The
Democratic Governance Support Programme (DGSP)
Challenges
in Implementing Decentralised Funds
From
an analysis of the baseline data and the additional data gathered
through focus group discussions, a number of issues emerge. What
follows is a summary of some of the key public perceptions in relation
to the various funds.
Governance
The
Acts of Parliament that have created some of the funds give immense
power to the local Member of Parliament (MP). Corruption cases have
been witnessed in the use of the funds, such as some councilors/MPs
demanding that beneficiaries make advance contributions before receiving
a fraction of the benefits due. CDF is seen as the most abused in
this aspect, followed by the HIV/AIDS and bursary funds, in that
order. Political loyalties have led to unfair sharing of resources
across constituencies/wards. In addition, there is a general lack
of transparency and accountability probably due to the blending
of supervisory and implementing roles.
Implementation
Poor
awareness by community members and fund managers of their roles
and responsibilities in the governance of funds has contributed
to poor performance and in some cases a complete failure of the
funds. Poor participation, particularly for marginalized groups,
results in poor prioritization of projects and exclusion. The
criteria for allocating secondary education bursary fund, for example
has been found to be unfair to orphans, whose multiple roles undermine
their academic performance.
No mechanisms exist to deal with projects such roads, water systems,
and schools that may cut across constituencies entailing shared
benefits. No clear mechanisms exist to avert duplication of functions.
Both CDF and the Ministry of Education offer education bursaries.
There are also reported instances of a single project claiming support
from different funds, with no checks to prevent ‘double’ accounting.
Finally, there
are challenges to ensuring that all decentralized funds reach all
parts of the district or constituency in adequate quantities, and
that all funds allocated are actually utilized instead of being
returned to the source.
Monitoring
and Evaluation
There
is a lack of professional and technical supervision, which has led
to poor project quality. In addition, there is low community participation
in monitoring and evaluation due to the inadequacy of data and general
information about the funds. There is general misconception by community
members that funds are ‘free’ or are the personal gifts
from the political leaders. Poor monitoring and evaluation has led
to abuse of funds and fostered a sense of impunity amongst the perpetrators.
Effectiveness
and Efficiency
Allocations
from the various funds are inadequate. In addition, tension between
fund managers and technocrats over money management and remuneration
has led to delays in the release of funds. Inappropriate professional
and/or technical support, especially from Government ministries,
has prevented funds from reaching their full potential, while lack
of transparency in procurement systems has affected the cost-effectiveness
of projects. Lastly, there has been increased dependency
on these funds, especially in education. For example, free primary
education has created a demand for more teachers, classrooms and
other school equipment, and it has been difficult to meet this increased
demand.
Conclusion
Kenya’s
seven operational decentralised funds face a number of challenges
that have prevented them from reaching their full potential. Generally
community awareness and involvement has been low, and the funds
are seen to have had little impact on the quality of life of the
population, partly due to inadequate allocations. Communities have
questioned the various processes in identification and implementation
of projects, as well as the monitoring and evaluation of projects
and funds, and have expressed concerns about accountability and
transparency.
There
is a great deal of work to be done to educate communities on the
role and of the various funds. There is need to provide general
education and information about the funds and the procedures for
application and use of the allocated funds. There is need to train
the managers of the fund managers and community organizations on
the procedures for utilization of the funds. New regulations and
restructuring of the current funds are necessary to ensure that
the funds meet the needs of the targeted beneficiaries. Development
of a better legal and institutional framework is necessary for improved
administration of the decentralised funds. In addition, there is
a need to mitigate barriers to effective implementation of projects,
such as the interruptions that may occur with changes in government
or the ‘privatization’ of funds by certain fund managers.
