APRM • SECOND COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA the wage-bill would be in setting salaries attached to the elective positions. At elections, under the new system of governance, a voter casts up to six (6) ballots, for the President, Senator, Governor, Member of the National Assembly, Women Representative and the Member of County Assembly (MCA). Going by the sheer numbers of political representatives, stakeholders expressed views that Kenyans are in many regards over-represented. The cost of this over-representation in terms of salaries, allowances and the numerous attendant perks constitute a very significant drain on the exchequer. 2.45 It is the recommendation of the Review Mission that the Salary and Remuneration Commission (SRC) fast-tracks and deepens the rationalization of the public sector at both the national and county levels, and that the government of Kenya employ deliberate and extra-ordinary strategies aimed at containing the cost of maintaining the numerous elective positions brought about by devolution. 2.46 Closely linked to the salaries for political representatives is the issue of the requisite educational qualifications. The overwhelming view from the public appears to be that in a country where there are many university and college graduates languishing in joblessness, leadership should send the right signals regarding the benefits of education. The argument that leaders need not have a college qualification is inconsistent with the societal insistence on the value of education to the country’s social-economic development. The complex nature of modern governance as exemplified by technical policy documentation and debates demands that leaders aspiring to hold the elective positions on offer be highly qualified. It is therefore, recommended that Kenya consider setting a minimum educational qualification for those offering their candidature for elective positions from members of County Assemblies upwards. Devolved System and Management of Diversity for National Unity 2.47 The establishment of 47 counties and governments has been hailed as the surest way of promoting national unity by ensuring that all regions that had hitherto been deemed as marginalized finally had the opportunity to participate actively in nation-building in their own areas. Concerns over the possibility of politicians turning the counties into ethnic enclaves and marginalizing minorities among them were supposed to partly be addressed by the provisions of the County Governments Act (2012), Section 65, which requires that not more than 70% of county government employees be from the home county or counties with similar or almost similar ethnic composition. This was supposed to help preserve national unity through the promotion of integration and national cohesion. 2.48 Unfortunately, the reports of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) indicate that this piece of legislation has been widely violated by a majority of the counties. Many counties have employees who are ethnically homogenous. Most of the counties appear to have ignored the law and either ‘expelled’ personnel that were considered ‘non-local’ or simply intimidated and frustrated them into non-action thereby adversely affecting their job performance. As a result, devolution appears to have had an inadvertent negative effect on Kenya’s national unity. These are real concerns that can further threaten the already | 43 |