief had
no power or authority as he was only representative of the District Officer, Provincial officer and
colonial governor who were all Europeans. The Governor represented the Head of State of the
colonizing country say the Queen o England or the President of France, and the District officers and
Provincial Commissioner represented the governor who was also represented by the Provincial
Commissioner. The major concern of these colonial regime officials was to serve their master
countries interests. These interests included the production and supply of raw materials and the
payment of taxes by the subjects. The payment of taxes meant that the local people paid the salaries
of the foreign rulers who ruled them. This again means that the local communities were being
exploited, because the colonizing country was not paying its representatives in Africa. In that case the
societies in Africa could not develop as they were busy subsidising the already rich European nations.
The resources of Africa went to develop Europe while the African societies were left poor. The
people gave their labour in addition to their resources. Roads and railways were built with African
labour not for the African peoples‟ development but to carry goods to the sea for Europe and to bring
back manufactured goods. These were not tools and machines for development but consumer goods.
One of the most well known railways in Africa was the Uganda Railway built between Mombasa and
Lake Victoria to carry ivory, coffee, cotton and minerals to the Indian Ocean for ships bound for
Europe. The railway was a cheap means of transport to minimize costs and maximize profits for
Britain.
It is important to note that the building of the railway brought the Asians to East Africa. Asians were
brought as workers known as coolies, cheap but skilled labour. After the railway was completed, the
Asians found their way into business with trade as their major concern. They opened shops in the
three countries of Kenya, Tanganyika and Uganda. It appears that the Asians were used to deny
Africans the opportunity of participating in the development of their countries because trade was
made the monopoly of Asians. These people sold manufactured European goods and handled African
products like coffee and cotton which needed processing. Thus as the Europeans ruled, the Asians
carried out trade while the Africans only did the work of servants to be exploited. Colonies were mere
cages in which Africans had been crowded to serve Europeans.
But as time went by this exploitation could be allowed to continue. Some people, now known as
nationalists organized to get rid of their exploiters. In Kenya, for example, the organisation used was
M.A.U M.A.U. The societies in Kenya, because of European settlement had been so badly oppressed
and needed their freedom. The organisers of M.A.U M.A.U knew that the only means necessary to
get the British settlers out of their country was violence. This movement which was created to get rid
of the British was closely associated with the Kikuyu, though morally supported by all other ethnic
groups in Kenya. The fact that the M.A.U M.A.U movement was dominated by the people of Central
Kenya, it is still debatable as to whether it was a nationalist or just an ethnic movement set up to
champion their ethnic interests.
One can, however, say that the M.A.U M.A.U movement expressed African discontent with Asian
and European domination over the economy, the country‟s politics and their claims of social
superiority. There is no doubt that the movement expressed the African grievances in Kenya, where
people had lost not only their freedom but also their land to the Asians and Europeans. M.A.U M.A.U
protested economic exploitation, political exclusion and social discrimination in Kenya. the violent
activities of the M.A.U M.A.U no doubt brought about changes in Kenya which influenced the course
of the country‟s independence. The Asians and Europeans could nolonger see themselves as superior
and powerful because of their skin colours after the Mau mau fighters had beaten them.
The fact that M.A.U M.A.U advocated for the liberation of Kenya, it can be described as a nationalist
movement. It is said that nationalism apart from being the love of ones country. It is a story which
every nation tells about its achievements and shortcomings. These stories have in most cases
impacted on others and even used as a guide by other societies. Battles won and battles lost always
help others to learn from them and there is no doubt that M.A,U M,A,U had lessons for many
communities and societies in Africa.

What happened after independence?

The attitude of the African people seems to have changed as the prospect for achieving independence
began to appear. First of all, many political parties were formed to compete for power, and in the
process the bond which had held people together to fight a common enemy broke. Thus what one
sees in African nation state today is not nationalism but tribalism. Africa people believe more in their
clans much more than even in their tribes. So the nation state has been forgotten. This could partly
explain why there is a high level of corruption in these states. Nepotism which means favouring
blood relatives replaced nationalism in independent Africa. These are some of the problems which
have led to underdevelopment. Tribes cannot agree to the national agenda for the good of all. All for
one and one for all is a foreign slogan in Africa. Ethnicity rules the lives of the African people, who
united to fight for independence, but failed to share spoils. Greed took over and over shadowed
reason as their eyes saw the resources left behind by the Europeans a prize for their entry into State
House. Development took the back seat as the leaders started fighting for power instead of using
whatever little the Europeans had left them. The railways and the roads the Europeans had built for
the exploitation of African resources were neglected as money for their repair and maintenance was
put in foreign bank accounts by the leaders. These are leaders who had promised their people heaven
on earth as the colonies struggled for independence. The greatest problem in Africa is lack of unity.
It is reported that most African leaders saw the coming of independence as a return to the precolonial
states where each nationality or society is independent of the others. The man in power did not see
how he could work with those who had been their enemies or oppressors in the re-colonial period.
There is a saying in some communities in Africa that “if a child washes his or her hands will eat with
the elders”. As independence came, the African leaders either forgot or they did not care to know that
pre-colonial nations had been permanently federated like in Kenya where you have the Kikuyu, Luo,
Luhya, Kamba, Maasai, Kalenjin, and even the Arabs and Somalis put together to create a new
nation-state.
Given this situation where leaders wanted to return to the pre-colonial state of affairs, the new leaders
chose people from his own area regardless of the ir qualifications or status in life, ability to perform
or serve, experience to handle a task to fill job slots, especially those close to the head of state. Thus
surrounded by people one could even riff ruff, the head of state did not think about the welfare of the
nation. The resources were misallocated whereby some people had too much while others had
nothing. Moreover, people put in positions of responsibility without regard to their status, did not care
about the masses. These people may not have been incompetent as such, but their interest was not
development but how to retain their positions. They work day and night to keep their boss in power
to the extent that they became ruthless.
In the process the nation‟s resources which should have been distributed to all the people in that
nation were concentrated in a few hands while the majority had nothing. Thus nationalism which was
supposed to be a tool of development turned out to be a failure because the people who fought for
freedom did not enjoy the benefit of that freedom. The different communities brought together as
subjects of the European colonizing nations went back to their pre-colonial hatred and rivalry ones
the common enemy had gone. They forgot that as they had been put together to serve the interests of
Europe they could still work together to serve the nation-states.
The African leaders saw independence as their chance to go back to their roots and the result of the
breakdown of nationalism in Africa was the misallocation of resources as people struggled to satisfy
persons rather than national interests. The political leaders who took over after independence worked
not in the interests of the nation but that of their tribe and clan. Take, for example, funds meant for
national development going into a few people‟s pockets. And since these are normally close to the
center of power nobody even talks about them. Those who dare ask did not live to tell the story,
because they were eliminated. It is interesting to know that those who point out corruption are
characterized as enemies of the state. Corruption in some countries forms part of what are called state
secrets. Yet we know that state secrets area sacred and can only be revealed at the pain of death.
These are not good indicators of development when African leaders bank their money in foreign
banks in starling pounds (£) and dollars ($).
Some African leaders when they care to power their first agenda was to amend the independence
contributions or abrogate them altogether and make new ones. The idea was to give themselves more
powers just as those African leaders in the pre-colonial nations. They claimed that this would bring
about rapid development as there would be no time wasting. The move was to make the ruling party
the only one allowed to exist. Others were either asked to dissolve or were banned if they refused and
their leaders either killed or imprisoned if not killed.
When the democratically elected leaders began to behave like their ancestors in the pre-colonial
nations, some people began to look for ideas of removing them we have noted that rulers of nations in
Africa, the Kings and Queens ruled for life. And so the independence leaders wanted to do the same.
Some were either assassinated that is killed mostly mostly by their armies or they were overthrown
while out of their countries. In the late 1960‟s, Africa was known as a continent of Coups d‟état. But
even the coup leaders did not do better once in power. Examples of the worst are Liberia, Ethiopia,
Somalia and Zaire to name just a few. Liberia and Somalis have been described as failed states as a
result the coup d‟etat and civilization.
QUESTION: Assess the claim that “African nationalists died on the eve of their nation-states‟
independence.” Or: Why did nationalism which united Africans to fight for their independence fail to
keep them together in the nation-states? Or: Is it possible to explain what happened in Africa after the
colonies had achieved independence? Or: What are the major causes of failed stares in Africa?

Somalia as an example of a failed state in Africa

In Somalia, the independence leaders failed to address national problems after the country had
achieved independence in 1960. Yet, Somalia should have been the best for nationalism to
serve national interests instead of personal interests. The country has one ethnic group all
Somali speaking the same language Somali and professing the same religion, Islam. But like
all nation-states in post colonial Africa, Somalia failed to benefit from nationalism after
independence.
The problem of Somalia unlike other countries of Africa is not tribalism, but clanism. After
independence, each clan decided to work for its own interests as those in power concentrated
on developing their own regions instead of the whole country. Education the greatest engine
of development in modern times was preserved for some people while others went without.
National resources were not distributed fairly. The result was a military coup in 1966, which
put in power a military man, Siad Barre. It is said that he had actually been a police man
when he grabbed power in Somalia, perhaps the reason he miserably failed as a leader of
government.
Some people saw the rise of Siad Barre as a new beginning as the military government
promised democracy and development through good governance. What followed in the few
years was dictatorship and many years of civil war between 1969 and 1991 as each clan in
Somalia fought to control the reins of government. This came about because Siad Barre did
not keep his promise of treating all Somalis equally went to war with itself in what is called a
civil war.
It should be noted that a country which is fighting an internal war cannot develop. It can only
degenerate into chaos instead of economic, political and social development. Somalia became
a country of war-lords as each clan tried to eliminate one another. The country‟s resources
meant for its development went to finance the civil war buying guns, bullets and bombs not
forgetting payment and feeding of the fighters. In the end, Somalia was reduced to a state
dependent on foreign relief food instead of building the economy so as to develop and
prosper.
To make matters worse, the factors which had fought Barre in the civil war, failed to unite
even after his fall in 1994. After the fall of Barre, there was no central government, so
Somalia collapsed. The main war lords continued fighting in an attempt to capture power and
dominate other clans. Thus Mohamed Farah Aidid and Ali Mahdi Mohammed failed to agree
t end the war.
Each one of these men felt that he was the one to be the next president of Somalia. The fact
that they came from different tribes/clans each one felt that his rise to power would give his
clans a chance to eat the national cake. Thus without caring about the nation they claimed
they had gone to war to liberate, they started fighting for position. The war between the two
men caused more destruction, killed people and sent others into exile as there was insecurity
and famine. Without a central government there was no law and no order in Somalia. The
countries army had disintegrated with the failure of Barre, there was no police and no peace n
Somalia.
With no government to run the country there was no bank and no recognized national
currency. The Central Bank of Somalia was destroyed by the fighting. Such a country cannot
develop because of the destructive war, insecurity and famine. Without a central government
people took the law into their own hand as armed groups kidnapped and killed people to loot
their property.
Yet chaotic Somalia is known to have exported cattle and sheep to Europe, the Middle East
and the United States of America. Somali mutton was well known in the USA before Somalia
collapsed into chaos. The exports of animals and their products must have earned Somalia a
lot of money, most of which was spent on the civil war. Moreover buildings in Somalia were
bombed by both the government soldiers and the rebels. Production was abandoned for war as
large populations left the country to look for safety and food in asylum countries.
It should be noted that because of insecurity, most Somalis live in Kenya as refugees. The fact
that Somali is a failed state can be well illustrated by the fact that the country has its
government in Exile. Somalia now depends on foreign aid because of famine and the fact that
a larger population of Somalia lives in camps in neighbouring counties like Kenya, where
Daadab is a well know camp for Somali refugees. People in refugee camps cannot contribute
to the development of their own country when he is in Kenya because of insecurity in his
country.
The chaos in Somalia is a clear indication of the failure of nationalism in Africa in that
nobody who loves his or her country would try to destroy it the way Somalis did. Nationalists
do not only love their countries they also love one another. And it is because of their love that
the nationalists can develop their countries. Yet the Somalis destroyed their own country, now
Somalia is without a Central Bank, Somalia has no means of making and distributing the
means of development, namely money. The disintegration of Somalia shows the failing of
nationalism which had in Africa united the people but could not keep them together after
independence.
The nationalists were supposed to work together in nation building by sharing resources and
through democratic means they are supposed to elect a government fairly and freely. A
popular government in Somalia was supposed to use the resources once taken by the
imperialists to build the nation. But this did not happen and the Somalis now live in exile.
Those left behind are at war hence the government of Somalia lives in Kenya.
It is through such chaos that most nations in Africa have lagged behind in development while
Europe is continuing to grow economically, politically and socially. The materials of war are
bought from Europe and America using dollar money which should have been used in
development of the African nations‟ economies, millions of dollars are spent on relief food to
feed victims of civil wars living in refugee camps in foreign countries while others are
internally displaced in their own war-torn countries.
QUESTION: Why is Somalia called a failed state and Kenya is not? Or: Explain to those
who do not know that “Kenya is not a failed state.” Or: Examine the problems that caused
Somalia to be a failed state.

Africans Failed to Learn From Colonialism

The economic, political and social foundations laid down by the Europeans Colonizers in Africa. The
first move made by the colonizers was to bring together different pre-colonial societies which were
small entities to form large nation-states like Kenya. This large entity came with a very large piece of
land and a big number of people in terms of population. The idea behind this was both economic and
political.
First, small nations as they existed in pre-colonial period had many rulers like Kings and Queens but
these were not paid salaries. Since the new rulers were to be paid the administrative boundaries had to
be reduced to save on expenses. In this case fewer people would be employed, says the governor to
look after Kenya. Even districts did not conform to the old nations.
By bringing different communities together the Europeans wanted to destroy old societies and create
new ones. This is explained by the new languages to unite the colonised people. In the case of Kenya
and Tanzania it was Kiswahili while other nations used the coloniser‟s language or used a local
language which was widely spoken in the new entity. In Malawi, Kamuzu Banda, the country‟s first
president used his mother tongue, Chechewa as the national language, which he forced others to
learn. As many other post-colonial dictators in Africa Banda also failed. He is man who saw King
Mwati iii of Swaziland on parade on his country‟s national day dressed in traditional Swazi attire and
felt that the King was an able to dress well because he was poor. Band sent him thirty of his famous
suits as a donation!
From the rule of the chief the Europeans put up a system of efficient administration in their colonies
by appointing people they regarded as able to do the job. The colonial subjects were to be identified
by means of an identity card (kipande) so that people would not dodge work. This did not only root
out criminals, but it meant that people did work when and where they were required. The kipande
was reinforced with taxation system which also had a tax ticket. This was a means to serve two
purposes; people would work at least for six months in a year to raise tax money and the ticket served
as a kind of identification too. This taxation had another implication. If an African refused to grow
cash crops or work for the Europeans to pay tax, he could be forced to work while in prison for six
months. Through this trick, roads and railways were constructed, ports and airports as well as schools
and government houses were built. Forced labour was used without it being declared so. This is partly
how the colonial political economy was enhanced in Kenya and other African colonies like Rhodesia,
especially those with European settlers.
Next to these was education which was not free but compulsory at least for boys. Parents would be
arrested for not taking their sons to schools. By educating the Africans, the Europeans could get
manpower. But school attendance also meant money through fees, building fund and uniforms from
European manufactured cotton. Through education paid for by the Africans generated man power to
fill the junior positions in the colonial administration and produce local teachers. The Europeans also
needed policemen, prison waders and accounts clerks to pay salaries and keep records.
The church played a big role in both the colonial administration and education. People who
worked in offices respected their jobs and took home only what was due to them. Stealing, if it
existed was not as prominent as we see it today. In those days, so we are told, government
money did what it meant for and the balance returned to the treasury for relocation.
Co-operatives which served farmers were set up to collect, process and market agricultural produce.
The farmers were paid for their produce and co-operatives thrived without anybody stealing their
money. Most of the production was done by African farmers while the processing and marketing
were done by either the Asians or the Europeans.
The system of administration from the Governor down to the African colonial chief was so well
organized and very efficient. The colonial administrators chose able leaders regardless of who they
were or where they came from. Although some pre-colonial chiefs like the Wanga of Luhya or the
Kabaka of Buganda stayed to work with the colonial administrators. Those not efficient were
removed and replaced with others. The chiefs were very important in mobilizing labour for the
Europeans and collecting taxes. Chiefs arrested those who failed to give their labour or supply cash
crops in those areas where reserved as labour zones and not allowed to grow cash crops. A lazy chief
or one who did not carry out orders would be treated like any other subject in the colony. There was
no way a colonial chief would favour his tribe without being pushed so they were thorough and
efficient in order to keep their jobs.
These and other structures set up by the colonial administrators helped them develop what had been
jungle into towns like Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru and Mombasa by building roads and the famous
Uganda Railway. The processing centres for cotton, coffee and others for export contributed to the
development of towns. These developments on the rudimentary scale of industries also created more
jobs. School going age children were either in school or at home while grown-ups were busy either
doing government work or producing cash crops. There were no street children or idlers as is the case
today.
QUESTION: Where did African leaders who took over power at independence go wrong?
Or: Do you agree with African leaders who blame colonialism for all the problems in post-colonial
Africa? Or: Did African leaders fail to use well the wealth the Europeans left them at independence?

What Actually Went Wrong in Africa?

The hard question one needs to as is: what actually went wrong in Africa after independence? People
in the colonies had agreed to unite to free themselves and they, indeed freed themselves! The colonial
policies and laws of the colonisers as they applied to the colonised Africans were seen to be
oppressive. Some of these laws and policies were economical, political and social in outlook. The
policy on land and its exploitation, for example, denied the Africans the opportunity, for example,
denied the Africans the opportunity to accumulate wealth as the Africans only worked for the benefit
of the Europeans. Raw materials the Africans produced were bought very cheaply while goods
manufactured in Europe like cotton cloth or tea were expensive. Consequently the Africans lived
from hand to mouth. This was a result of European economic policies.
Politically the Africans had no voice as they had no political organization to champion their interests.
The Africans were subjects of the colonial master without any economic or political rights. Socially
the only meeting an African attended freely was a religious one. Organization of labour only care
towards independence and the workers tried to fight colonial oppressive policies. It was at this time
that Africans from all societies in the colony developed a sense of unity as expressed in the Mau Mau
in Kenya.
The organizers of the Mau Mau decided to fight for their freedom with the hope of working
themselves instead of benefiting the colonizers. In case of Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, the
colonizer was Britain. Elsewhere in Africa we had the French, Italians, Portuguese and the Spanish.
These exploited different parts of Africa.
Thus when the M.A.U M.A.U fighters said that the white man should go home so that the Africans
would get independence, they were looking at the prospects of enjoying the fruits of independence
once the exploiters had gone. The Africans were looking at all those infrastructures, roads, railways
and government buildings which the nationalists hoped to exploit after independence, not for personal
gain but for national development. The independence leaders talked of nation building, social and
economic development once independence was achieved. They talked so much about democracy and
even regional co-operation for the good of their people.
In Kenya, for example, the Europeans had occupied the fertile Kenya Highlands with excellent farms,
they had put up schools, built roads and railways and even nice looking buildings like government
house. Above all, the Africans grew and supplied all kinds of crops but to work European farms.
These crops and minerals fetched huge sums of money for the Europeans who enjoyed good life
while the Africans suffered.
The nationalists wanted to remove this suffering by getting rid of the white man who was exploiting
them. It was greatly believed that the fight for independence would give all the resources to the
Africans and since they had been developing Europe, the situation would be reversed as soon as
independence was acquired. The subjects were going to become masters.
But as soon as independence came the African leaders who took over the reigns of government forgot
the spirit of unity and nationalism which had helped them achieve independence. The leaders went
back to their tribes. They forgot that this was no longer possible after the British had destroyed the
pre-colonial nations or societies together them into colonies which to independence became nation-
states. These nation-states comprise of different societies unlike their pre-colonial nations which
comprised of one ethnic group of people like the Kamba, the Maasai. But the independence leaders
wanted to go back to the roots.
With this in mind that independence meant people serving their own tribe nationalism came to end
and was replaced by tribalism and nepotism. The resources now rescued from the colonizers were
shared by those who spoke the same language with those in power. Yet the basis of development
anywhere in the world is equal and fair distribution of resources to citizens. But with tribalism,
nepotism and hence corruption distribution of resources has not been fair and hence no development
in Africa after independence. People from one ethnic group use their positions in government to gain
the lion‟s share of the nation‟s resources.
It was indeed this unfair distribution of resources which killed the spirit of nationalism in Africa
because people saw no reason why they should practice what others were not. Thus the love of one‟s
country stopped making sense. Why should some be eating more than enough while others are
sleeping hungry simply because of their ethnic origin and not in government at the time. This made
people want to steal and carrying other means of revenge. Managers and accountants steal
government money either because they feel the government is not theirs if they are from another
ethnic group different from that in power or they steal because they are protected if they belong to the
same ethnic group as that of the president.
People can only be interested in a government if they think the government is interested in them. This
is called a social contract where the people elect their government and it serves their interests. This
can only happen where there is democracy which means free and fair elections, so that people in who
have ability to lead are elected without cheating. But in the absence of democracy, people get jobs
because of who they are. This leads to the employment of people from the same ethnic group. Those
who champion nationalism may be eliminated, because they do not keep state secrets, which mean
that they are not reliable enough to serve the interests of their tribe.
While employment went to people of one region of the country, those sidelined try to find a way of
surviving in a harsh and hostile environment which at times may be worse than that of the colonial
period. Although Africa got independence with many parties, a few years later the leaders had banned
most of them leaving their own thus moving from multiparty to one party system. In banning other
parties, those in power claimed that one party system was good for development in the country as the
head of state would speed up things like finances. The result was dictatorship and banking the
country‟s money abroad.
The idea of the leaders banning other parties was to remove criticism which was allowed under
multipartism. African leaders do not want people who talk about their fat bank accounts abroad. This
explains why people are eliminated when they talk about nation building. Under the one party
system, for example, the lands vacated by the Europeans were taken over by those close to the
leadership, leaving the owners landless.
African leaders did not want opposition parties because to them there were no two centres of power
in the pre-colonial period. That is why they banned other parties and held elections with a single
candidate as president. African leaders worked hard to stay in power for as long as they could,
however unpopular they were.
Even the few farmers who had land could not get agricultural inputs like tractors, fertilizers and seeds
for good production. With corruption, the government officials embezzled money for roads, railways
and maintenance of other means of transport. As a result most of the road and railway infrastructure
went to waste. Coffee, cotton and tea farmers are owed millions for the crops supplied to government
collecting centres. This means that production cannot continue as people grow poorer and hence no
development.
These crops in addition to wheat earned not only the farmers, but also the government money. The
government could get foreign currency and buy the tools required for development. Even those who
grew and supplied food stuffs like maize, beans and peas are also owed money by government. The
result is poor farming, production and famine because of lack of incentives to the farmers.
It should be noted that when farming collapses the country cannot get enough money to run its
services like medical and education. Professionals end up going to work outside their own countries
when their own countries suffer brain drain. Education which was well developed in the colonial
period was not spared the problem of poor leadership. In some cases nationalist intellectuals were
arrested, some killed and the rest forced into exile. With men and women close to state power in
control of education institutions, many intellectuals who did not toe, the line were chased out or close
out if they were coming back. Some African leaders could not accommodate intellectuals who did not
side with them. The problem of the post-colonial leaders in Africa could have been that most of the
independence leaders were either illiterate o semi-illiterate. To them, intellectuals were just noise
makers who had no respect for elders. Most of the leaders just wanted to behave like village chiefs.
To these leaders, what mattered was loyalty to the government and anybody who did not support the
government, however bad it was had to go. Discrimination on this basis caused problems such as
detention without trial assassinations and open harassment. In cases where the regime in power may
be scared of being removed there cannot be development as they think of how they would survive in
exile, hence the reason they bank money in foreign accounts. They also spend most of the money on
survival a part from banking money on foreign accounts. They pay obscene salaries to their men and
women to keep them in power.
Under such circumstances no country can develop economically or socially. In most cases the people
who are mistreated by the regime end up taking up the gun and the result is the civil war which ends
up destroying the country‟s infrastructure and ruining the economy. Both the government and the
army of rebels will spend the country‟s resources on the destruction of the country‟s buildings and
other infrastructure. The population of non-combatants will all go into exile and live in refugee
camps. The result of all this is dependency on foreign food with no production and hence no
development. That is what happened in most African countries after independence. QUESTION: Do
you agree with those critics who claim that “there was a false start in Africa after independence”?
Or: Ghana‟s first President Kwameh Nkruma said “We prefer independence with danger to servitude
in tranquility.” How does this explain post-colonial Africa? Or: Why is Africa “the continent of coups
d‟et, famine, civil wars and failed states”?

Nationalism and National Development.

Nationalism tends to settle for nothing short of independence and self-determination. Nationalism is
the love of one‟s nation. And it follows that if one loves one‟s nation, he or she will protect it, defend
it and protect the national resources for the good of all. But when one sees the resources for the good
of all being misallocated, it pains But when one sees the resources being misallocated it hurts
because it means resources are not being distributed equally which could also mean their being
misused by the few at the expense of the majority.
Yet fair distribution of resources is a very important aspect of nation building and development.
People should have enough to invest so that they can contribute to the government‟s finances by way
of taxation through either farming or export. Without resources people cannot save and therefore they
cannot invest. The Africans have been denied opportunities by their own leaders, some of whom
believe that rich people are difficult to rule, like Nyerere of Tanzania used to say,
The rise of nationalism did not start in Africa at the time of independence. It started in Europe and it
was the one which drove the Europeans to Africa, looking for resources to continue the development
of their industries. We have noted that the Europeans came to Africa looking for raw materials to feed
their industries. The Europeans came to Africa and in the name of their countries competed for the
resources thereby creating colonies.
At this time of industrialization, the European nationalists were very well aware that any nation
which lagged behind in that competition could be swallowed up by other nations. This had already
been demonstrated by Prussia which in 1871 defeated and occupied France. Before then,
revolutionary France had barred Britain‟s goods from selling in Europe so that French industries
could develop. It was protectionism through either blockade as in the case of France or by means of
the tariffs which are a tax added to make imported goods more expensive than local ones.
When Europeans came to Africa they created colonies which at independence became nation-states.
Colonies like Kenya were products of European nationalism, because they were set up to be exploited
after pre-colonial nations had been destroyed. The small nations could not be profitably exploited so
they had to be federated into huge ones. But as we are aware, one of the reasons which brought about
nationalism in Africa was exploitation. Although the Second World War provided the means whereby
the Africans got exposure and military training, what they wanted was to stop the European
exploitation. And this could only be achieved by getting political power hence the struggle for
independence.
Africans felt that the resources being taken to Europe could do a lot for the Africans. These
exploitable resources were not only material, but also human in that the Europeans exploited cheap
labour. It was the nationalistic feeling which united different people in a colony like Kenya with
diverse societies to fight for their freedom. The climax of nationalistic feeling led to the formation of
organizations such as M.A.U M.A.U.
The idea of independence was nothing other than the saving of the resources of the colonies so that
they could be now distributed and allocated to the sectors of nation building. This could not be
possible as long as the nations of Africa were under European occupation. There could be no
development as long as the exploitation was for the benefit of Europe as the colonized people were
only subjects with no say in what kind of education or health care they could get.
But the nationalism expressed during the struggle for independence which promised education for all,
health for all and clean water for all did not survive after independence. It meant that there would be
no nepotism, no tribalism and graft would not exist, but these characterize the nations of independent
Africa. The nationalists had promised to see to it that the resources of the nation-states would not be
stolen once independence came. Nationalists were so determined to protect their countries even if it
meant their death. Indeed many died in the struggle.
Yet many years after independence the picture is different. You have a situation where funds just
disappear, schools are started but never completed, something that should not happen where
nationalism exists. People stopped being loyal to the nation and became loyal to the corrupt and
inefficient ruling regimes. People chosen to fill positions knew that they could only keep them if they
pleased their masters not due to hard work or service to society.
With people chosen on the basis of their service to the regime not to the nation-state, the question of
merit stopped making sense. There was no need to work since society would not get a hearing even if
anybody complained. Nationalists would want to see nation gain and national prosperity which the
nationalists had promised.
It was hoped the nationalists would work hard for the development of their countries after
independence because the force used by the colonizer had been removed. The European colonizers
used to for Africans to work through various forceful means like poll tax which they paid in cash. In
most African countries like Kenya this colonial tax was removed because nationalists were expected
to work as a commitment and loyalty to their country. Nationalism is a condition in which an
individual‟s loyalty is directed only to the nation-state. This kind of loyalty implies that if one is
faced with competing loyalties, then one loyalty is to the nation and this supersedes the rest. It means
that one cannot allow corruption which takes away national resources for personal use. If funds are
set aside for a given project like a road, they will be used for the very purpose for which they were set
aside.
In the same way workers salaries are paid not only on time but also in full. This would encourage the
workers to deliver services. But if salaries are embezzled then they are demoralized which means that
demoralized workers cannot be effective and there will be no development. That is why it is said that
nationalism like democracy can bring about development. Nationalists will mean that workers are
taken care of and they in turn deliver services effectively. It is unlikely that a well paid worker will
steal national resources though our leaders are known to heap huge sums of money on their foreign
accounts, because of the breakdown of nationalism.
The nations of Africa suffer because nationalism ceased to exists at the dawn of independence. The
money for education should be spent for the purpose, because training and deployment of well trained
manpower and the retention of the same are important aspects of development. But if educational
resources are stolen teachers are not trained then a country lacks manpower. In some cases, the
country has trained manpower but the people cannot be paid adequately and they leave for better pay
because of poor policies which allow rewarding those loyal to the leader not merit.
A country cannot develop without a good system of education to provide the necessary skills. These
things can only be possible if nationalism is the guiding spirit in the country. At the time of struggling
for independence people were promised the eradication of ignorance, but it has persisted so many
years after independence.
Nationalists have to be in charge for a country to have development. Education does not only produce
teachers but it also produces researchers. These can contribute to health care and agriculture as well
as industry. The promise of eradicating poverty ignorance and disease can only be fulfilled if
nationalism guides the country and people who protect national resources for use in national
development. The idea of clean water for all in Africa by the year 2000 remains but a dream and yet
these were nationalists‟ promises. Why they have not been achieved is explained by the fact that
resources for them have been misused or misallocated. Given the resources rescued from the
colonizers these things should have been achieved.
QESTION: Explain how a combination of nationalism and democracy can bring about a country‟s
development in Africa. Or: How would you explain the failure by African leaders to practice true
democracy? Looking at the performance of independence leaders in Africa, would you say that they
were not ready to rule? Discuss comprehensively the meaning of “Of the people, by the people for the
people” with reference to Africa.

The Failure of Nationalism in Africa

In Africa, nationalism failed to be the vehicle of national development after independence was
achieved yet the leaders had used nationalism to unite their people to achieve independence. During
the fight for independence all the people from different societies in colonies like Kenya and Uganda
were united. They had a unity of purpose, which was to liberate their beloved countries from foreign
occupation and exploitation. What united these societies from different backgrounds with divergent
cultures, languages and even interests was nationalism. The people wished to be free in their nations
and be able to use their resources instead of them being taken away by the colonisers to develop
Europe. This, the African leaders understood very well. Then hell broke loose was independence was
achieved, man started eating man as of course others ate nothing in post-colonial Africa. The question
you may ask is: why did nationalism which so well united the different ethnic groups for liberation
fail to keep them together even after the coloniser had left Africa? Were the resources left behind in
the colonies, now nation-states by the Europeans too few to go round? Julius Nyerere said Africans
were naturally social, which means people who shared the little they had. It was on this premise that
Ujamaa was based, which indeed failed as Nyerere was a socialist without socialists to work with as
he lamented. Where did this spirit go in post-colonial Africa?
The driving force was pride in the belief and hope that one day the African would be master of his
destiny. It was hoped that all people would be patriotic after freedom had come and they would be
equal as citizens. This was the ideal for unity and determination to face the enemy, who was the
European. The people everywhere in the colonies rose up to liberate themselves. The people of
Kenya, for example, rose up in the Mau Mau movement to face the Europeans, who were exploiting
their country. The people had to unite to fight a common enemy and nationalism acted like an
adhesive tape to bind the Luo, the Kikuyu, the Luhya, Kamba, Maasai and Somalis and Arabs among
others in the struggle for independence.
In the struggle, people hoped for national integration and by acting together, they hoped to survive
together. During this period there were no African governments as Africa was ruled from Europe. But
once it was realized that African countries were about to be granted freedom, divisions began to
appear. Each tribe wanted to be the one after independence. This was because no tribe trusted the
other.
Perhaps what killed African nationalism was the creation of political parties. Some scholars have
blamed the existence of religious in Africa as the source of divisions apart from the existence of
tribalism. The people united to fight for freedom and self-determination during the struggle for
independence once it was achieved they parted ways. The tribes once bound together by colonial
power be loose and each one wanted to rule the country by forming its own political party and field
its own presidential candidate. This came about as a result of mistrust.
The stratification of African societies meant that each tribe should have been separated from the
others as had been the case in the pre-colonial period so that each one of them had its own ruler. The
political problem which arose after independence like in the case of Kenya, the smaller tribes feared
that they would be swallowed up by the larger ones. In some countries were even attempts to get
independence leaders from the smallest tribes as in the case of Tanzania and Uganda, but in Kenya
the largest tribe produced the independence leader.
As preparations for independence started nationalism ceased to be the driving force as each tribe
struggled to win the top position with the aim of dominating the rest. There was the struggle to share
the national cake or the so-called fruits of independence. The first sign was that nationalism gave way
to parochialism which means that instead of considering the whole nation, people started thinking of
their own areas and regions. Even among the tribes people thought about their clans or down to the
sub-clan and the family. Under these circumstances no democracy could take place. Moreover the
new rulers who took over leadership at independence were not men who would survive under
democratic rule.
Worried about being swept out of power by democratic rule where the best man won, the
independence constitutions were abolished and parliamentary democracy went with the constitutions.
This was followed by the problem of power struggle. When people are struggling for power or
government they cannot think about development. Above all when people are fighting for power they
are enemies not partners. Development takes place in a nation where people are partners and believe
that they will share the fruits of development equally. But when leaders decide to own the resources
and give only to those they choose, this brings about bad feeling because resources are being
misallocated.
The countries wealth is put in the hands of a few people leaving the majority empty handed. Josiah
Mwangi Kariuki (J.M.) once said that he did not want to see Kenya as a country where there are “ten
millionaires and ten million paupers.” He did not live long because of his views on nationalism. In a
country where resources are misallocated, development cannot take place. Nepotism comes in and
corruption rules the country. The result may be dictatorship where the leaders take care of only those
they call my people rather than the whole nation. Under such circumstances you have a regime,
where power of government is controlled by one tribe which is hostile to the others, which means that
resources cannot be attributed equally. And without equal distribution of resources people are poor so
there can never be development. With corruption and nepotism, people put in positions of
responsibility do not care about the nation as a whole since they do have anybody to answer to accept
their bosses. The society to them does not matter but their people since these leaders do not bother
about anybody.
These are people normally protected by the powers above, just like those who worked for precolonial
absolute Africa Kings who decided everything single handedly. These are people who became a
disappointment after independence. After, chasing the Europeans who were accused of stealing
African resources, the nationalists were shocked that the new leaders were even worse. The resources
could not be distributed and shared equally in an independent country. The nationalists knew that
they had liberated their countries to serve the people. A nationalist leader is one who thinks of others
instead of himself.
As the Europeans left those who took power just took over the same position as the oppressive
colonial masters. Power became concentrated into the hands of one tribe and as they say “power
corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely”. As corruption became a way of life national
resources could not be put to meaningful use. The ministers and members of parliament who are
supposed to be servants of the people became small Kings with the presidents behaving like African
chiefs. Since the independence constitutions were abolished to put one man one party the once
elected president became powerful and answerable to nobody.
People who complained about the regime were either put in prison or killed while others lived in
exile. In what was called Zaire, now the Democratic Republic of Congo under President Mobutu
there was a joke that Mobutu‟s enemies could be found only in two places that is in the ground and in
foreign countries. In the absence of a viable and recognized opposition the regime in power did
whatever it wanted except development. As a result the struggle for independence and the losses
people had made became meaningless. While nationalists had hoped to use their countries‟ resources
for building their nations, those who took power had other ideas. One of these was opening foreign
bank accounts where they banked large sums of money. Because of this development, nationalism in
Africa could not be used as a vehicle for economic, political and social development. A good
example in Kenya is the Goldenberg money loss now under investigation.
The simple reason why African leaders did not want to leave office even if they saw that they could
not manage i.e. explained by the case of former Zambian President, Fredrick Chiluba and the
Goldenberg inquiry. Thus the introduction of one party system was meant to keep one leader in
power for life. Opposition parties were banned so that they did not police the government which is
their work. In Kenya, for example, there were two main political parties namely Kenya African
National Union (KANU) and Kenya African Democratic Union (KADU). The former stood for a
strong centralized government while the later advocated for a federal system of regions also known as
„Majimbo‟. In 1964, however, the two parties merged and Kenya became a one party state.
From then on wards in Kenya like any other African state in Africa, the absence of opposition parties
gave the leaders absolute power in that they could intimidate those who could not agree with the
government. The policies introduced were not necessary pro-people though most African leaders in
banning opposition parties claimed that they delayed service to the people due to the nature of
debates in parliament. Yet what happened under one party system cannot be called service to the
people or development. In many African countries the economic programmes introduced without
debate failed to work, because the leaders did not consult. Also in most cases experts were consulted
as the projects were initiated by those close to power.
As a result many African countries which were rich at independence, became poor and miserable just
a few years later. In countries where workers joined the fight for independence because they were
being paid low salaries, and had been promised better pay with the coming of independence, they
found that even worse with the coming of independence, they found that even the low salaries were
not being paid. The bad condition and terms of employment became even worse with the
achievement of independence. The African leaders who had used strikes to achieve independence
turned round to say that if Africans went on strike after independence then it was treason because
they undermined development. In fact President Julius K. Nyerere said that people cannot strike
against themselves after they had achieved independence. To him strikes were for fighting the
colonialists, even if conditions became worse in an independent country, like was the case in
Tanzania under Socialist Nyerere‟s Ujamaa Policy after 1967, people were supposed to be happy in
their independent nation-states.
Africans said that since people had been liberated they should work hard for development and not for
pay. The reason they did not want to pay was that money went to either buy luxuries like cars or build
mansions or it was banked abroad. Since schools had not increased and no new teachers had been
trained, no doctors trained or hospitals built the money earned in the colonial period, say from cash
crops should have been enough. There is no doubt that on assuming power, many African leaders
found a lot of money in their national banks, which money they spent as quickly as possible. In a
short time the governments had no money. In Ghana and Nigeria, the leaders became so unpopular
that they had to be overthrown by the army in 1966. Nkwame Nkrumah of Ghana was h overthrown
while in China, but the Prime Minister of Nigeria Tafawo Balewa was at home and was killed along
with his Ministers. The army came to power promising to create better conditions of living and
rebuilding the country.
The chief grievance which had led the military to stage a coup both in Ghana and Nigeria was found
in corrupt practices which were widespread. Almost all the Nigerian politicians were guilty of this
offence. It is said that their life styles demanded large cars, lavish expense accounts and grandiose
official residence which demonstrated free extravagance of the officials at all levels. While
demonstrations and work stoppages were used to demand for independence they were banned,
arguing that people were free after the departure of the Europeans. In order to support the
extravagance, of their leaders, people worked hard without pay.
Among other problems this is what made nationalism lose meaning in Africa. This explained simply,
because those who worked hard did not eat while those who did not work ate well. The resources
which could have gone into development of the country went to develop individual. This would
clearly explain how and why nationalism in Africa failed to be the vehicle of development. While it
has worked elsewhere like in Europe and Asia.
QUESTION: Do you subscribe to the view that “Nationalism did not fail, the African leaders failed.”
Explain why America a former colony of Britain succeeded while African countries failed to develop
after the British left. Are conflicts like the one in South Sudan the teething problems of growing up
or a common African disease? Or: Was Nyerere collect to say that people in independent countries
should happily work without pay?

Something Went Wrong in Africa

The colonial policies and the laws of the colonizers as they applied to the colonized Africans were
seen to be oppressive and so the Africans wanted freedom and liberation from them and live a better
life.
Some of those laws were economic, political and social in outlook. The policy on land and its
exploitation, for example, denied the Africans the opportunity to accumulate wealth as the Africans
the only worked for the benefit of the Europeans. Raw materials produced by the goods manufactured
from them such as processed tea, coffee and materials made from cotton like cloth were very
expensive.
As a result of the exploitation, Africans lived from hand to mouth. That is whatever little they
produced they ate without any savings. And without savings there can be no investment that was an
economic problem which also complicated social problems. Politically the Africans had no voice
since they had no political organizations or even economic ones through which they could air their
views. Socially the only meeting could freely attend was the religious one through which they could
air their views. Socially the only meeting could freely attend was the religious one like Friday service
the mosque or Sunday service at the church local brews were banned, so they could be taken in
private.
In the colonial period, there were no African labour organizations as Africans had no choice of what
they could be paid. Labour unions were only introduced in Africa towards independence leading to
the development a sense of unity as result of European colonial oppression. Such a sense of unity was
expressed in the organization and execution of the mau mau. That is a time came when the Africans
decided to fight for their freedom with the hope that once the Europeans left, they would work for
themselves. The benefits of their work which the Europeans had enjoyed would help to develop
Africa. In Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda the colonizers were the British, who were exploiting these
nation-states‟ resources.
In other regions of Africa there were French like in West Africa, the Portuguese in Central Africa and
the Spanish (Spaniards) in North Africa. The Germans who had colonies in East, Southern and West
Africa were eliminated by other European nations helped by America in 1918 after the First World
War, when Germany which was accused of causing the war was defeated.
When mau mau fighters said that the white man should go home so that the Africans get
independence, they were looking at the prospects of enjoying the fruits of freedom after the exploiters
had gone. We have noted that the Europeans had laid down economic, political and social structures
which the African nationalists hoped to exploit for the development of their nations after
independence.
Some of the slogans of the nationalists were nation building, economic and social development,
democratization and regional co-operation. In Kenya for example, the Europeans had been occupied
the fertile Kenya Highlands, developed railways and roads, built schools and other structures like
administrative centres, built markets and taught the Africans how to grow and sell cash crops such as
coffee, cotton and tea. Some processing centers existed which could be turned into industries.
Minerals like gold, diamond and copper which could fetch a lot of money existed and after
independence could be enjoyed by The Africans.
The Europeans had enjoyed good life in Africa while the Africans suffered. This was bound to
change after independence. Thus nationalism came in to get rid of suffering by uniting the different
communities in the colony to fight for their freedom. It was greatly hoped that all the resources which
were going to Europe would after independence be used to develop the African country concerned for
the good of the citizens. These people had worked as subjects of the Europeans.
As soon as independence was achieved, those who took over from the Europeans, that the Africans
leaders forgot the spirit of nationalism which had helped the people to fight the white man without
fear and in unity. The people of Kenya, for example, a federation of so many nationalities went back
to their pre-colonial tribes or nations.
Thus one can say that one of the reasons why Africa countries have failed to use economic structures
left behind by the European colonizers was the breakdown of nationalism. After independence some
leaders started thinking about their tribes and their own people. The basis of development of a
country anywhere in the world is equal and fair distribution of its resources to the citizens. But with
tribalism, nepotism and corruption the distribution of resources has not been possible in the nation-
states of Africa.
People think of giving the lion‟s share of the resources of the country to their own tribes at the
expense of other citizens. It is this unfair distribution of a nation‟s resources which killed
nationalism. The people who were unfairly treated could not have any feeling or love for their nation.
Nationalism could not make sense in a country where some people ate while others went hungry.
Stealing or corruption must have stemmed from this spirit of un-patriotism of the leaders. This
brought about the stealing of public property especially when salaries were not paid when leaders
swam in the country‟s money. This also makes people want to revenge by not being committed to
their work. Co-operative managers steal members‟ money and everything becomes chaotic. The
thieves are protected by the regime.
A part from revenge, the managers and government officers were in most cases from the same
tribe and are foes protected from above. In the absence of nationalism, there may be democracy
both of which are basic requirements for development. People should be interested in their
nation and their government should also be interested in their nation and their government
should also be interested in them. That is called social contract which in Africa does not exist.
This contract was supposed to usher in genuine democracy, trust, transparency and good
governance.

But its absence brought about the employment of people from the same tribe as the country‟s leader.
This meant that qualified people from other tribes would not get jobs, but riff ruffs or disreputable
people were employed. This is not good for development as nepotism and corruption ruled the
country. People employed because of their tribes or loyalty not qualifications so they could steal
without fear. This also meant poor allocation of resources.
Sidelined tribes in the country had to find a way of surviving the new harsh conditions which in some
cases were worse than those under colonialism. When independence came there were parties, but
these were banned claiming that they divided the people. A one party state was introduced to stop
criticism not to unite the nation. Without political opposition, the one party state could not develop
the nation as teaching of public resources went unchecked. African leaders‟ actions cannot be
questioned because they do everything in the interest of the people and the nation-state, even if it is
banking money in foreign bank accounts. It is said that by the time he died, Mobutu of Zaire, had six
million dollars in his Swiss bank account, yet his country was the poorest in Africa.
The leaders‟ strong desire to stay in power meant that they could do anything to achieve their
objectives. They rewarded the people who would protect them from losing power. In places where
there was European settlement, when the Europeans left the lands were grabbed not returned to their
owners, who remained as squatters. This misallocation could not contribute to development.
With corruption, even the few people who own land cannot get agricultural inputs like tractors,
fertilizers and chemicals to develop their farms. Seeds are not available therefore agriculture declines.
This means that there are no cash crops for export or produce for population. the little money
available is used by the leaders who do not care about the masses. Things like tractors cannot be
repaired so they go to waste.
Farmers like those who supply coffee, cotton and so they cannot develop their farms. Coffee
trees are known to have been pulled down because governments which buy coffee on credit do
not pay.
Yet the colonizers made sure that faming continued as they grew cash crops for export to their
countries. As a result the rudimentary factories Africa had have all collapsed. These include cotton
ginneries, coffee and milk processing, tea factories and meat packing whose management were
political and ruined them.
Education which had developed during the colonial period was also not spared. In Tanzania, for
example, President Nyerere introduced education for national service based on Kiswhili, not English,
whose products could only serve in Tanzania. This was a selfish move from a leader who had studied
at Makerere in Uganda and even at Cambridge in Great Britain. Intellectualism was killed so as to
make people serve the leaders of the day. African leaders like Nyerere could not pay good salaries to
the intellectuals, hence fearing brain drain they used crude methods to retain man power cheaply.
Others introduced bonding where one had to work for government for five years before moving to
private institutions or going abroad. It means that those who got quality education worked abroad and
not at home due to poor pay, yet education is one of the tools of development. Unfortunately some
countries train people they cannot employ.
That is why in Africa we talk of the brain drain yet it is unclaimed labour African countries cannot
hire. Good people work in America and Europe, where they are paid well. Apart from poor pay by
African governments, intellectuals who refused to be hired as toilet papers of the African leaders,
they were either dismissed from their professional job like doctors, arrested on tramped up charges
and imprisoned or killed if they stayed to serve their nations, like University lecturers, Professors or
Lawyers. Indeed, many intellectuals became guns for hire as they worked in places like the
President‟s Office, where they sold their souls writing lies to prop up the heinous regimes. Some
were appointed Ministers, Permanent Secretaries and even Presidential advisers, where they were
square pegs on round holes, hence the underdevelopment Africa has witnessed since independence.
Given that an African leader does not want to leave office democratically, there is always fear of
being removed by force. The result is suppression of people‟s freedom and repression like
imprisonment without trial, the so called detention for national security. No scared leader can think of
development. This explains why after independence African countries have declined instead of
developing. The nationalists were thinking of democracy, freedom of association, equal distribution
of resources and nation building using the resources the Europeans had been taking home. But
something went wrong after independence.
The disunity which followed independence has led to civil war in some countries, military coups
d‟etat in others and corruption in others where the countries resources are wasted. Under such
circumstances, no development could take place. The factories cannot get new equipments just as old
ones cannot be repaired the same with tractors and other vehicles as money is embezzled from the
top. The thieves are protected and so in the end you have chaos and a failed state just like is the case
in Somalia, Mali, Central Africa Republic, Liberia or even South Sudan, Africa‟s baby state, born
only in 2011.

Nationalism Failed in Africa After Liberation

During the fight for independence all the people in the different nations of Africa like Kenya were
united. They had a unity of purpose which was to liberate their beloved countries from foreign
occupation and foreign exploitation. What united these once oppressed people was nationalism. This
was the wish to be free in their nations and be able to use their countries‟ resources instead of the
colonisers who took them to Europe. The colonized people united for liberation of the motherland as
pride became the ideal for patriotism whose beliefs were essentially freedom and equality.
The colonized people of Kenya had to unite to fight a common enemy and nationalism acted like an
adhesive tape to bind the Luo, The Kikuyu, the Luhya, the Kamba, the Maasai and the Somalis
among others in the struggle. They united for national integration acting together for survival. During
this period there were no African governments as Africa was ruled from Europe. But once it was
realized that African countries were about to be granted independence divisions began to appear.
Each tribe wanted to be the one to rule.
Perhaps what killed African nationalism was the creation of political parties based on ethnic lines
rather than on ideology. Some scholars have blamed the existence of religions in Africa as the source
of tribalism, but this may be baseless since Somalia has only one religion and yet it is a failed state.
The people united to fight for freedom and self-determination during the struggle for independence
once it was achieved, they parted ways. The tribes once bound together by colonial power became
loose and each wanted to rule by forming its own political party and fielding a presidential candidate.
Perhaps people should have returned to their pre-colonial nations, given what has happened in post-
colonial Africa. This came about as result of mistrust. The stratification of African societies meant
that each tribe should have been separated from the other as had been the case in the pre-colonial
period so that each one of them had its ruler. The problem which arose at independence like in the
case of Kenya, the smaller tribes feared that they would be swallowed up by the larger ones.
Nationalism ceased to be the driving force as each tribe struggle to win the top position with the aim
of dominating the rest. There was the struggle to share the national cake, the so-called the fruits of
independence. The first sign was that nationalism gave way to parochialism which means that instead
of considering the whole nation, people started thinking of their areas. And even when it came to
regions hence the majimbo constitutions of 1963 in Kenya – people thought even smaller nations
might produce better leaders. But this did not help as clanism came in. The Luhya for, example, did
not stand as just the large tribe but the sub-clans fighting each other. This has now been devolved to
the Counties in Kenya.
Moreover, the new leaders who took over power at independence were led by men who would not
survive under democratic rule. Then came the problem of power struggle. When people are struggling
for power of government they cannot think about development. Moreover, when people are fighting
for power they are enemies not partners. This brings about misallocation of resources as the country‟s
wealth may be accumulated in the hands of a few. Nepotism comes in and corruption rules the
country. The result may be dictatorship which looks after its own tribe rather than the whole nation.
Under such a regime, where the power of government is controlled by a tribe hostile to the other
tribes, there cannot be equal distribution of resources and hence no development. Indeed, colonies
which were created for exploitation and inherited by the Africans, cannot be used for development in
post-colonial Africa.The people put in positions of responsibility will not care about the nationstate as
a whole since they would be protected by the powers above like was the case in the precolonial
African nations. Some independence leaders wanted to behave like pre-colonial Africa chiefs or kings
and queens who ruled tribes and wanted to do things their own way, rewarding whoever they
wanted, killing those they hated and rule their own way. No two centres of power the new African
leaders declared. Parties that had vied for power were banned except the ruling one which was the
same as killing democracy in post-colonial Africa. That means that the people who united to fight for
independence became disappointed. The country‟s resources could not be distributed equally or
adequately. The voices of reason were silenced and those who dared to talk were permanently
silenced. Some people ate to their fill while others went hungry and the problem was: which ethnic
group do you come from? It is our turn to eat wait for yours. That is when your ethnic group will be
in power, you will also eat like us. Those were not the reasons why people united to fight for
independence.
The all powerful leaders looked at themselves first instead of serving their nations. A nationalist
leader is supposed to be one who thinks of others first instead of himself. Power became concentrated
into the hands of one tribe and as they say, “power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely.”
As corruption became a way of life national resources could not be put to meaningful use. The
minister became small kings since the independence constitutions were abolished and the leaders
ruled like African Kings. People who complained either, were killed, imprisoned or exiled if they
were lucky to escape the terror regimes. In the absence of a recognized opposition, the regime in
power did whatever it wanted and the struggle for independence became meaningless. While
nationalists had hoped to use their country‟s resources for nation building, the new leaders started
opening foreign bank accounts abroad. Resources kept abroad could not be used for development and
though the leaders in power claimed to be nationalists, nationalism could not be used as a vehicle of
development. The good example is Kenya‟s Goldenberg money in Swiss banks, Mobutu‟s billions
among others.
The introduction of one party system did not only kill democracy by eliminating parliamentary
opposition, it also strengthened the government of the day which had the power to act without fear.
The people had to repeat what the head of state had said or say only what he wanted to hear. In
Kenya, the main political parties at independence were Kenya African National Union (KANU),
which stood for a strong and centralized state and Kenya Democratic Union (KADU) which
advocated for devolved government known as “Majimbo” a federal type of state with devolved
regional assemblies (like the current troubled Counties) instead of a centralised government. But in
1964, the two parties merged and Kenya became a one party unitary state. That meant one man rule
and democracy was put into cold storage for good. It was for the good of the leaders in power not for
the people. Dictators, like the pre-colonial kings and queens were answerable to themselves and so
they did what they wanted not what the citizens wanted done.
In Kenya like in other states the absence of opposition the one party system gave the leaders absolute
power so that they could intimidate those who did not agree with them. The policies introduced were
not introduced after independence because they were not discussed, most of them failed to work in
Ghana and Nigeria, the leaders became so unpopular that they had to be overthrown by the army in
1966. The chief grievance was found in the corrupt practices which were widespread. Almost all the
Nigerian politicians were guilty of this offence. Their life style demanded large cars, lavish expense
account and grandiose official residence which demonstrated the extravagance of the officials at all
levels.
While demonstrations were used to demand for independence, once it was achieved they were
banned. President Nyerere of Tanzania, for example, argued that if independent people went on strike
they did so against themselves. “Ukigoma unamgomea nani? Niwewe mThe time was for working
hard not for strikes, he claimed. Yet people worked without pay and this was supposed to be so,
because nationalism demanded that people serve their nations faithfully. Problems of
Globalisation in Africa.
In very simple terms, globalisation refers to the idea that in modern times, the World is like a village
regardless of boundaries and distance between countries because of modern connectivity in wireless,
travel speed and migration from analogue to digital system. A journey that used to take six months
can now take just hours in that you can have breakfast in London, lunch in Paris and supper in Tokyo
all in one day. Make this happen, what the advocates of globalisation decided was to maintain peace
between nations and within them.
Consequently the dynamics of globalistion are reflected in concepts such as liberalisation, structural
adjustment, democratisation, global cop (that is global policeman) super powers, international peace
keeping, conflict resolution, good governance and election monitoring among others. These concepts
are common in various arenas where development and policy decisions are made. One may look at
the glob in reference to international trade which the developed world countries led by the United
States of America want to be made free that is liberalisation. That is the wish by these countries that
all the countries remove tariffs to create free competition on the world scale regardless of developed
and developing situations.
In this case, for example, we have what has been called economic liberalisation where trade
tariffs and quotas are completely removed. This move is problematic in as far as African
countries with their young industries are concerned. When trade is liberalised these young
industries will no longer be protected as they cannot successfully compete with the already
developed ones of Europe and the United States of America (U.S.A.). That would mean, for
example, that Kenya‟s sugar industry will not be protected from cheaper sugar imported
from Cuba, South Africa or Brazil. The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA) is very well known for producing sugar cheaply, by means of irrigation. This can
be a threat to Kenya‟s sugar industry if there are no tariffs or quotas.
Free trade is a situation which can only be possible when all world countries can effectively compete
when they are all equally developed economically. The problem of globalization is that it does not
only affect the economy, but it also affects politics. This is where the Americans and Europeans insist
on certain political conditions, one of them being the opening up of political space or the freeing of
political parties in those countries where there is single party politics. There is the call for a level
political playing field in terms of rules and regulations governing elections. Governments which do
not allow multiparty may be denied aid and this was done in Kenya under President Moi. But Uganda
under Museveni continues to enjoy good relations with the advocates of multiparty Democracy when
his government had refused to allow parties since 1986 when he sized power. Even when he allowed
them Museveni did not give political parties the freedom to organize like his own does.
Even when multiparty elections were held in Kenya the government did not get the aid, as President
Moi was back in office yet the donors wanted a change in the leadership of the country.
Someone in the Moi regime called it “regime change kind of imperialism.” The critics of the
advocates of globalistion called it regime change, being the drive of the advocates to replace strong
leaders with weak ones or yes men and women. The freedom of political parties and candidates‟
participation in an election in a country and observers from outside are part of globalisation. Until
and unless those observers are satisfied with the outcome, a country may be denied development aid
and this will affect the creation of wealth and the country‟s development strategies suffer.
The election observing and monitoring by people from outside the country concerned, say the
common wealth, Amnesty International and Human Watch among many others is the beginning of
good governance, so say the advocates of globalisation. This we have been told is good for economic
development, because people should be allowed to elect the leaders of their choice who will listen to
their needs. This according to the advocates of globalisation will end corruption which swallows
donor funds when a dictatorship is in power in a country.
Africans lack a competitive edge in commerce and industry due to the problem of colonization by the
same European nations which are championing globalization. As a result of this many African
countries cannot compete with many other industrialised countries. Africa as a result of colonialism,
which made it the supplier of raw materials, has not developed industries at the level where it can be
able to compete with America and Europe in the system of free trade advocated by globalisation.
Africa continues to consume manufactured goods made outside which are exchanged for agricultural
products like coffee, cotton and tea among others like minerals. The countries of Africa for a long
time produced what their people did not consume while at the same time they did not produce what
their people consumed. It was only after independence that Africans that these countries began
thinking about industries of their own. Where they exist, they are very young and need protection
which the advocates of free trade want removed so that they can freely market their goods in Africa
in the process of globalisation. But given that African countries have infant industries like sugar
production, they need protection from products of the more developed countries. Yet with
globalization advocating for free trade, these industries are likely to die as they cannot compete in a
free market. As a result of their death, many people will lose their jobs while this will mean loss of
income hence poverty sets in with all its consequences.
In the end the country itself will suffer, because it will start importing without exporting to raise
foreign currency. This expenditure without corresponding income from export will mean exploitation
by the developed countries. If Kenya has to import without exporting to raise the necessary money
from its agricultural produce, it will mean that it is being exploited in the spirit of globalisation. That
is why some people see globalisation as new colonialism, because the Africans will continue
exporting raw materials and consuming manufactured goods made in America and Europe just as
they did under colonialism. Thus globalisation is seen as the move from political colonialism to
economic colonialism in Africa.
That means that Kenyans cannot accumulate wealth, because they cannot raise enough money to
invest and hence there will be no development. It should be noted that when the price of
manufactured goods goes up that of raw materials goes down which means that Kenyans will
continue to earn less and less. That means that Kenya instead of opening up industries and creating
jobs so that Kenyans can earn salaries and accumulate wealth they became more and more
impoverished with time.
A developing country which opens up its markets to the goods of other countries without control
through the taxation called tariff or quotas risks becoming a dumping place for cheap and at times
substandard imports. The greatest problem of globalisation in terms of its effects on government is
that once competition is eliminated, monopoly follows. What some traders do is to sell their goods
cheaply with the aim of destroying competition like in Kenya where South African sugar is sold.
Here you find that when Kenya‟s sugar industry is still operational and Kenyan sugar is in the
market, South African sugar would be sold much cheaper in order to out compete the local product.
Once the Kenyan sugar industry has finally collapsed a monopoly will follow. The monopoly will
mean that South African sugar will sell more expensively than before, because it is now in the market
alone and is a monopoly with no competitor. The sellers of imported goods, like South African sugar
or any other product once competition is removed, will work to reclaim its profits which it lost when
trying to kill the local industry. That tells us what happens when a developing country like Kenya
opens its markets to foreign products. Countries can only compete effectively if they are equally
developed economically. Thus in order for Kenyan sugar industry to survive, sugar imported into the
country must be taxed so that it becomes expensive or sells at the same price as local sugar but should
not be cheaper as a result of free trade. Indeed, what globalization is advocating is free trade which
favours goods from developed countries. If you were to put a two suits one made in Kenya and
another made in Britain, many Kenyans will forget “buy Kenyan build Kenya” and buy a British
product! That is one of the dangers of globalisation in Africa.
Here we shall, therefore, find that a developing country like Kenya, instead of opening up factories,
creating jobs and more wealth for the people, the few industries available close down and the
population will be impoverished. When imported products are taxed which makes them more
expensive, the local people will buy more of the local products. This leads to the development of
local industries. Moreover, the tax obtained from tariffs can be used to improve social service like
building schools and hospitals and training staff. Thus the removal of tariffs also denies a developing
country like Kenya revenue. Vision 2030 can only be achieved if Kenya is able to mobilise revenue
for training and other forms of investment.
Globalisation, therefore does not only help to kill local industries, but it also reduces or completely
removes revenue from the affected country in that they can no longer tax imports. This could be bad
for Kenya‟s Vision 2030, as we shall see in terms of revenue collection and spending. That means
that there will be no development due to lack of funds, where development in its real sense means
increase of wealth, provision of better social services. Vision 2030, which is Kenya‟s blue print for
economic development by 2030 may not survive the principles of globalisation. Once these are not
available the economy collapses due to lack of economic progress. Developing countries which
export more and higher quality goods than those of Africa are the ones pushing for globalization,
knowing that their goods will out compete many other countries‟ goods when tariffs are removed.
The products of developing countries, whose industries are still young need protection. As
mentioned, if Kenya allows imported cheaper sugar, its industry will collapse in the absence of tariffs
and quotas.
The problem of local industries collapsing in developing countries can only be solved if tariffs remain
and even others imposed in the case of Kenya the importation of such things as textiles from China
will undermine the textile industry if globalization and implement such that tariffs are completely
removed and the World Trade Organization (W.T.O) is there to make sure that countries enter into
agreements on this system of trade and honour them. The W.T.O. is the watchdog which makes sure
that countries comply with the trade and political agreements they sign under W. T. O. rules
Countries that refuse to observe the rules of trade under W.T.O. are punished by the donor countries
which withhold aid. These are called development partners, but they are the ones which benefit from
free trade as advocated by globalization. Sanctions may also be imposed on those countries which fail
to comply and this could affect development when donors refuse to give aid. But even removal of
tariffs on imported goods could affect development in that jobs are lost as factories close down in the
face of unchecked and unequal competition.
It is said that the developed countries of America and Europe give their people say industrialists and
farmers subsidies on inputs which makes their products cheaper. Moreover while the African
countries have to import their inputs those of America and Europe get them at home so they are
already cheaper then as inputs are cheap they make their products cheap on the international market.
This makes them competitive compared to those from Africa. But from 2017, African countries can
breathe a - of relief! Donald John Trump does not believe in globalization, but America first. So no
worry W.T.O must punish trump first or we can also say Kenyatta‟s “buy Kenyan build Kenya” adds
a nail to the coffin that buries globalization! That will definitely kill globalization and bury it.
QUESTION: Explain why African leaders fear globalization. Or: Is globalization another form of
imperialism in Africa? Or: Discuss the salient positive aspectts of globalisation. Or: Examine the
dangers of globalisation in as far as Africa is concerned.

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are the eight internationally recognised targets also known
as goals which were agreed upon by the 192 United Nations (U.N.) member states and 23
international organisations to be achieved by the year 2015. The origin of the concept is the
millennium declaration proposal by the U.N. which asserts that every individual has a right to dignity
calling for eradication of extreme poverty, equality, reducing child mortality rate, as well as universal
primary education, freedom, basic standard of living including freedom from hunger, disease and
encourage tolerance and solidarity by developing global partnership for development. The following
are the eight millennium development goals and how Kenya is supposed to respond to them by the
stated deadline of 2015.
Eradication of extreme poverty can be achieved in Kenya if the government invests heavily in
infrastructure, increase level of employment, not retrenchment, invest in agriculture where there will
production for food for the citizens and a large surplus for export, which calls for industrialisation,
training in skills for the use of technology like mechanisation to meet both local and international
demand. There must be continued economic growth in the country. This will be integrated in Vision
2030, which we shall see bellow.
The country must aim the achievement of universal primary education by providing globally
competitive quality education through training and research for sustainable development. This goal
will be achieved through basic primary education which builds a foundation for one‟s life and for
future training for manpower and capacity building for national development. The country must have
a strong workforce, well trained and well equipped to meet challenges. There must be increased
access to basic and quality education for skilled manpower for industrial take off. There must
meaningful free primary education giving the society basic skills relevant for national improvement
in communication skills applicable in daily and universal lives of the people.
The promotion of gender equality by eliminating gender disparity in all forms of life in society is
emphasised. That is the countries of the world are called upon to promote equality between men and
women in all sectors of society, especially remove the discrimination of some sexes in employment.
This calls for the empowerment of women to be able to favourably compete in economic, political
and social sectors There should increased employment opportunities for women in sectors dominated
by male, encourage women to participate in development by giving them the necessary skills which
calls for the increase of enrollment of girls in schools and colleges to university education. Create
work environment that is conducive and gender friendly so as to attract female workers. The Kenyan
constitution, for example, suggests 30% which is 2/3 in employment for either gender to avoid male
dominance. It should clearly noted, that gender means both men and women not women alone as
some people think.
Reduction of child mortality rate in society so that not many children should die before the age of five
as is the case in many parts to the world, more especially in rural areas in Africa. This will be
achieved through the provision of adequate health care, especially maternity and prenatal as well as
postnatal care in the developing countries like Kenya. Indeed, Kenya has introduced free maternity
services, but no adequate facilities are available thereby increasing even more child deaths per birth,
which the Millennium goals aim at preventing. Children need to be immunized against killer and
crippling diseases in order to realize a healthy population. There is need to training and supply of
equipment and health facilities for this to be realised. Many trained health personnel from developing
countries normally leave for greener pastures, so there is need to retain them by looking at their pay,
to stem brain drain.
Improvement of maternal health care and treatment is also emphasised in the Millennium goals. It
was realized that women are the most vulnerable group in society facing various challenges and
problems. In one way or the other their status is likely to be altered especially in child birth. Thus
there is need for increasing and encouraging antenatal and post natal care, equitable healthcare
financing by governments. There is need to create awareness in the use of contraceptives and other
family planning methods for the health of mother and care of children. This calls for increased
facilities and sustained health care provision by adding care givers and paying them adequately to
retain them in their work.
Combating communicable and transmittable diseases like HIV(AIDS) and malaria among others need
strategies that are sustainable and proactive for the goal to be achieved. Resources are required in
large amounts but this has to be done without compromising the country‟s development strategies.
AIDS and malaria consume large portions of the populations of the world, more especially the
economically useful men and women that are the backbone of national development. There is need
for awareness and treatment as well as prevention. Making African countries malaria free and
preventing new AIDS infections must be the major goal. For those infected there is need for
treatment and provision of ARVs, which are expensive and need sustained government funding,
where corruption must be eliminated or reduced as some people may work to benefit from
unfortunate circumstances, like living on the dead, as they say.
There is need to ensure that the environment is clean in a sustained manner as people go about their
work to meet their daily needs like food, fuel and energy. This calls for integration of the principles
of sustainable development into their development programmes. People should be able to generate,
exploit and replenish resources in a sustainable manner that will prevent environmental degradation
and lack of resources for future use. The use of resources today should not compromise the use of the
same in the future. The future generations will depend on the environment created by the current
generation, hence the need for reforestation, prevention of pollution and desertification. People and
governments should be aware of green houses and their effective use for environmental protection
and sustainability. Watch for climate change which affects food security and work to address the
challenges that come with it by investing in environmental management.
The Millennium goals also encourage development of global partnerships for the development
underdeveloped countries. Countries and people of the world need to join hands with other
governments and people, more especially non-governmental organizations for development to be
realised. The need for funding means that international organizations have to be brought on board by
entering mutual and friendly agreements for sustainable development through exchange of
knowledge and also through trade and finance in various fields.

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Mckeowm, R. (2002): Education for Sustainable Development Toolkit: Energy, Environment and
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Amutabi, M. and Were, E. (2003): Nationalism and Democracy in Africa, Eldoret
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Chamberlain, M.E. (1974): The Scramble for Africa, London.
Questions: Are Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) achievable in Kenya by 2015? Or:
What can Kenya government do to realise the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)?
Examine the value of national cohesion in national development in post-colonial Africa.
Characterise the Pre-colonial African Nation.
Examine the characteristics of a pre-colonial African nation.
Was nationalism in Africa killed by the leaders who failed to encourage national cohesion in the new
nations?
Would you characterize leaders like Mohammed Siad Barre of Somalia and Id Amin Dada of Uganda
as African nationalists?
To what extent can one attribute all the post-colonial upheavils to the absence of national cohesion?
“African leaders who came to power at independence believed in winner takes all which killed
nationalism and destroyed national cohesion.” Discuss.
Show that Africa had nations before the Europeans came to the continent to destroy them.
To what extent was the European colonisation of Africa the result of problems in Europe rather than
in Africa?
Do you agree that Africa was colonised so that the Europeans could civilise it?
Was the colonisation of Africa the white man‟s burden?
What Happened to the Nations which existed in pre-colonial Africa?
What lessons could the African leaders who came to power at independence have drawn from the
Berlin Conference of 1884-85?
Do you agree that “the pre-colonial Nations of Africa disappeared in the present nation-states”?
Assess the claim that “African nationalists died on the eve of their nation-states‟ independence.”
Why did nationalism which united Africans to fight for their independence fail to keep them together
in the nation-states?
Is it possible to explain what happened in Africa after the colonies had achieved independence?
What are the major causes of failed stares in Africa?
Explain why African leaders fear globalisation.
Is globalization another form of imperialism in Africa?
Discuss the salient positive aspects of globalisation.
Examine the dangers of globalisation in as far as Africa is concerned.
Where did African leaders who took over power at independence go wrong?
Do you agree with African leaders who blame colonialism for all the problems in post-colonial
Africa?
Or: Did African leaders fail to use well the wealth the Europeans left them at independence?
Assess the significance of the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71 in the European colonisation of Africa.
In what way did the Franco-Prussian War, 1870-71 open the eyes of the Europeans to the wealth of
Africa?
Discuss critically the significance of markets for European goods and sources of raw materials in the
European scramble for and partition of Africa.
Explain how a combination of nationalism and democracy and national cohesion can bring about a
country‟s development in Africa.
How would you explain the failure by African leaders to practice true democracy? Looking at the
performance of independence leaders in Africa, would you say that they were not ready to rule?
Discuss comprehensively the meaning of “Of the people, by the people for the people” with reference
to Africa.

Do you subscribe to the view that “Nationalism did not fail, but the African leaders are the ones who
failed?”
Explain why America a former colony of Britain succeeded while African countries failed to develop
after the British left.
Are conflicts like the one in South Sudan the teething problems of growing up or a common African
disease?
Was Nyerere the Tanzanian nationalist correct to say that people in independent countries should
happily work without pay?
“A nation and a nation-state can be compared and contrasted.” Discuss
Compare and contrast the defunct nation and the existing nation-state in Africa.
“The present nation-state is a federation of what were nations in pre-colonial Africa the reason
national cohesion is important” Discuss
Why is Somalia said to be a failed state and Kenya is not?
Explain to those who do not know that “Kenya is not a failed state.”

Examine the problems that caused Somalia to be a failed state.

Why did Kenya fail to achieve Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015?
What can Kenya government do to realise the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) even
after 2015?
Critically examine the origin of nation-states in Africa.
Do you agree with those who claim that African leaders who took power at independence destroyed
national cohesion?
Do you agree that the nation-states in Africa were created by the European clonisers?
“Europeans found nations when they came to Africa, but they left nation-states.” Discuss
Trace systematically the origin of the Nation-states in Africa.

Explain the interests of the Europeans which made them colonise Africa in the 19th Century.
Examine critically the role of the Industrial Revolution in the European scramble for and partition of
Africa.
Why did the Europeans need colonies in Africa in the 19th Century?
Explain comprehensively why Otto von Bismarck who had said that African colonies were not worth
the bones of even one German soldier grabbed four colonies before the end of the partition of Africa.
To what extent do King Leopold ii‟s activities in the Belgian Congo represent „the white man‟s
burden in Africa‟?
From his activities in the Congo, was King Leopold ii a true agent of European civilizing mission in
Africa? “The flag followed the cross and the two became intimate bed fellows by which Africa was
colonized.” Roland Oliver. Discuss

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Goal 4 and 5: Reduce child mortality and Improve Maternal Health

Goal 4 and 5: Reduce child mortality and Improve Maternal Health

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

Africa’s Recent MDG Performance

Africa’s slow progress on social indicators can be linked to policymakers’ inability to solve the
continent’s food insecurity problem, the theme of this report. Africa’s food insecurity predates the
MDGs. Since the mid-1980s, the number of food emergencies in African countries has tripled, and
emerging challenges like climate change and underdeveloped agriculture have only made the problem
worse. How does this phenomenon affect other MDGs, particularly those for health? And how would
a concerted effort to improve agriculture, food distribution and nutrition fast-track progress towards
other MDGs? Read More

Goal 1: Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger

 Poverty Reduction is lagging behind economic Growth

 Food price hikes and the recurring droughts in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa are
among key factors accounting for slow progress in nutrition levels

Read More

Goal 3: Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women

Nearly half the countries in Africa have achieved gender parity in primary school

Read More

Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other Diseases

While tuberculosis and malaria remain serious health threats, Africa as a whole has halted the
spread of both

Read More

Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

As a percentage of their combined gross national incomes, ODA to developing countries and
least developed countries in general declined 4 per cent in real terms in 2012 following a 3 per
cent decline in 2011

Read More

Goal 2: Achieve Universal Primary Education

Attending primary school in Africa is becoming the norm, but the quality of education remains
a challenge

Read More

Goal 4 and 5: Reduce child mortality and Improve Maternal Health

Despite good progress, Africa still has the greatest burden of child and maternal deaths

Read More

Goal 7: Ensure Environmental Sustainability

Africa is doing well in limiting CO2 emissions and ozone-depleting substances, yet forest cover
is shrinking, and most countries struggle to meet targets on water and sanitation

Read More

Post-2015 Development Agenda

With less than 1,000 days until 2015, the discourse is shifting from an exclusive focus on achieving
the MDGs to reflections and debate on the defining elements of the successor framework—the post-
2015 development agenda (ECA et al., forthcoming). Read More

Resources
Useful Links

 Education
 Gender
 Environment
  Poverty Reduction
 Health
 The AfDB Statistics Pocketbook
 African Development Report
 Africa Competitiveness Report
 African Economic Outlook
 Country Assessment of Agricultural Statistical Systems in Africa
 Employment

What are the Millennium Development Goals?

The Millennium Development Goals are an ambitious agenda for reducing poverty and improving
lives that world leaders agreed on at the Millennium Summit in September 2000. For each goal one or
more targets have been set, most for 2015, using 1990 as a benchmark.

1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

Target for 2015: Halve the proportion of people living on less than a dollar a day and those who
suffer from hunger.
2. Achieve universal primary education
Target for 2015: Ensure that all boys and girls complete primary school.
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
Targets for 2005 and 2015: Eliminate gender disparities in primary and secondary education
preferably by 2005, and at all levels by 2015.
4. Reduce child mortality
Target for 2015: Reduce by two-thirds the mortality rate among children under five.
5. Improve maternal health
Target for 2015: Reduce by three-quarters the ratio of women dying in childbirth.
6. Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Target for 2015: Halt and begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and
other major diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
 Targets: Integrate the principles of sustainable development into country policies and programmes
and reverse the loss of environmental resources.
 By 2015, reduce by half the proportion of people without access to safe drinking water.
 By 2020 achieve significant improvement in the lives of at least 100 million slum dwellers.
8. Develop a global partnership for development
Targets:
 Develop further an open trading and financial system that includes a commitment to good
governance, development and poverty reduction nationally and internationally. Address the least
developed countries’ special needs, and the special needs of landlocked and small island
developing States.
 Deal comprehensively with developing countries’ debt problems.
 Develop decent and productive work for youth.
 In cooperation with pharmaceutical companies, provide access to affordable essential drugs in
developing countries.
 In cooperation with the private sector, make available the benefits of new technologies – especially
information and communications technologies.

Kenya Vision 2030 is the long-term development blueprint for the country and is motivated by a
collective aspiration for a better society by the year 2030. The aim of Kenya Vision 2030 is to create
“a globally competitive and prosperous country with a high quality of life by 2030”. It aims to
transform Kenya into “a newly-industrialising, middle income country providing a high quality of life
to all its citizens in a clean and secure environment".

The Vision is a product of a highly participatory, consultative and inclusive stakeholders’

(international and local experts, ordinary Kenyans and stakeholders from all parts of the country)
process carried out between October 2006 and May 2007. Between July and August 2007, the
contents of the Vision 2030 were again subjected to open consultations in all provinces in Kenya
before the document was finalized.

THE VISION
A national long-term development blueprint to create a globally competitive and prosperous nation
with a high quality of life by 2030, that aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrializing, middle-
income country providing a high quality of life to all its citizens by 2030 in a clean and secure
environment.

PILLARS OF THE VISION

 Moving the Economy up the Value Chain
Economic Pillar: This pillar aims to achieve an average economic growth rate of 10 per cent per annum and
 Investing in the People of Kenya
Social Pillar: This pillar seeks to engender just, cohesive and equitable social development in a clean and se
 Moving to the Future as One Nation
Political Pillar:  This pillar aims to realize an issue-based, people-centered, result-oriented and accountable d
 Deploying World Class Infrastructure Facilities & Services.
Enablers and Macros: The economic, social and political pillars of Kenya Vision 2030 are anchored on
Human Resources Development; Security and Public Sector Reforms.
1. 1
2. 2
3. 3
4. 4

Economic Pillar

 
 Social Pillar

Political Pillar

Enablers and Macro

Kenya Vision 2030 is the country’s  development blueprint covering the period 2008 to 2030. It aims
to transform Kenya into a newly industrialising, “middle-income country providing a high quality life
to all its citizens by the year 2030”. The Vision is based on three “pillars”: the economic, the social
and the political.

The economic pillar aims to improve the prosperity of  all Kenyans through an economic
development programme, covering all the regions of Kenya, and aiming to achieve an average Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate of 10% per annum beginning in 2012.

The social pillar seeks to build a just and cohesive society with social equity in a clean and secure
environment.

The political pillar aims to realise a democratic political system founded on issue-based politics that
respects the rule of law, and protects the rights and freedoms of every individual in Kenyan society.

ECONOMIC PILLAR

The economic pillar aims to improve the prosperity of all Kenyans through an economic development
programme, covering all the regions of Kenya, and aiming to achieve an average GDP growth rate of
10% per annum beginning in 2012. To address Kenya’s economic growth challenges and thereby
creating more opportunites for everyone, six priority sectors have been targeted to raise the national
GDP growth rate to 10% by 2012. The sectors are: Tourism, Agriculture and Livestock, Wholesale
and Retail Trade, Manufacturing, Business Process Outsourcing and Financial Services.

SOCIAL PILLAR

The social pillar seeks to build a just and cohesive society with social equity in a clean and secure
environment. No society can gain the social cohesion predicted by Vision 2030 if significant sections
of it live in abject poverty. To that extent, Kenya Vision 2030 includes equity as a recurrent principle
in all its economic, social and political programmes. Special attention has been given to investment in
the arid and semi-arid districts, communities with high incidence of poverty, unemployed youth,
women, and all vulnerable groups. The sectors under the social pillar are; Education & Training,
Health, Environment, Water & Sanitation, Labour , Youth & Human Resource Development and
Population, Urbanization & Housing.

Education and Training

Under education and training, Kenya will provide a globally competitive and quality education,
training and research.. Kenya aims to be a regional centre of research and development in new
technologies. This will be achieved through: (i) integrating early childhood education into primary
education; (ii) reforming secondary school curricula: (iii) modernizing teacher training; (iv)
strengthening partnerships with the private sector; (v) developing key programmes for learners with
special needs, (vi) rejuvenating on-going adult training programmes; (vii) revising the curriculum for
university and technical institutes to include more science and technology; and (viii) in partnership
with the private sector, the Government will also increase funding to enable all these institutions to
support activities envisaged under the economic pillar.

Programmes and Projects for 2008 – 2012

The government, in collaboration with development partners and other stakeholders has been
implementing the Kenya Education Sector Support Programme (KESSP) with a view to addressing
the main sector issues including the need to strengthen the management and delivery ofeducational
services. In effect, this will improve the access, quality, equity and relevance of education and
training. In order to stay on track towards meeting the objectives of the EFA, MDGs and Vision 2030,
further investments in the short, medium and long term will be made necessary. The short- and
medium-term investment programmes that will be implemented have been categorised into key areas
including: One Year Recovery Strategy; Flagship projects which
are critical to the achievement of Vision 2030 ; and Public Private Partnership (PPP) programmes.

HEALTH

The health sector forms a key component of the social pillar of the Vision 2030, with a goal to
develop a population that is healthy and productive and able to fully participate in and contribute to
other sectors of the economy. To improve the overall livelihoods of Kenyans, the country aims to
provide an efficient integrated and high quality affordable health care system. Priority will be given
to preventive care at community and household level, through a decentralized national health-care
system. With devolution of funds and decision-making to district level, the Ministry headquarters will
then concentrate on policy and research issues. With the support of the private sector, Kenya also
intends to become the regional provider of choice for highly-specialized health care, thus opening
Kenya to “health tourism”. Improved access to health care for all will come through: (i) provision of
a robust health infrastructure network countrywide; (ii) improving the quality of health service
delivery to the highest standards (iii) promotion of partnerships with the private sector; (iv) providing
access to those excluded from health care for financial or other reasons.

Environment, Water & Sanitation

Kenya aims to be a nation that has a clean, secure and sustainable environment by 2030. This will be
achieved through: (i) promoting environmental conservation to better support the economic pillar’s
aspirations; (ii) improving pollution and waste management through the application of the right
economic incentives; (iii) commissioning of public-private partnerships (PPPs) for improved
efficiency in water and sanitation delivery; (iv) enhancing disaster preparedness in all disaster-prone
areas and improving the capacity for adaptation to global climatic change.
Kenya is a water-scarce country. The economic and social developments anticipated by Vision 2030
will require more high quality water supplies than at present. The country, therefore, aims to conserve
water sources and enhance ways of harvesting and using rain and underground water. The 2030
vision for Water and Sanitation is to ensure that improved water and sanitation are available and
accessible to all. This will be realized through specific strategies, such as: (i) raising the standards of
the country’s overall water, resource management, storage and harvesting capability; (ii)
rehabilitating the hydro-meteorological data gathering network; (iii) constructing multipurpose dams
(e.g., on Nzoia and Nyando); and (iv) constructing water and sanitation facilities to support a growing
urban and industrial population.

Labour , Youth & Human Resource Development

Kenya intends to create a globally competitive and adaptive human resource base to meet the
requirements of a rapidly industrializing economy. This will be done through life-long training and
education. As a priority, a human resource data base will be established to facilitate better planning of
human resources requirements in the country. Furthermore, steps will be taken to raise labour
productivity to international levels. Other steps will include the establishment of new technical
training institutions, as well as the enhancement of closer collaboration between industry and training
institutions.
The 2030 vision for gender, youth and vulnerable groups is gender equity in power and resource
distribution, improved livelihoods for all vulnerable groups, and responsible, globally competitive
and prosperous youth. In addition, Kenya aims to capitalise on her international reputation as an
“athletic superpower” by opening up the country for top global sports events, encouraged by
corporate sponsorship. The Government will provide stricter enforcement of copyright laws in music
and the performance arts, and provide facilities for the most talented musicians and actors. The
country aims to be a competitive destination for global film producers.

Population, Urbanization & Housing

Given the current demographic trends, Kenya will be a predominantly urban country by 2030. The
country must, therefore, plan for high quality urban livelihoods for most of her people by that date.
The 2030 vision for housing and urbanisation is “an adequately and decently-housed nation in a
sustainable environment.” This will be attained through: (i) better development of and access to
affordable and adequate housing; (ii) enhanced access to adequate finance for developers and buyers;
(iii) pursuit of targeted key reforms to unlock the potential of the housing sector; (iv) initiation of a
nationwide urban planning and development campaign, starting with Kenya’s major cities and towns.

Flagship Projects for 2008 – 2012

Prepare and implement strategic development and investment plans in six metropolitan regions
(Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu-Kakamega; Nakuru-Eldoret, Wajir-Garissa-Mandera, Kitui-Mwingi-
Meru

POLITICAL PILLAR

Moving to the Future as One nation

Vision 2030 envisions a country with a democratic system reflecting the aspirations and  expectations
of its people. Kenya will be a state in which equality is entrenched, irrespective of one’s race,
ethnicity, religion, gender or socio-economic status; a nation that not only respects but also harnesses
the diversity of its peoples’ values, traditions and aspirations for the benefit of all. The Vision aims to
move all Kenyans to the future as one nation.

The political pillar of Vision 2030 is

a democratic political system that is issue-based, people-centred, result-oriented and accountable to

the public

An issue-based system is one that meets the widest public interest. “People-centred” refers to
responsiveness to the needs and rights of citizens, whose participation in all public policies and
resource allocation processes is both fully appreciated and enabled. A result-oriented system is stable,
predictable and based on measurable outcomes (including performance). An accountable system is
open, transparent and permits the free flow of information, and is one in which the leaders are
accountable to citizens. Such a vision will guarantee Kenya’s attainment of specific goals, strategies
and flagship projects outlined under Vision 2030’s economic and social pillars.

FOUNDATIONS PILLAR
The successful implementation of Kenya Vision 2030 and especially this First Medium Term Plan
will be anchored on a number of cross-cutting factors and themes that are in themselves the
foundation of Kenya’s envisaged national transformation. These factors, also called enablers, include
the central role to be played by an improved and expanded national physical infrastructure including,
the roads and railways network; as well as the overarching role of Science, Technology and
Innovation (STI). Other cross-cutting themes include envisaged reforms in the management and
utilisation of land;

2030 Vision aspires for a country firmly interconnected through a network of roads, railways, ports,
airports, and water ways, and telecommunications. It should provide water and modern sanitation
facilities to her people. By 2030, it will become impossible to refer to any region of our country as
“remote”. To ensure that the main projects under the economic pillar are implemented, investment in
the nation’s infrastructure will be given the highest priority
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Devolution in Kenya: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

Samuel Ngigi, PhD

Lecturer at School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Nairobi

Doreen Nekesa Busolo

Researcher at Centre for Development Research and Strategy

Abstract

The adoption of devolved system of government in Kenya was a desire of citizens who wanted
access to public services closer to them. The objects of devolution as provided for in Articles 174
and 175 of the Constitution about promotion of democracy and accountability in the exercise of
power, fostering national unity by recognizing diversity, enhancing people’s self-governance,
enabling communities manage their own affairs, protecting and promoting interests and rights of
minorities and the marginalized and ensuring equitable sharing of resources. To achieve these,
there must be framework put in place and enabling environment provided to all stakeholders
involved in implantation of devolution. However, the environment for implementation of
devolution has not been smooth due to various challenges experienced for the past five years.
Issues like disagreements between the National Government and County government over
funding for County functions, poor or absence of consultation on matters that affect County
Governments, little technical support for the implementation of functions, insufficient allocations
and delayed disbursements of funds to Counties by the National Treasury, lack of capacity and
skills to deliver services, corruption, lack public participation, gender inequality are some of the
challenges this paper is going to analyze. It is clear that these challenges have affected the
implementation of devolution in Kenya. To achieve the goal of devolution there should be a
better working relationship between the two levels of government. Parliament, County
Governments, the IGRTC, the Ministries, Independent Offices and Commissions, civil society-
all should work together in the spirit of Article 6(2) for the good of devolution. DOI:
10.7176/PPAR/9-6-02

Publication date:June 30th 2019

1.0 History of Devolution

Devolution in Kenya is traced back in 1963 when the country got its independence however; this
was short-lived due to lack of substantive founding in the philosophies of either KADU or the
KANU party which was responsible of implementing it (SID 2011).
The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 created a decentralized system of government wherein two of
the three arms of government; namely the Legislature and the Executive are devolved to the 47
Political and Administrative Counties as provided for under Article 6. The primary objective of
decentralization was to devolve power, resources and representation down to the local level.
Devolution was seen to be the key to unlocking Kenya’s economic potential through distribution
of responsibilities.
Decentralization permitted Counties to identify problems, make policies, plan, and collect
revenue, execute budget, accounting, auditing and monitoring and evaluation and citizen
participation in decision-making(SID 2011). Article 174 of the Constitution identified several
objects of devolution which include giving powers of selfgovernance to the people and enhance
their participation in the exercise of power in making decisions affecting them. The Article also
recognized the rights of communities to manage their own affairs and to further their
development.
The forty seven County governments came into operation in 2013. This marked a complete
departure from the national government system that has been in operation since independence
(CRA). The national government was characterized with a myriad of challenges that included
marginalization, vast inequalities, and mismanagement of resources and exclusion of many
communities from the decisions process. Institutions as well as policies and regulation were
established to enhance the functioning of devolved system of government. For instance The
Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), is mandated to recommend the basis for equitable
sharing of revenues raised nationally between the national and the county governments.
The Commission established under Article 215 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 plays a
significant role of recommending on matters concerning the financing and financial management
of both the national government and county governments. The transition to devolved system is a
process that will take time as revealed by UNDP (2015). The report identified policy gap both at
national and county level. There is need for policy framework to ensure that devolved
institutions are functioning well and grounded on strong legal foundations. This and other
challenges have impacted on devolution process.

2.0 Advantages of Devolution

So, what is the importance of devolution in Kenya? From the need for equal distribution of
resources and powers to public participation, here are some of the advantages of decentralization
in Kenya.

2.1 Equitable Distribution of National Resources

Previously, most of the resources including public institutions were in the major urban centers
and cities. But, with devolution, each county has equal chances of growth as the share of
resources is equal. Equitable share according to Hope (2014) is governed by a set of criteria that
include: economic disparities within and among counties and the need to remedy them; the
desirability of stable and predictable allocations of revenue; and the need for economic
optimization of each county and to provide incentives for each county to optimize its capacity to
raise revenue.
Currently, the resources are allocated to counties based on a weighted formula: population, 45
percent; poverty rate, 20 percent; land area, 8 percent; fiscal responsibility, 2 percent; and a basic
equal share of 25 percent (Kimenyi 2013). Twenty five percent of the revenues are to be shared
equally among all counties. Two percent of revenue is provided as an incentive for fiscal
responsibility, and will be initially shared equally among the counties. Under the fiscal
responsibility parameter, counties that manage their resources better and are more effective in
mobilizing their own resources should be rewarded by receiving a higher share of the resources.
The formula seeks to equalize allocations based on proximate measure of deprivation (poverty
rates) and costs of delivering services (land area, size of population) (Kimenyi 2013). The
Division of Revenue Act, 2013 provides for the equitable division of revenue raised nationally
between the national and county governments. This formula according to Kinuthia (2016) was
adopted by a number of counties from the Commission on Revenue Allocation’s (CRA).
Elgeyo Marakwet County through the Elgeyo Marakwet County Equitable Development Act,
2015 works towards realizing equitable share of resources in the county. This Act was developed
to provide for the realization of equal and equitable allocation of resources for development
projects within wards and also to provide for the establishment of a ward development and
project implementation committees thus giving them powers, functions and responsibilities to
deliver services and for connected purposes.
Kivoto (2016) has different opinion concerning equitable share of resources when he argues that
some counties have high investment returns as compared to those with high poverty index and
low human resource personnel. Kimenyi (2013) argument conquers with Kivoto stating that
although the actual cost of medicine for instance may be the same across all of Kenya’s counties,
however the total cost of treatment vary across the various jurisdictions.
Council of Governors Strategic Plan 2017-2022 intends to intensify its commitment to promoting
adequate financing for devolved functions as a matter of common interest for consideration by
the County Governments. The focus is on expenditure management, resource mobilization both
internal and external and debt management.
Report by Development Initiatives Organization (2017), revealed that the national government
allocated more than twice the constitutional requirement 15 percent in equitable share to county
governments for 2017/18. In 2017/18, equitable revenue share allocated to counties amounted to
Ksh 291.1 billion, representing an increase by 7.9% and 15.2% from 2015/16 and 2016/17.
The Treasury proposes Ksh. 299 billion in equitable share and Ksh 13 billion in conditional
allocations, more than what was published by the National Assembly. In addition, the conditional
grants to counties have increased by close to 50% in 2017/18 compared to the previous year.
2.2 Platform for Economic and Social Development

With the devolved systems, it is easier to achieve growth both at national and county
development. As county headquarters and centers develop, new opportunities for employment
and investments arise paving the way for more significant progress. Currently, county
governments are implementing growth strategies that aim at improving the living standards of its
people. Early 2018, Makueni county launched its Universal Health System to make affordable
care achievable in the area.
KIPPRA (2018) report on assessment of healthcare delivery in Kenya under devolved system
emphasized that, there is significant improvement in the health sector performance. The report
pointed out improved child survival over the last five decades, with reduction of under-five,
infant, neonatal and maternal mortality. The nutrition status of children also improved. There is
significant decline in communicable disease and the HIV prevalence also declined marginally
with the country governments achieving its ART coverage target of 1.03 million people in 2016.
The report further revealed that County governments have significantly invested into increasing
the number of health facilities especially those at lower levels. They are also working towards
enhancing provision of medical supplies and maintenance of equipment.
County governments can now manage and develop their own affairs as well as foster social,
economic and political development. People are empowered to make decisions on issues
affecting them through participation. The inclusion of local communities will help to fight
marginalization thus embracing unity.
Mid Term Evaluation Report by UNDP (2017) on the integration support program to the
devolution process in Kenya revealed that, Kenya’s urban centers account for more than 65
percent of gross national income and as Kenya is increasingly becoming urban, cities and towns
are likely to increasingly play their role of drivers of national economic and social development.
The revenue generating mechanisms for devolution have strong effects on economic growth and
service delivery. The income is likely to increase through local economic development
initiatives.
In addition, Council of Governors (CoG) partnered with the Swedish Association of Local
Authorities and Regions (SALAR) and its subsidiary SKL-International, to implement a capacity
building project aimed at promoting sustainable urbanization in Kenya. The three and half year
“Kenya SymbioCity Program will improve the economy by creating employment.
The Macroeconomic Framework in second medium term plan 2013-2017 aimed at stabilizing the
economy through sustained growth in agriculture, manufacturing, and service sectors. This has
led to conflict between Counties expansion of boundaries to secure resources that are
economically beneficial to the County. For instance the case Makueni boundary dispute where
both counties wanted to enjoy fiscal and administrative autonomy while as well as secure pasture
and political autochthony as pointed out by Kivoto (2016). However he concludes that some
counties have formed economic blocs to ease economic cost and sustainability of producing
some raw materials.
Kenya School of Government and the Ministry of Devolution (2015), emphasized on
strengthening public participation and governance to accelerate growth and address long-
standing inequalities in economic opportunities, investment, and service delivery in different
parts of the country.
County governments have introduced revenue collection as an internal measure to raise resources
however the International Budget Partnership (IBP 2017), Local revenue collection by counties
remains erratic. This is due to system in relation to the types of revenue collected or the systems
used to collect them leading to greater dependence on national transfers.
On the other hand, County governments according to (IBP 2017) are setting more realistic
targets over time. In 2013/14 counties were able to collect only 49 percent of their local revenue
targets. This improved to 67 percent in 2014/15 and 69 percent in 2015/16. The report further
revealed that despite the lack of consistent revenue performance, overall revenue collection in all
the years under devolution is higher than what was collected by local authorities in 2012/13.

2.3 From Exclusion to Inclusion

Today, all people including the marginalized and minorities can reap the benefits of self-
governance and manage their development and affairs. The realization of citizen participation in
decision-making is likely to positively contribute to political stability, improved governance and
improved citizens’ welfare (Hope 2014). For instance, KIPPRA and NGEC report (2017)
revealed increased government funding towards the hunger Safety Net Program in
marginalized/minority area in the country.
Marginalized community as cited by Cottrel-Ghai et al. (2013) must be outside the integrated
social and economic life of Kenya as a whole, while minorities are groups that are: numerically
inferior to the rest of the population of a state. Inclusion has reduced the continued use of
minority by politicians as a proxy for ethnicity and calls to action for political competition.
The county government work towards improving the economy to reduce poverty, minimize the
differences in income opportunities and access to social services, paying special attention the
most disadvantaged in the community. Cornell and D’Arcy (2016) confirms that a number of
smaller ethnic groups who have never had significant access to national resources now do so via
their home counties.
Article 91 of the 2010 Constitution emphasize the importance of political participation stating
that every political party shall respect the right of all persons to participate in the political
process, including minorities and marginalized groups. Political participation entails inclusion of
marginalized and minority groups such as women and special interest groups who include youth
and persons with disabilities (Cottrel-Ghai 2013).
Through participation, the community is empowered to monitor and evaluate the county
government’s compliance with the decisions made and demand speedier government operations
as well as push local institutions to enhance their capabilities in undertaking functions that have
not been usually performed well by the national government. By doing so, the community will
have the feeling of belonging thus embracing the development in the society.
Hope (2014) adds that participation in decision-making can also result in more flexible and
effective administration since the county governments can tailor their services to the needs of the
various groups in the county. The county government has a better understanding of community
needs, and is therefore better placed in delivering relevant and responsive services.
Inclusion reduces the distance both geographically and bureaucratically between governments
and the citizen in terms of cost of service delivery. On the other hand, it increases the speed and
efficiency with which local governments respond to the needs of the local community (Hope
2014). The citizens can easily walk to relevant office at file their complaints if there is any and
they can also access services at the local office.
Report by UNDP revealed that 47 county governments adopted public participation and civic
education guidelines to anchor civic engagement in county processes including county planning
and budgeting. Public participation was enhanced through facilitation of public participation
forums and development of public participation frameworks.
Hope (2014) insist that focused local development programs that are locally conceived have a
much greater impact on reducing rural poverty and improving human development than broader
and more generalized national programs originating from the center. This forms the basis of
devolution whose main a gender is geared towards development.
Report by KIPPRA and NGEC (2017) on status of equality and inclusion in Kenya, 2015
revealed Nairobi County leading in equality and inclusion while Turkana and Wajir counties are
the least. The progress has been made since the adoption of Constitution 2010. However citizen
participation has been critical especially in decision-making with regard to national policies,
laws and the strategies for development and implementation.
Special Interest Groups (SIG) such as children; the youth; women; people with disabilities
(PWDs); older members of society; and minorities and marginalized are still underrepresented at
both levels of government. This is due to failure by the government to implement electoral rules
in party nominations which has negative effect on SIGs candidates.

2.4 Informed Decision Making through Public Participation

Decisions made at county level focus more on the local needs. This is enhanced by the ability of
county members to engage into meaningful discussions in regards to running and management of
the affairs of the county. Identification of specific problems affecting the community should be
given priority. County management through public participation as provided for in the
constitution should provide for opportunities for focused and prioritized community concerns to
be addressed.
Public policy-making aspect as identified by Parliamentary Service Commission (2017),
guidelines for evidence use in policy analysis and decision-making identified three factors that
influence decision-making. However the local and international contexts within which policy
decisions are being made, including the political context, socio-economic context, and cultural
context and the evidence or knowledge available on the policy issue, and the prevailing framing
of the issue in development discourses locally and internationally are very significant country
development.
The County Integrated Development Plan (CIDP 2018) provides information on development
priorities that informs the annual budget process based on the Public Finance Management Act
which states that no public funds shall be appropriated outside a county’s planning framework.
The CIDP (2018) report further revealed that the county planning unit has the mandate to
include, both in the draft and approved CIDP, relevant information to promote civic education
and deliberations by the public and other stakeholders.
According to Embassy of Sweden and Diakonia (2016) report on what is public participation,
through participation, there is promotion of sustainable decision-making by recognizing and
communicating the needs and interests of the community. It also facilitates the involvement of
those potentially affected by or interested in a decision. It is important to note that that the
community contribution influences decision making by the authorities.
County governments that work together with non-state actors in decision making processes are
likely to promote shared responsibility and partnership as well as providing complementary
authority. The community becomes informed on the outcomes and the progress of the process
and discussions thus improving development. For instance Report by AFIDEP (2016) on
evidence informed policy making in Kenya’s health sector revealed that policymakers in Kenya
are prioritizing evidence use or consideration in decision-making
The CIDP (2018) emphasizes on the accessibility accuracy, and verification of data to help in
prioritization process and subsequent deliberations on the development strategy. The report
further states that the priorities proposed by the community members through consensus and
voting should be considered.
Through citizen power as highlighted by Embassy of Sweden and Diakonia (2016), communities
can engage in negotiations with their leaders in the county and also get involved in decision
making responsibilities. The community must be fully involved in decision making process.
However the report challenges the community to always ask and gauge themselves at what level
of participation their leaders are involving them in decision-making, and also always aim to
participate in county activities.

2.5 Promotion of Transparency, Accountability and Democracy

People at the grassroots get to choose their leaders and directly participate in decision-making
processes making room for accountability and democracy. Accountability according to Sihanya
(2012) is one of the cornerstones of good governance and requires the due performance of tasks
or functions by an individual or agency. This is achieved when persons in authority are
answerable for their actions and also when there is transparency in leadership.
There are various legal frameworks for accountability in the management of public affairs in
Kenya. They include: the Constitution of Kenya of 2010, Public Officer Ethics Act of 2003,
Civil Service Code of Regulations of 2006, Leadership and Integrity Act of 2012, Anti-
Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (Cap. 65) of 2003, Public Procurement and Disposal Act
of 2005 and Public Finance Management Act of 2012 (Institute of Economic Affairs 2015).
One of the objects of devolution is to promote democracy and accountability of exercise of
power. Similarly devolution gives powers of self-governance to the people and enhances the
participation of the people in the exercise of the powers of the state and in making decisions
affecting them.
According to Hope (2014), devolution is used for a variety of reasons, especially
democratization and improving governance, however it emphasizes on accountability by
bringing participation and decision-making closer to the people Hope (2014) argues that closer
proximity of devolved governments to the citizen has increased transparency in the use of local
resources and strengthens downward accountability mechanisms, resulting in a decrease in
corrupt practices.
He emphasize that devolution provides a much more manageable, transparent, and accountable
arena to prevent corruption from erupting or to control it if it does. The author regarded
devolution as an important element of combating corruption in countering the lack of
transparency and accountability in previous centralized systems of government.
UNDP has been supporting Kenya’s efforts towards achieving the democratic system that is
issue-based, people-centered, results-oriented and accountable to the public. UNDP is working
with stakeholders towards the realization of the governance reform aspirations under democracy
and public service delivery among other strategic areas.
World Bank through the Kenya Accountable Devolution Program (KADP) works with
government at both county and national levels. The program addresses key capacity gaps to
make devolution respond to citizens’ needs through strengthened institutions, improved service
delivery and citizen engagement.
For instance, the introduction of participatory budgeting, county governments are able to allocate
a portion of their development budget for projects that are identified and eventually selected by
the community itself. Counties are now able to go where the people are and to effectively bring
out the voices of all citizens including women, youths and marginalized groups (World Bank
2018).
A fundamental principle of democracy according to Institute of Economic Affairs (2015) is that
citizens have the right to exact accountability and public officials have a duty to be accountable.
Abuodha (2011) insists that one of the hallmarks of a truly democratic society is a culture of
openness in which government places utmost importance in making itself amenable to public
scrutiny of its activities at all times, by actively making available information on the functioning
of every aspect of its governance machinery.
He further states that communities must be able to use performance monitoring to observe the
implementation and performance of local projects, public services or programs. Similarly,
Institute of Economic Affaire (2015) insists that county public officers have a duty to be
accountable to citizens in the management of public affairs, including the use of public funds and
the delivery of services. In addition, citizens in the counties, not only have the right to have their
socioeconomic rights realized within available resources, they also have the right to exact
justifications for how public resources are used in realizing these rights.

2.6 Promotion of National Unity

By reducing the power of the central government and distributing it equally among the counties,
the devolved systems hope to achieve national unity. Article 174(b) of the constitution, under the
objects of devolution states that, devolution of government aims at fostering national unity by
recognizing diversity.
According to Hope (2014) devolution has the ability to contribute to national unity and political
stability. This is a very important benefit which contributed towards voting for the 2010
constitution by many Kenyans. One of the functions of the decentralized government is to foster
unity, cohesion and co-existence among communities. Ambose (2017) emphasized on the
importance of understanding the meaning of national unity in the context of harmony, accord,
and mutual agreement or co-existence among different entities.
Amboso (2017) is optimistic that if devolution is well watered and natured, it is capable of
enhancing unity of Kenyan citizens’ diversity. However the peaceful co-existence of Kenyans
must embrace the diversity that is traced in a number of ways such as race, ethnicity, religion,
gender, culture and language. This is provided for in Article 130(2) of the constitution 2010
which recognizes the dimension of spatial diversity.
According to Cornell and D’Arcy (2016), the explicit goals of devolution reforms in the
constitution include inculcating a sense of Kenyan identity and strengthening national unity done
by recognizing diversity; ensuring equity in allocation of resources and providing justice for
marginalized communities and regions. Devolution is designed to create a more equal playing
field for all communities.
Hope (2014) further adds that there is a persistent belief that local democracy is necessary for
national unity especially in countries with great social diversity and regional disparities, such as
Kenya.
Ambose (2017) concluded that one of the objects of devolved government, which may be as a
cure to national unity as provided for under Article 174(g) has to ensure equitable sharing of
national and local resources throughout Kenya. This will ensure that all regions throughout
Kenya shall experience development regardless of whom and/or which ethnic group leads the
country meaning devolution has to a large extent enhanced national unity in our diversity.
There are a number of factors provided for in the constitution that ought to unite Kenyans. They
include: use of Kiswahili as the national language and English as official language as provided
for under Article 7(1) and (2), the national symbols and national holidays under the provisions of
Article 9, permits Kenyans from all walks of life to assemble, come together to remember the
progress the nation is making as a whole in the case of National holidays.
Ambose (2017) however warns that national unity and cohesion have been compromised by
feelings of inequality, social injustice, regional disparities, and marginalization. Similar
sentiments were raised by Khaunya, Wawire and Chepng’eno (2015) when they stated that
devolution could potentially undermine national unity governments and breed apprehension
amongst communities considered aliens in the Counties.
However, Hope (2014) is optimistic that the process of devolution envisaged in the 2010
constitution was, at the outset; seem very complicated as well as a daunting task. However, the
benefits of this exercise will, in the long-run, far outweigh any potential implementation
problems.

3.0 Disadvantages of Devolution

While devolution has had its pros, Kenyans have also witnessed its shortcomings. Some of the
weaknesses of devolution are:

3.1 It is expensive due to diversity of roles

The introduction of more seats (67 senators, 47 governors and 2,526 member of assemblies)
means that the taxpayer is at a loss since the wage budget increased significantly. This was due
to simultaneous process of devolving administrative, political structures and resources.
According to Kinuthia and Likin (2015 ) the total cost of running counties in 2015/16 was about
Ksh 48.5 billion whereby the average cost of running a county is Ksh 1.03 billion, with costs
ranging from Ksh 695 million (Isiolo and Lamu) to Ksh 1.80 billion (Nairobi). On the other hand
lack of audit of the resource requirement in all counties made the devolution process expensive
since the cash transfers was not based on factual figures as reported by KHRC.
The report on Kenya Devolution Taking Stock One Year On by KHRC further revealed that
immediately the devolved system was introduced, the members of parliament and county
representative assumed office. However their first item on the agenda was to agitate for higher
pay despite the Salaries and Remuneration Commission’s recommendations. Members of County
Assemblies (MCAs) had their salaries raised from Kshs 79,000, upon assuming office, to Kshs
225,000 per month.
Kenya‘s public Wage Bill (WB) was estimated at 12.1% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in
2013 (approximately 50%) of the country’s total revenue. It was reported to be higher than the
internationally accepted levels of Wage Bill in GDP ratio and the Wage Bill to revenue ratio
which is documented as 7% and 30% respectively (KHRC)
Kenya’s members of national assembly are the highest paid civil servants with the monthly
salary of Kshs. 850,000 termed as the highest wage differential in the whole world (report by the
KHRC). It was estimated that the taxpayers incurred an extra 103 billion for 5 years. Moreover,
the amount is minus monthly allowances of between Kshs. 100,000 to 200,000 per month.
The devolution system became even more expensive when there was no elected women MCAs
forcing parties to nominate women to adhere to the two-thirds gender principle. Furthermore
individual MCAs were hiring 3 to 10 staffs to man the 4450 ward offices countrywide. Due to
this, counties with many wards and those with large county executive committee experiences
higher administrative costs (Kinuthia and Lakin 2015).
As if that was not enough, County government spends cash on unnecessary purchases like ipads.
For instance in the 2014/15 budget, MCAs set aside 3.6million to purchase ipads, and 2.6 billion
was spent on foreign travels. World Bank (2011) concluded that how much money counties
need, will vary depending on how the transfer of functions is sequenced and it is important that
counties receive enough money to fund those functions.

3.2 Mismanagement of funds allocated to county governments

Some county governments have been in the spotlight for misappropriating funds while most
counties cannot account for the money allocated. Article 201 of the Constitution provides basic
financial management principles as openness; accountability; equity; public participation in
financial matters; prudence; and responsible use of public resources.
Public Finance Management Act 2012 (PFM) on the other hand was enacted to provide for the
effective management of public finances by the national and county governments. In addition
counties established County Finance Act to strengthen management of finance at the county
level.
Khaunya, Wawire and Chepng’eno (2015) insist that with a constitutional guarantee of
unconditional transfers from the center, Kenya’s counties have the means and the autonomy to
address local needs. The national treasury disburses funds to the counties as stipulated in the
constitution. However it has been noted that there is mismanagement of funds meant for
devolution. According to Ndalila (2016), this is due to inadequate qualified and experience staff
to implement the structures set in place by the PFM Act.
He further stated that lack of established county infrastructure as well as lack of public
participation guidelines permitted greedy officials to take advantage of the gaps and loopholes in
the implementation process to mismanage the public funds. It is critical for citizen to left out in
preparing the budget and distribution of funds to various projects in the county. Where citizens
are not included, there are high chances of officers to channel funds into projects that will benefit
their personal interests and not the community.
In addition, the poor coordination of financial services between the counties and the national
governments also contributes to mismanagement of funds. Finally, Ndalila (2016) argues that the
legislative framework set by the PFM Act falls short of international best practices allowing
officers to mismanage funds.
Although there have been laws in place in regards to finance management, accounting for
disbursed funds has been a challenge to many counties. According to Ndalila (2016), counties
did not allow for development of capacity, in training modern public finance management
techniques and also the office of the accountant-general was not properly resourced and funded
to fulfill its function.

3.3 Duplication of roles

Currently, more people are doing the same job. Therefore, the chances of misusing powers
and wasting resources are higher. Beginning 2014 to 2016, Kenya witnessed a lot of back
and forth between the National Assembly and the Senate. For some, it is hard to distinguish
between the role of the senators and the MPs.
Duplication of duties has led to internal political supremacy wars considering that some of
the officers were hired by CPSBs, others posted by the national government, another set of
staff were hired through the Transition Authority, while some were drawn from the former
Local Authorities. Some of their roles have not been clearly demarcated and hence there is
redundancy in some cases (Khaunya, Wawire and Chepng’eno 2015).
Due to this, county public administration and service delivery systems is affected mainly because
of overlapping jurisdictions as well as functions. For example the role County Commissioners
vis-à-vis the Governor, the sub County Administrator vis-à-vis sub County Commissioners,
Chiefs and Assistant Chiefs. This has bred mistrust and a potent source of conflict (Khaunya,
Wawire and Chepng’eno 2015).
It is clear that duplication of roles in devolved system in Kenya is a challenge that was noted by
Council of Governors (COG) one year after the kick of devolution. The COG tried to stop it by
presenting a case in court as revealed below: The Petition No. 381 of 2014 challenging the
constitutionality of the CDBs was lodged whereby the petitioner wanted the Court to declare the
provisions of Section 91A of the CGAA, which vests various functions in the CDBs,
unconstitutional for violating Articles 6(2); 95, 96, 174(1), 175, 179(1), 179(4), 183(1), 185(3)
and 189(1) of the Constitution. The basis of the challenge is that through the CDBs, Senators and
members of the National and County Assemblies would be undertaking executive functions at
the County level (Kenya Law 2014).
The County Governments (Amendment) Act (No.2) permitted the e establishment of the CDBs
that places the coordination and harmonization of role of county development plans and projects
within the ambit of the CDBs. The Act intended to provide CDBs with the power to consider and
adopt county integrated development plans and county annual budgets before they are tabled in
the County Assemblies for approval. The process of coordination, harmonization, adoption and
approval of county development plans and county annual budgets affects the functions and
powers of the county governments (Kenya Law 2014).
The Court then concluded that “thus, we are convinced that the involvement of the
Senate, National Assembly and national executive in the CDB violate the tenets and
principles of the Constitution in three fundamental respects. First, it interferes with and
compromises the roles of these organs in the exercise of their oversight functions over the
functioning of counties and the use of revenue allocated to them. Secondly, and critically, it
undermines the principle of devolution, a key cornerstone of the new Constitution and the
governance structure of the country. Thirdly, it is in violation of the principle of separation
of powers (Kenya Law 2014).
The devolved system faced a lot of challenges that lacked clear defined structures, processes,
guidelines or role clarity. For instance health sector has been struggling due to lack of
organogram for the county health department. This led to the emerging of two levels of
management struggling to coordinate with each other, and also unclear roles and lines of
accountability between them i.e SCHMTs and the CHMT (Nyikuri et al 2017). In addition,
duplication of roles was exacerbated by lack of systems for instance financial allocation that
affected allocation of funds to lower level institutions, including SCHMTS, hospitals, health
centers and dispensaries. There is need to guard against duplication of duties. This will require
personal initiative and a collaborative approach, conduct civic education and technical support
(Institute of Economic Affairs, 2013)

3.4 Uneven Development

Some counties such as Nairobi, Nakuru, and Mombasa, already had a head start, development
wise. These counties have better infrastructure and public utilities as well as opportunities for
employment and investment. It will take extra efforts and some years for other counties to catch
up.
This means that people’s needs vary between the arid and semi-arid North, the highlands, the
rural Northern Rift, the urban centers of Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kisumu, the Coast, and Western
Kenya. Giving example of health, Khaunya, Wawire and Chepng’eno (2015) insist that counties
that are lagging behind need to catch-up in providing basic health services. On the other hand
leading urban counties will be faced with new types of diseases mostly non-communicable such
as diabetes and cancer.
World Bank (2011) emphasizes that economic activity are concentrated in specific geographic
areas. The report pointed out Nairobi and Mombasa as leading urban centers which accounts for
the bulk of Kenya’s total production. The report further revealed that eighty percent of Kenya’s
economic activity is generated by only one half of Kenya’s counties i.e. 23 out of 47.
Counties in marginalized regions lack in key infrastructural developments hence they receive
less than they should according to the CRA ratio and the equalization fund have failed to
properly address these development gaps. (Khaunya, Wawire and Chepng’eno 2015).Such
counties have taken off at a relative disadvantage and it may take time to build up their capacity
and ability to use resources well.
According to SID (2011) the reform is likely to deepen inequalities despite devolution
frameworks incorporating affirmative action. SID recommended for the need for an eclectic
design and implementation of devolution that considers the objective initial circumstances of the
prospective devolved units, rather than employing a single national framework and timetable that
are insensitive to variations in circumstances. Similarly, World Bank (2011) suggested the need
for particular assistance to some counties to help them catch-up.
Counties in the remote and marginalized areas will take longer time to develop since the national
government does not allocate sufficient resources to assure a basic level of service delivery to
their citizens (World Bank 2011). These counties need additional resources if service and
infrastructure gaps are to be closed.
World Bank (2011) insists that it is not realistic to expect all counties to reach the same level of
economic development. The universal development can be reached when the country
experiences growth in its income. At this point, there is sharing of the benefits of economic
development with the whole population through social services benefiting all citizens.

4.0 Challenges of Devolution in Kenya

4.1 Interference with the Responsibilities of Institutions involved in Devolution

The decentralization of government serves several fundamental functions as provided for in the
constitution 2010. Here are some of the functions: equitable sharing of national and local
resources, promoting accountability, transparency, participation and decision making at grass-
root level, granting rights to communities to manage their own resources, bridging economic and
social inequality gaps by decentralizing state organs and public resources to enable ease of
access to public services and fostering unity, cohesion and co-existence among communities. In
order to achieve this, there has to be enabling environment for service delivery with the
necessary capacities, systems, and regulations at county level.
Article 187 of the Constitution provides for the transfer of functions and powers between
National and County Governments. Report by the Kenya Institute of Public Policy Research and
Analysis (KIPPRA 2016), revealed that government ministries reviewed their policies to
facilitate devolved system of governance however, the mode of cascading the same to counties
was not highlighted. Further the report revealed that there are bills relating to counties that are
passed and assented by the President without inputs from the Senate affecting the role of the
Senate.
Article 174 of the constitution established the following institutions to facilitate the achievement
of the objects of devolution: the parliament and the legislative assemblies in the county
governments, the National Executive, the executive structures in the County Governments, the
Judiciary and Independent Tribunals, Commissions and Independent Offices (Ministry of
Devolution and Planning 2016).
The mandate of CRA is to give recommendation on revenue allocation; however this has been
proved to be a divisive issue. The law entitles counties at least 15 per cent of the total National
Revenue collection. Despite many counties receiving the funds, there is still a feeling that
budgetary allocations need to be increased, and that the national government is reluctant to
increase funds (Standard Media 2016).
The 2017 CRA press release to media revealed the challenges the commission is facing in
regards to execution
of its mandate. “The Commission recommended Ksh. 323 billion and the National Treasury
Ksh.299 billion for counties. However, the National Assembly published the Division of
Revenue Bill 2017 allocating county governments an equitable share of Ksh. 291 billion. The
Senate rejected the National Assembly Bill and instead published the Bill allocating counties
Ksh.314 billion, resulting in an impasse. The first attempt at mediation collapsed and the bill was
defeated”.
The Inter-Governmental Relation Act 2012 provides framework for consultation, cooperation
and dispute resolution between the national and county governments and amongst the county
governments. However, Devolution Policy (2016) revealed conflict between the two levels of
government due to conflict of laws especially laws that were established prior to the
promulgation of the Constitution.
Although the intergovernmental sector forums were established to handle issues of common
interest to the National and County Governments, the administrative procedures for establishing
and managing intergovernmental sector forums and enforcement mechanism for forum decisions
are lacking. Also the decisions of the forums are not binding. The Intergovernmental Relations
Technical Committee cannot effectively discharge its mandate due to lack of regulations to give
effect to the Act. According to Devolution Policy (2016) the regulations have not been
developed.
Speech by H.E Josphat Nanok Chairman, Council of Governors and Governor Turkana County
(2017), revealed poor or lack of consultation on matters that affect County Governments.
Through Intergovernmental Relationship Act 2012the two levels of government are distinct and
inter-dependent and are expected to conduct their mutual relations on the basis of consultation
and cooperation.
The standard Media report 2016 revealed that there should be sign-posting of issues that relevant
authorities and stake holders will be ill –advised to ignore if we want to effectively complete
devolution process whose start has neither been the best nor the worst. The institutions involved
in devolution process for instance The Transition Authority (TA), Commission on Revenue
Allocation (CRA), Ministry of Devolution and Planning (MoDP), and The Council of Governors
(CoG) should effectively play their role to bring to the realization of the devolution system.
Article 190 of the constitution as stated in Devolution Policy (2016) given effect by Section 121
-130 of the County Governments Act, 2012 which provides for support to the County
Government by National Government to enable them perform their functions. The governors
expressed their dissatisfaction with pretense support from the National Government. “ We need
to see goodwill and genuine support from the National Government Ministries, departments and
state agencies being sufficiently provided to the County Governments” (H.E Josphat Nanok
Speech 2017).
Report by the Standard Media (2012) envisioned the trouble ahead even before the country
adopted the devolved system of governance in 2013. The report the constitutional commissioners
warned the central government and parliamentarians are slowly taking over the powers of county
governments even before they are set up. The commission for revenue allocation, the
commission for the implementation of the constitution and the transitional authority wanted the
national government to support devolution as provided for in the constitution.

4.2 Insufficient Allocations and Delayed Disbursements of Funds to Counties

County governments have experienced delays in funds disbursement from the National
government. This is evident in the Standard Media report (2017) on County funds is held up at
the Treasury. The report revealed that the operations of county governments could be affected as
the national government continues to hold more than Sh50 billion in equitable share meant for
the devolved units. The funds were part of the Sh329 billion approved by the National Assembly
for disbursement to the 47 counties in the 2017/18 financial year where Sh77.4 billion was meant
for disbursement in the first quarter.
The same report further revealed that the County Governments had not received their monthly
disbursements dating back to the month of July 2017 when the 2017/2018 financial year came
into effect. Due to this some County Government attempted to introduce new levies however this
was prohibited when the treasury published the County Governments Revenue Raising
Regulation Process Bill 2017.
Funds disbursement delays led to the launch of spirited campaign by some governors that
perceived national government reluctance as a ploy to frustrate the effectiveness of devolved
units. Devolution Policy (2016) revealed that the decentralization process in many counties has
not been fully operationalized due to inadequate resources.
Speech by H.E Josphat Nanok Chairman, Council of Governors and Governor Turkana County
during the induction of governors and deputy governors in December 2017 revealed that there
have been disagreements between County Governments and the National Government over
funding for County functions. County Governments experienced insufficient allocations and
delayed disbursements of funds to Counties by the National Treasury which nearly paralyzed
finalization of development projects. Also there are functions that remain unfunded yet they have
already been transferred to the Counties.
In 2017, County Allocation of Revenue (amendment) Bill into law and treasury was expected to
release Sh77.4 billion to the 47 County Governments, however the disbursement was delayed
due to technical hitch arising from a stalemate between the two Houses that meant some
amendments had to be made on the County Allocation of Revenue Act (CARA) (Report by
Business Daily 2017). Senators accuse Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich of derailing the
operations of counties. Similar sentiments were raised by Council of Governors through their
chair Governor JosephatNanok (Turkana) who accused the CS of sabotaging the counties.
The recent report by Capital FM (2018) revealed the recommending by Treasury to reduce
budget allocation to county governments. Treasury through its Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich
said this during his presentation to the Senate Committee on Finance and Budget.

4.3 Insufficient Public Participation/Gender inequality

Public participation is a national value and principle of governance established in Article 10 of

the constitution. Article 232(d) guarantees the involvement of the people in the process of policy
making, however, the level of citizen involvement at both levels has not been optimized
(Devolution Policy 2016). This is due to lack of policy and legal framework to guide the conduct
of public participation.
TISA (2011) report on Policy Proposals on Citizen Participation in Devolved Governance in
Kenya revealed the need to build the capacity of citizens to enhance their participation in the
management of local affairs and projects, and to hold duty bearers accountable. The report
further gave detailed information about public participation.
There are two ways of public involvement, indirect and direct involvement. Indirect involvement
is when the electoral officials and professional administrators act on behalf of the citizens in a
representative democracy. On the other hand direct involvement is when the citizens are the
owners of the government and should be involved in the decisions of the State (TISA 2011).
Citizens should play the role of administrative decision-making and decision-making in service
delivery.
Participation permits citizen to exercise of the power and participate in making of decisions
affecting them. Article 232(d) guarantees the involvement of the people in the process of policy
making (Ministry of Devolution and Planning 2016 report). The report further revealed that there
is no policy and legal framework to guide the conduct of public participation. Although counties
have public participation legislation, these have been found to be weak and ineffective in
promoting quality public participation.
Devolution system and structures is affected by low citizen involvement. However to engage
effectively, citizens not only need an awareness of their roles and responsibilities but knowledge
and skills on how to execute the responsibilities (TISA 2011).
The constitution 2010 established the two-third gender rule in Article 81(b) of the Constitution
however this was not observed. “Not more than two-thirds of the members of elective public
bodies shall be of the same gender,” but there has been no consensus over the three proposals
that have been put forward to meet the requirement (The Standard Media 2016).
The law was designed to ensure adequate representation of women and other historically
marginalized groups in the devolved structures however this was not met. These challenges do
pose great risks for the effective roll out of devolution in Kenya and also provoke some critical
questions about the current implementation strategy. Devolution was established as a pathway to
equal development across the Country however the process is threatened by factors mentioned
above. There is need to address these challenges by providing solution. According to UNDP
(2015) the policies and legal framework for devolved governance should be strengthened.

4.4 Corruption/ Mismanagement of Funds

Corruption is real in county governments as reported by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission

(EACC 2014) during their 4th Governance Integrity and Investment Conference presentation in
Mombasa. This was based on the following evidence: corruption reports received and currently
under active investigations at EACC, intelligence information on operations of some county
officials currently being processed at EACC, KENAO reports revealing misuse of funds,
increasing public outcry and stakeholder concern and investigative media reports.
The presentation further identified high corruption risk areas in County Governments as follows:
recruitment of personnel, county public procurement, county financial management, planning
and management of county projects and county legislative duties. The EACC also identified
common forms of corruption in County Governments as tyranny of ghosts: ghost projects, assets,
liabilities, procurement and payroll, conflict of interest, bribery, abandoning existing
infrastructure in favour purchasing or renting at exaggerated costs, procurement of goods and
services not budgeted for or exceeding budgets among others. I addition bribery was termed as
the most prevalent form of corruption in public service delivery.
Report by the Star (2015) revealed corruption as the greatest threat to devolution, according to a
survey by Transparency International. The poll that was carried out in 16 counties between
March 22 and April 6cited Graft at 59 per cent. The Standard Media (2017) reported corruption
as the biggest threat to devolution and the most pressing problem county governments should
address. The article was published after the report on the survey that was conducted by
Transparency International Kenya in July 2016 was released.
The same report revealed how county officials were looting public coffers through irregular
dealsand shady procurement contracts. Similar issue was raised in 2014 by Auditor General. In
2017 the President warned governors stealing public resources (Report by the Standard media
2017. Corruption
Survey by Transparency International as reported by the Star (2015) revealed that majority of the
respondents were unimpressed by service delivery with regard to the 14 devolved functions due
to corruption and mismanagement of available funds. It further stated that mismanagement of
public funds in the counties has also been periodically mentioned in reports by financial
oversight organs like the auditor-general, the Controller of Budget and the Commission on
Revenue Commission (The Star 2015).
The mindset of ‘get-rich-now’ among some officials in the counties has also contributed to
misuse of public funds through unnecessary domestic and foreign trips. Improper procurement
procedures have contributed to corruption. For instance report by the Standard (2015) revealed
how county government procured a pipette for artificial insemination that costs Sh30 at an
inflated cost of Sh875 per piece. County governments were blamed of neglecting development as
apriority but instead, they put money where it can be siphoned off. The report further stated that
the oversight over public expenditure in the counties have lost meaning in most counties.

4.5 Lack of Capacity to Facilitate Services Delivery

Report by the Standard media (2016), revealed that there is lack of understanding of key issues
around devolution that is generating a great deal of mistrust among stakeholders. The report
further stated that some counties, for example contested the piecemeal transfer of functions
arguing that all powers provided in Schedule Four of the Constitution be transferred at once.
However, the reality is that many county governments lack the capacity to absorb all such
powers within a short period.
Despite efforts to address the capacity needs of the counties, there still exist skills gaps in the
public service. Due to this, there is inadequate capacity at both levels of government to
implement their respective mandates and functions (Devolution Policy 2016).
The major challenge has been noted as the lack of capacity by many counties to deliver on the
devolved functions. This has largely been attributed to the lack of coordinated manner in which
functions were transferred. The other challenge is the lack of strong intergovernmental relations
mechanism between the two levels governments and even between counties thus creating
vacuum that eventually creates conflicts (Speech by the Principal Secretary, State Department of
Devolution April 2016).
The UNDP (2015) recommended for strengthened and aligning capacities at national and county
levels. This should be achieved through capacity development which is also a process that
requires continuous and targeted capacity support to people and systems. Continues training
especially skills transfer that addresses the capacity gaps identified by county governments is
required. The support should target mid and lower cadres of the public service at county levels to
ensure that the county public service is functional and adequately informed to support
implementation of Devolution.
There should be enhanced service delivery mechanisms and resilience for peace building and
conflict prevention. Counties should identify and address challenges affecting service delivery at
local level given their proximity to the people (UNDP 2015). The County government should
strengthen citizen engagement in devolved governance. This will help to ensure that people’s
needs are addressed.

5.0 Summary and Conclusion

Decentralization of power to counties is what defines devolution system of government in

Kenya. (Article 6 (2) of the constitution allocates functions and powers to National government
as well as County government. Article 189 (a) requires government at either level to perform its
functions and exercise its powers. Through the institution established by law to implement
devolution, their mandate is threatened affecting their performance. Issues emanating from these
institutions have great impact to devolution process.
Insufficient financial allocation to counties is affecting the achievement of devolution in Kenya.
The back and forth between the parliament approved budget, the Commission of Revenue
Allocation and the National Treasury has caused delays in disbursement of funds to counties.
Through the CoG counties have raised this issue which most of the time has caused disagreement
between the two governments. The governors have blamed national government for sabotage of
devolution.
Although the blame has been on National government for tampering with implementation of
devolution process, the county government is also to blame. High rate of corruption has been
experienced at county level. County governments have failed to implement public participation a
mandate provided to them by the constitution. The employment process in counties is based on
tribalism and nepotism. This has affected the performance of most counties.
Devolved system of government was ushered in immediately after the March 2013 general
elections. However the implementation process slightly delayed until November 2013. The
process is slow due to challenges which some were envisioned even before the devolved system
of government was adopted. The central government’s ongoing reaction to the devolved system
of government may continue to try to put the break on the process and reassert central control.
Disagreement between the two levels of governments is common despite the
establishment of
Intergovernmental Relationship Act to resolve issues between the governments. Insufficient
funds allocated to County government have affected delivery of services in counties. Delays in
disbursement of these funds have become a common trend, however the National Treasury has
not been held accountable for it.
On the other hand challenges emanating from lack of capacity and skill has affected the service
delivery in many counties. This is due to tribalism and nepotism experienced at county level
which in most cases determines who is to be employed. Unqualified people end up occupying
jobs they do not have skills for thus affecting service delivery. High corruption in County
Governments is common in recruitment of personnel, county public procurement, county
financial management, planning and management of county projects and county legislative
duties. County governments have the mandate of facilitating the public participation but this has
been optimal. These challenges can be addressed if all involved parties are given enabling
environment to perform their functions.