KikuyusForChange

• The CDF Act was passed in 2003 and the program began in 2005. In 2007 the Act was amended.
• Amount per constituency in 2009/2010: KShs 60 million.
• CDF is intended to develop and maintain grassroots infrastructure, with input from locals.
• Four principles for CDF:

1. Community infrastructure at grassroots level is absolutely critical for national development;
2. It was impossible to get money to the grassroots with the budgetary system existing at the time;
3. The solution was to have a certain portion of the budget statutorily dedicated to the grassroots; and
4. Let the communities decide how that money will be used – they should have a say. This is devolution.

• CDF is determined as 2.5% of ordinary government revenue (not government budget). Of the total amount: 3% is for administration, 75% is equally allocated to all constituencies and the remainder is allocated according to population, poverty, etc. Unspent funds do not return to government at the end of the year.
• The government is now assessing CDF through the CDF Review Task Force. Hon. Muriuki Karue (former MP for Ol Kalou and initiator of CDF) chairs the task force. They need to hear ideas and critiques from the public.

• Communities are not allowed to use CDF funds to do politics, religion, to address personal needs (except for limited bursaries) or for recurrent expenditure (except for committee expenses).
• A maximum of 15% of the funds at constituency level can go towards bursaries.
• Procurement: preference is supposed to go to local providers.

• Governance structure:

• The CDF Management Board is a semi-autonomous body similar to a parastatal. It has 18 members.
• The area MP appoints the CDFC members. The CDFC has 15 members.

• Dissemination of information about and within the programme is seriously inadequate. MPs do not disseminate information to the grassroots; they do not want the scrutiny that comes with transparency. However, this also means that they do not benefit from the openness of widespread information. For example, the Gatanga constituency website has attracted funding for local projects from overseas.
• The initiative should belong to the constituents, not to the MP because it is not his/her funds being used. MPs appoint their relatives and personal contacts such as drivers, girlfriends and security detail
• CDF creates dependency, particularly where maintenance is involved.
• There is some confusion as to management responsibilities: for example should local authorities handle implementation or should the CDFCs? Also, the creation of new administrative units (254 districts and 22 regions in addition to the 210 constituencies) is causing much confusion. Because of confusion there is duplication, conflict and lack of clarity. (However, it is
• The penalty for stealing CDF money is 5 years in prison or a KShs 200,000 fine. However, the fine is not a sufficient deterrent for people who steal in the millions.
• Currently, some MPs spread the funds so thin that the impact is negligible.
• Corruption in the management of these funds is rife.

• We need to act quickly on governance issues because the large amounts that have been allocated are to be spent by the end of the year.
• Much better oversight and audit mechanisms are required. Auditors should be private firms in order to ensure regularity of the exercise (government auditors take too long).
• All constituencies should be required to do strategic plans.
• Tie CDF to national goals and to particular projects in all constituencies for the next 5 years so that the whole country grows together.
• It may be better to merge the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF) and CDF. Then MPs and councillors could oversee the funds together.
• Gatanga now has model toilets, classrooms, labs, etc which enables them to know the cost of items and have uniformity across the constituency.
• We must deal with mental health issues at the grassroots. Many people are dealing with depression and cannot effectively absorb the funds we are allocating to them.
• Successful CDF managers should document their experience. [There is a publication on CDF Best Practices.]
• Since some areas of the country have issues unique to them, CDF should be flexible enough to allow them to allocate funds according to their particular needs. For example, education projects for nomadic communities need to accommodate that lifestyle.
• When you build facilities, government will provide the staff.
• It is critical to have elected representatives involved in CDF governance. Also, suggestions must come from the people themselves otherwise it is easy for projects to be derailed, particularly during transitions from one MP to another.

     12,000,000,000

       60,000,000

20.7

       4,700,000,000

       22,380,952

7.7

     22,000,000,000

     105,000,000

36.3

       1,800,000,000

       10,000,000

3.5

       1,100,000,000

         8,000,000

2.8

          525,000,000

         2,500,000

0.9

          210,000,000

         1,000,000

0.3

        500,000,000.00

[undetermined]

        500,000,000.00

[undetermined]

        120,000,000.00

[undetermined]

       4,000,000,000

       20,000,000

6.9

          105,000,000

            500,000

0.2

          655,000,000

         3,100,000

1.1

       1,050,000,000

         5,000,000

1.7

       1,000,000,000

[undetermined]

       1,000,000,000

[undetermined]

       1,500,000,000

         7,000,000

2.4

       6,000,000,000

       30,000,000

10.4

       1,300,000,000

         6,000,000

2.1

          353,000,000

         1,680,952

0.6

       1,300,000,000

         6,190,476

2.1

          252,000,000

         1,200,000

       3,000,000,000

[undetermined]

0.4

     64,970,000,000

     289,552,381

100

1. We need a process of management and utilization of funds.
2. Establish a process of identifying and prioritizing the needs in a specific constituency.
3. Integrate the needs of the whole constituency into one place/document to enable planning.
4. Create a constituency strategy plan for the constituency with a specific time-period, and based on the prioritized needs of the constituency as per the first point above and the estimates of meeting those needs (budgeting).
5. Establish a central point/hub/coordinating point for expenditure of all monies to the constituency, to ensure efficiency, accountability and effectiveness.
6. Develop and institutionalise the systems/processes necessary for the efficient, effective and fluid implementation of the constituency plan, including transition gaps in parliamentary leadership
7. Establish all this into a self-sustaining, non-partisan, constituency-owned, replicable, re-usable model that can be used in each of the 210 constituencies.
8. Review, analyse and audit each step and each project. Make the information accessible.

1. There is a need to build a Central-wide initiative that we can use to keep pushing issues to the forefront.
2. It’s possible to establish identities in various constituencies that network elites with the leaders at the grassroots. For example, Othaya Development Agency (ODA) deals with development issues in their home area. These are not registered organisations, just initiatives.
3. Identify constituencies to work with: focus on one at a time, build capacity and then move to the next.
4. Build and increase the network in order to disseminate information.
5. Gradually build up leadership; figure out how to get the good leadership to emerge. Central province has many leaders but we need forums that bring out the best in them.
6. Build a support network as an individual and also as an organisation.
7. Establish discussion mechanisms on local, regular constituency-wide issues using communication technology and the media. We need to find ways of removing people from where they take alcohol into a place they can drink tea.
8. We need to keep building up critical mass, including people from strategic areas such as the media.

• The elite elect the president of your choice and but you don’t care about councillors (you just choose whoever is in your presidential candidate’s party) yet you complain about services from the city council.
• A Kikuyu saying: if the baby’s minder cries when the baby is crying, the baby will never stop crying. So instead of complaining, professionals should take seriously the responsibility of getting involved in Kenya’s issues. Do not just start initiatives – follow them through.
• Instead of trying to fix governance issues, we should put more effort into ensuring that we elect better leaders in the first place. Civic education is critical.
• If professionals are paid to get involved in improving oversight, there is an inherent conflict of interest.
• When professionals do go to the grassroots to help, the latter sometimes reject them because they are elite. However, it could be that professionals show up expecting to be celebrities yet they have not participated in local issues previously.
• We have tunnel vision that politics is the only way to make change happen.

• Word of caution: CDF is only 2.5% of ordinary government revenue. We need to look at the rest of government funds as well. Don’t focus on the minor issue to the exclusion of the much larger one.
• Accountability must be two-way: public to leaders and leaders to public.
• Professionals should commit themselves to helping alternative leadership emerge.
• The fear factor: Politicians have paranoia of people who know their rights. So existing political elite and power brokers (“every province has an owner”) will not sit quietly and allow professionals to get involved in improving governance. We should therefore first assess the risks and be prepared for a backlash:
  • Increase the numbers of people involved so that no one person can be targeted easily.
  • Create deliberate backup mechanisms so that those in the forefront will have support when needed.
  • Expand our networks of like-minded people in order to achieve critical mass on these issues.
• We need to understand that there are different levels of decision making:
  • Political decisions
  • Policy decisions (at the level of PSs and heads of directorates in ministries)
  • Administrative decisions
  • Implementation decisions
• Most of us fight with people at the implementation level. This is not bad because it’s an entry point, but that person is operating under orders from above. Some of us can intervene at a higher level. It is said that the first three levels of decision making are very sensitive in Central province.
• We can have constituency-level offices which would be cheap to maintain. In this way, information can pass effectively back and forth from grassroots to the connected professionals.
• Pick a small team of strategists to support the leaders in front.
• Work according to our individual and collective strengths.

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HONOURING those who heroically struggled to bring freedom and justice to our land;

PROUD of our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity and determined to live in peace and unity as one indivisible sovereign nation;

RESPECTFUL of the natural environment that is our heritage, and determined to sustain it for the benefit of future generations;

COMMITTED to nurturing and protecting the well-being of the individual, the family and the community;

RECOGNISING the aspirations of all Kenyans for a government based on freedom, democracy, social justice and the rule of law;

EXERCISING our sovereign and inalienable right to determine the form of governance of our country and having participated fully in the making of this Constitution;

ADOPT, ENACT and give this Constitution to ourselves and to our future generations.

GOD BLESS KENYA

Source: Preamble of the Bomas and Wako draft constitutions.

• Everyone present introduced themselves.

• Last year was the first time you could have died because of being Kikuyu. It was decided to hold a discussion on why we were being isolated as a community.
• We don’t have answers; we’re still trying to find out.
• We held a forum in Limuru in August last year to determine whether there was a need for a forum like K4C. If yes, what should it do? The theme of the convention was: the Kikuyu as a political community; past, present and future
• We had four groups of people: university students, informal sector, professionals & business people
• The invited speakers gave presentations as follows:
  • Dr. Karuti: intellectual perspective on ethnicity through all Kenya’s presidential regimes. Perceptions of Kikuyus were unfounded. There was therefore a need to engage to find out why the perceptions existed.
  • Hon. Paul Muite: background on resistance movements. Every time a group started with a change agenda it always diverted.
  • Mumbi Ngaru: what other communities believe about Kikuyus and how these views developed.
  • Dr. Wamunyu: walked us through the years from the times of GEMA to the present.
• Four themes emerged for K4C:
  • Dialogue: there is a dialogue gap both internally and with other communities. So I’m very glad to have Liban (Borana), Kogo (Kalenjin) and Gowi (Luo).
  • Itwika: generational handover. Why are the community’s leaders still old: have young people refused to step up or old people have refused to step down?
  • Civic education: middle aged and middle class Kikuyus don’t get involved in politics. We are extremely ignorant because we’re busy making money.
  • Economic empowerment: the stereotype is that Kikuyus are rich. We need to raise awareness and nationalise our problems instead of tribalising them.
  • Historical injustices: there are unfinished discussions.
• This work was a very heavy burden.
• We started with the dialogues and had several inter-ethnic forums run under the Frederick Ebert Stiftung (FES) Foundation. We all went to those meetings as ethnic people. Kikuyus asked Kalenjins: why did you kill us? Luos asked Kikuyus: why do you keep misusing us? The resulting reports are on the website. They are eye-opening. We found that stereotypes are deep.
• Intra-ethnic meetings: every Thursday we would meet at Antonio’s (about 20 people).
• One of the results of the inter-ethnic discussions was a meeting held in May 2009 of youth from all over the country: 170 young people representing all provinces. The main question was: if Agenda 4 was implemented, would it reduce inter-ethnic tensions in the country?

• Today we are having a discussion on devolved funds.
• After this year’s budget was read a discussion arose on the internet. People felt that it was important not just to complain. Instead, we should first find out what happens with devolved funds. It was decided to have a forum to deal with Central’s 29 provinces. The main speakers for the day will be:
  • Abraham Rugo Muriu wa Simon (ARMS) who is with the Institute for Economic Affairs.
  • Masiga Asunza will speak about social audits and how we as individuals can add value to the process of devolved funds.
• We want to emerge from here with a game plan.
• After this meeting we want to devolve this discussion. It is good that Hon. George Thuo is here because we would like to work with Juja as one of the case studies.
• Transparency International wants to help us get into the constituencies.
• With regard to funding for this meeting: people in the K4C internet discussion groups asked: why can’t we fund this meeting ourselves? This has materialised: we have managed to do it.

• Apologies for being late.
• My full names are: Muriuki Karue Muriuki
• I am an engineer by profession. I spent 10 years in Parliament representing Ol Kalou. I note that there is no one present from Nyandarua.
• Since I got in touch with Ngunjiri, I have seen some of your email discussion. I’m very encouraged by what you are doing. I feel that your generation is taking far too long to take over leadership. When you feel there is an intervention to be done, don’t wait – just do it.
• I went to Parliament in 1997 from a non-political life (I was already in my 40s). I was like you now, involved in a few activities here and there: building a classroom, school fees for young girls, neighbourhood associations here in Nairobi.
• Ol Kalou is the western-most constituency of Central – next to Nakuru. I was not born there; I went there in my 30s. I found that it was like Canaan: blessed with natural resources yet people were very poor. We kept doing harambees for children to go to Form 1 because people couldn’t raise the KShs 6,000. There was hardly any health facility. There was one tarmac road; if you were 5-6 km from the road and you got sick, you were in trouble. The schools were ramshackle and politicians would come to appeal to people to donate their meagre resources to build schools. Our economy in Ol Kalou is mostly horticulture (potatoes, cabbages, etc) and dairy. People would milk their cows in the morning and then pour it on the grass because you could not transport it; potatoes were harvested and fed to the cows. This bothered me a great deal.
• So I went to parliament with one question: where is the multi-billion budget of the ministries going? There must be some way I can get some portion of this budget to come to the grassroots. I found that it was not easy to do this.
• Discussion in Parliament would conclude that the things we wanted to do could be done “as soon as funds become available”. So I started on the journey of trying to make funds available.
• It is very easy to get funding for macro systems [large projects]. If you want to build Times Tower, a new airport, a highway to Mombasa or a huge power station – you can easily get the funds. Yet when you try to build a health centre worth a few million shillings you can’t get the money you need.
• Four principles for CDF emerged:

1. Community infrastructure at grassroots level is absolutely critical for national development;
2. It was impossible to get money to the grassroots with the budgetary system existing at the time;
3. The solution was to have a certain portion of the budget statutorily dedicated to the grassroots; and
4. Let the communities decide how that money will be used – they should have a say. This is devolution.

• In essence we wanted grassroots infrastructure in which people have a say.
• The CDF legislation was passed in 2003 and the programme began operating in 2005. We have just completed the fifth year.

• At the end of the 5 years the government has recognised that it’s a useful programme and would like to review the whole concept.
• I am proud of the effect CDF has had in many places. There are some places in this country where it is unclear how people were operating without CDF. There have been many groups like yours who take it upon themselves to examine CDF and have found mixed results.
• The government is now saying they want to review the whole programme. It is time to provide your views and recommendations to the government. There is a CDF Review Task Force (with 18 members of which I am the chair) to listen to views on behalf of government. So if you have already provided your views in the past, please repeat them now.
• Our terms of reference (TOR) say that we will compare CDF with other devolved funds. The task force has sat for about 1.5 weeks. It will be difficult to get to review other devolved funds.
• We will collate views and submit recommendations to the Ministry of Planning, National Development and Vision 2030. I am keen to hear from you and also to answer questions.

• Management structure: there is a CDF Management Board at national level, the CDF committee (CDFC) at constituency level and the Project Management Committee (PMC) which does the actual implementation. There is usually confusion: the PMC is institutionalised even without the CDF. For example, the Board of Governors of a school will be responsible for building a lab so they are the PMC for that project.
• Constituency Fund Committee in parliament: this body has legislative and oversight responsibilities. There is a committee for all departments of government (education, health, etc).
• Quantum: amount of money going to CDF. It is 2.5% of ordinary revenue, not of budget (which is usually substantially larger than the budget due to donor funding). Ordinary revenue means what goes into the consolidated fund. In the first full year of the CDF programme the government’s revenues amounted to KShs 224 billion so CDF received KShs 5.6 billion in the first full year. In the current financial year (2009/2010), the estimated ordinary revenue is KShs 493 billion which means that about KShs 12.3 billion will go to CDF. Clarification: the minister has not put a lot of money into CDF, contrary to popular perception.
• Distribution: there is a small amount of the total fund (3%) set aside for administration. Of the total CDF, 75% is allocated equally into all constituencies while the remainder is allocated according to population, poverty, etc. If you think this is not a good formula then this is the time to speak up. This means that each constituency received about KShs 24 million on average and will now get around KShs 55 million.
• CDF rules regarding outlawed uses: communities are not allowed to use CDF funds to do politics, religion, to address personal needs (except for limited bursaries) or for recurrent expenditure (except for committee expenses).
• Choice of projects: this has been controversial. The law requires that locational committee meetings but the overall responsibility is in the CDFC which is appointed by the MP. Is this a good way to do it?
• Money flow: funds go from the Finance ministry directly to the CDF Board and from there to the constituency committees. Each CDFC has a bank account in a commercial bank.
• Law governing: CDF Act 2003 which was amended in 2007. In 2004 some regulations were drawn up but they have not yet been changed to reflect the 2007 amendments.
• There were four main amendments in 2007:
  • Parliament created the CDF Board as opposed to the CDF Select Committee. The work of the latter was not clear. Parliament was doing much executive work which was not ideal. We wanted to create a semi-autonomous body similar to a parastatal. Whether it was done efficiently is another matter. There are 18 people on the board and we may need to discuss how they are appointed.
  • Before 2007 CDF was in Finance and is now in Planning.
  • The District Projects Committee (DPC) used to have procurement responsibility but now it has no work regarding approvals. It was, however, given the work of coordination. An example to show why this was necessary: a bridge over a small river somewhere in Nairobi was built using CDF money (at a cost of about KShs 950,000). People were happy with the project until someone came across City Council records showing KShs 2.3 million spent for the same bridge. So it was decided to have all devolved funds put under one authority for coordination purposes. The DPC is meant to put all the money together and see how to allocate it. Is this going on?
  • We had an elaborate planning framework but what happens if CDF money was left over? We therefore clarified how to define eligible projects e.g. environment. Politicians can manipulate according to their interests.

• Thanks for the presentation.
• You are speaking not just to individuals but to people with networks.
• Points I noted from your presentation:
  • Ol Kalou constituency was like Canaan: many resources but very poor. This is the story of Kenya.
  • For some regions in the country they would never manage without CDF.
  • It’s not just resources and infrastructure but enhancing democracy: CDF can improve accountability at the local level.
  • The fact that you are on the CDF Review Task Force means that you are very important to speak. It also means that there is an improvement process going on in which we can take part. Karue is not just giving us history.
• We have two more [politician] speakers: we are here to learn and to improve your leadership so please stay so that we can ask questions.
• The press is not here so we can ask questions candidly but respectfully.

• Unfortunately I won’t be able to stay for the whole seminar.
• I am also here to learn.
• I commend Engineer Karue and others involved in this concept. It is seriously revolutionary. In fact, it may be the greatest institution we have done. However, it has many problems.
• One criticism of CDF is that politicians appoint their relatives. In my constituency, I advertised in the newspaper in order to fill the CDFC positions. The bulk of the committee are people I didn’t know previously.
• The jury is still out on whether I have done well.
• There are very many firsts in Juja. For example, we are the only constituency with two municipalities.  There is potential confusion with regard to which agency does what. The solution should not mean municipality does one part and then CDF does another. Instead, perhaps CDF should make the Council an agency for implementation.
• Developmental versus recurrent: CDF must deal with new classrooms, library, lab, etc not just repair or maintenance of existing facilities.
• In some instances CDF has created a dependency syndrome because it’s available. For example parents will not pay a cent towards some items because they know that CDF is there. Hon. Kenneth and I have spent our own money to do a study on education. We found that there has been a huge decline in education facilities because of this dependency.
• We need to streamline and explain the role of CDF. Cattle dip chemicals should not funded by CDF! In a vast constituency like Juja, with a growing population, at some point you won’t be able to do new projects because it will go towards maintaining existing projects.
• I am in favour of much more oversight and good audit mechanisms. [He is also concerned that] committee members earn very little (about KShs 2,000) yet have oversight over millions.
• It makes it worse that MPs refuse to pay taxes. MPs should be disabused of the notion that they should not pay.

• Thanks to Ngunjiri for this invitation. I have two commitments today so unfortunately I cannot spend the day with you.
• Apologies for coming late and thanks to Karue for taking my speaking slot.
• The amount of money government puts into CDF is 2.5% of ordinary revenues. For this year (2009/2010) revenue is KShs 523 billion. So the figure of KShs 12.3 million is debatable. There will be a self-adjustment if revenues are not met; we will not be able to afford to give 12.3 million for each constituency. Government will have to do a balancing act on recovering funds from CDF.
• In developed countries elections are about how taxpayers’ money has been used not the kind of petty, divisive issues we campaign on here.
• I believe in CDF. I chose to volunteer to pay my taxes, consistently from November last year by writing a separate cheque every month to the Paymaster General.
• If we don’t look at things this way we will not go forward.
• Our government is spread too thin to [over] 40 ministries. We should decide that for the next 3 years all development budget will go to infrastructure, security and water. If we don’t do it, we will not grow.
• There is no point in saying that Singapore overtook us yet we are doing nothing about it. Kagame is not supernatural and yet he has been able to move his country forward.
• We have the right institutions and policies. Anyone of you here can steer the ship.

• When we MPs started using the CDF we were all confused. In Gatanga we went to the sub-location level to get views and there were very many. You could end up doing what people want which might not be the best for them.
• We came up with a 5-year strategic plan based on the basic needs of the constituency:
  • Security: Previously there were no facilities for askaris which meant they spent their time behind shopping centres, usually in bars. So we decided to build police posts and one station even though we knew that was the role of central government. It allows people [i.e. professionals from Nairobi] to come home more frequently. These measures also meant employment for youth.
  • Water provision: opened up water company: Gatanga Water Company. Pumped over 40 million and piped it. The overhead cost of the company is about 0.5 m and collecting about 1.5 m which means they can extend the pipeline
  • Healthcare provision: every day people would go to Thika General Hospital for small ailments. The hospital was therefore becoming congested. We decided that we wanted a dispensary every five kilometres which we are completing now. We also resolved to upgrade our own centre to make it inpatient and add a surgical theatre.
  • Environment: I have been talking about the destruction of the Aberdares. We are now seeing the effect of that. The destruction of Mau will have effects five years from now. We have planted nearly 1.7 m trees in Gatanga. We planted some along the roads and have encouraged people to take from the roadsides and plant in their own farms. We now have trees all over.
  • Education: bursaries and infrastructure. This was a big challenge. People were double-charging CDF and parents for the same projects in the first two years. So now I do not allow principals of schools to charge development fees; they must seek permission from me. CDF should help constituents retain income as much as possible since in the first place they don’t have the money. We want them to have money to look after themselves.
  • Infrastructure: we did not involve CDF in this because there is a District Roads Funds which gives about KShs 17 million for each constituency. In Gatanga, the roads engineer is not allowed to source materials from outside the constituency. We prefer to dig our own murram because the government procurement system is tedious and involving.
• CDF is public money, not MPs’ money. I have delegated full authority to the committee and only attend two meetings a year.
• I have appointed a private auditor who periodically gives me reports.
• There are locational and sub-locational meetings. I have given them my PA system in order to speak to people.

• Insufficient dissemination of information: this is the biggest issue with CDF. Most MPs do not disseminate information to the grassroots. If we allow the professionals in Nairobi to know [for instance] through the website about what we are doing they know not to give funds towards projects that CDF is funding. In all public areas there is need to have information for everyone. We in Gatanga disseminate through the MP, councillors, district administration, etc.
• Tie CDF to national goals: Is it appropriate to leave CDF to 210 MPs – do they have a vision in the first place? We should lock CDF to particular projects for the next five years so that the whole country grows together. So, for instance we can all build dispensaries, or all fund water projects (arid places can do boreholes). We need to tie CDF to the national goals of the country for a particular number of years so that we are all growing at the same pace.
• Spreading funds too thin: If we do not tie CDF to particular goals we will have constituencies that spread their funds too thin and therefore have no impact. One MP distributed KShs 1,000 bursaries which cannot have impact. It is better to build one good school rather than spreading the funds to 100 schools.
• Thanks for your attention.

• Moses Kuria: you have done good things in Gatanga because you are philanthropic. I see a big danger: we are having serious CDF management problems (Gatanga is an exception) and now we have expanded CDF five times. What will you do (assuming an average constituency) to ensure that we can manage all these funds?
• Kenneth response: CDF is the only devolved fund under the MP. Other monies remain within the infrastructure of the ministry. So we can only deal with CDF. With the other funds, the community can only say, for example, where they want a hospital but the ministry of health implements.
• All councillors are in the CDFC but I don’t want to know what they are doing because I will get caught up micromanaging them.
• Perhaps it is better to merge the Local Authorities Transfer Fund (LATF) and CDF. Then have councillors and MPs oversee the funds together.

• Wanjiru Gikonyo: I’m very encouraged that you pay tax. Regarding dissemination of information: why do you not compel all CDFCs to make their records (e.g. minutes of meetings, directors of companies winning tenders) public? Have you had an experience with social audit? We are trying to promote community participation in audit. We need to know what we have done well.
• Kenneth response: this remains a challenge. For example, the Gatanga website is only for those who can access the internet, which means people in Nairobi.
• The website has two main advantages:
  • it frees people to not double-fund projects due to ignorance of the facts; and
  • it has attracted interest elsewhere, as far as the US – donors have come to fund projects because they are interested. We have about 50 cows donated from the US.
• So if you open up you get more scrutiny but you also get more donors.
• Regarding social audits: I make sure that I go with all officials to all barazas so that if there is a question they are there to answer.
• We now have model toilets, class, labs, etc so we know the cost of items and have uniformity across the constituency.

• Clement from Gatundu: I have used your constituency as a model (I always check the Gatanga website). Professor Kimura wrote an article on Ndakaini dam. What are you trying to do? We need to wake up: the environment is a big issue. How shall we address it?
• Regarding Vision 2030: now that we are talking wealth creation, what are you trying to do to address the issue of the youth? Insecurity is rampant.
• We have done a project in Rift Valley in about seven constituencies: how can we make sure information is disseminated?
• Kenneth response: Vision 2030 is a very good document but are we willing to see it through? Are we willing to fund flagship projects? The document envisions growth of up to 10% but we are now at 2-3%. When will we hit 10%? If we don’t achieve the target growth rate then Vision 2030 is in jeopardy. You need to have an ability to question government.
• There were no potholes in Eastlands when I was growing up. The best health centres were in the public service; KNH was too big to attend for small ailments. This [level of service delivery] has happened before and we can do it again. We need to make sure we spend the money well.
• We know where the weaknesses are but we don’t address them. We get the leaders we elect.
• I challenge you as the elite: you elected the president of your choice and but you didn’t care about councillors (you just chose whoever was in your presidential candidate’s party) yet you complain about services from the city council. We need to talk about it.

• Abraham Rugo: some constituencies have done strategic planning voluntarily but can everyone be compelled to do it?
• What can we do about the many units we have created: 250 districts, etc?
• Kenneth response: in the Ministry of Planning we only plan. We have some of the best plans that can push Kenya very far. How do you finance what you have planned for?
• CDFCs must now have a budget for strategic planning. They should also be privately audited. Each province had been allocated one firm of audited and then they were to be transferred. However, it is better not to wait for government auditors because they come 2-3 years later and cannot catch issues as they arise.
• Management committees must respond to audit issues raised.
• The many units are administrative and also for security purposes. The units we had prior to this were pre-colonial. At independence we were 6 million people and in the coming census I think we will be about 41 million.
• I would rather have a deputy PC because the PCs cannot attend to (including visit) all areas in their jurisdiction.

• Kinyanjui Ndogoni: I’m a health professional. For everything you are talking about, would you consider helping people to understand what is going on from a mental health perspective? Many people are dealing with depression and yet we are throwing money at them [which they can’t therefore absorb effectively].
• Kenneth response: I agree with you. CDF cannot address such issues.
• If CDF was locked to deal with the basics within a given time frame, then at a later stage CDF would be able to help economically empower people e.g. by providing basic credit facilities.
• In developed countries they used CDF until there were no more issues. After we achieve all the issues then we can look at economic empowerment. For me CDF is a vehicle to achieve the basics.

• Mumbi Ngaru: correction: I am not a sitting Mayor.
• You have been voted the best CDF. You have a different style of leadership yet the act is the same everywhere. You are not insecure, you work with professionals: no one is too big or small. In CDF you are not a politician but a leader. Keep up the good work.
• Politicians managing the CDF account: I request that with Engineer Karue that you put the issues together e.g. a strategic plan. Unless we find out how you have managed we [cannot learn from you]. Please don’t burn the records of Gatanga CDF when you leave.
• I disagree with the issue of dependency. Kenyans know what they need and how to get there. Dependency is not a problem.
• Professionals managing CDF is not the answer unless MPs are secure.
• Kenneth response: thanks for the compliments. Sources of inspiration: people and professionals of Gatanga. They have accepted to serve as members of school boards and involved in my campaigns purely on voluntary basis. The professionals are a source of networking so that we employ young people in Gatanga.
• I will not always be MP for Gatanga. Life has to move on. I was the first MD of Kenya Re to resign voluntarily; same with KFF. It’s important to realise that you only come to make a change.
• I admire Obama because he will retire young (at age 55 if he is president for eight years). You can’t keep hanging on when you’re not wanted or have nothing to contribute. God has been on my side to make the right decision at the right time. You don’t leave because you’re being asked to leave. Also, you don’t know if you will be there tomorrow. If Moi had left in 1987 he would have been a hero. But then he presided over his own destruction. I fear that Kagame might not know when to leave.
• Things that inspired me [to go into politics]: whenever I would spend the night in Gatanga, I was constantly an ambulance. I also had to collect water from the river. What about others who were not as fortunate as me: how did they manage?
• MP is the elected leader and is the governor of that constituency. But we need to disconnect the two. The fund should not be seen as the MP’s fund: it belongs to the constituents.
• I have a desire to leave the story with the people.

• Gowi Odera: I think you represent an emerging generation of leaders. Have you considered writing your experience?
• What is your expectation of us? What is the covenant you want with us?
• Kenneth response: I have always been asked to write a book. I have a beautiful story to tell. I was born poor and educated by someone I don’t know at Starehe Boys. I played football in Eastlands using balls made with duala (plastic) (which I did not realise was not Kiswahili; the area is ethnically diverse). There was a timetable for the bus. I have definitely have a story to tell. But to whom am I telling the story? In this country we do not have a culture of reading. We don’t have libraries.
• [Second question not answered.]

• We have created administrative and developmental units that are in conflict with each other. Hence my question to Peter Kenneth.
• Free secondary education (FSE) (which is actually free tuition) is based on the class size. Each class should be at least 40-45 students but what about places where class sizes do not attain those levels?
• Young women qualify for both women’s and youth fund but the young men only qualify for youth fund.
• Road maintenance levy fund: previously money for maintenance was collected through tolls. But toll stations became corrupt so government began taxing fuel instead. Now there is a suggestion to go back to tolls.
• Water services trust fund: most people don’t know about it
• Community development trust fund: most people don’t know about this. Can this fund the mental health issues?
• CDF: according to the regulations, there is a fine of KShs 200,000 for stealing the money. But what is that amount if you steal, say, KShs 5 million?
• Committee: we cannot continue to rely on the goodwill of the MPs to run CDF. The power is in the hands of the MPs
• Transition: people burnt records and people inherited projects that they didn’t [follow through on].
• Money that is not spent does not return to the central government at the end of the year
• [ARMS shows the amounts of money expected to go to the constituencies this year. People are shocked to see how much money is in CDF.] How do we make the best of this money?
• In Garissa, they all know about CDF but they don’t know about the KShs 36 million that was swindled from local government funds.

• What is happening in your constituency?
• How can we make the funds more effective? Or do we need to reorganize them?
• Reflections on development in Kenya: is there a way we can fast-track it for the benefit of all.

• Mumbi Ng’aru: I was very angry about the budget: [increasing funds to the constituencies will only ensure that] the MPs will marry a wife in every location. I hope you will hold the money until people are able to benefit from the devolved funds. Let us give our proposals to Karue now. People may not be putting their relatives but they are putting their drivers and girlfriends [in the CDFCs]! The fact that you advertise and they come for interviews is not a guarantee that you will get the right people.
• NW: ARMS will give us the technical details and then we can delve into issues for Karue.
• Karue: I am keen to hear
• [ARMS gives his presentation.]

• Liban Guyo: comment for Karue. Moyale is on the Kenya-Ethiopia border. The problem is systemic. A few of us are lucky to go to school and interact with other Kenyans. If you go there you will be shocked. People there don’t know. If you go there you will be shot. This is why I asked to come here and learn. I am going to give back to my community.
• We are not naturally endowed although we have fertile soil – maybe it is only water we lack. The only avenue for us to exit poverty is through education. We who are educated remit money back home.
• Question: our MP has said only 10% of CDF will go towards education. If it is wananchi who are in charge of this project, can the people justify and say will say that 60% will go towards education? Is there that avenue?
• Karue responds: regarding Moyale education, the amount for bursaries is 15% but for education overall you can do 100% if you wish.
• I have been to Moyale. In Central province we are proud to have all these secondary schools, because in building you draw many students from the surrounding area. In those constituencies there is nowhere else for the children to come from. Primary schools don’t exist.
• There is an economic justification for the schools: for instance, it makes money sense to have 40 students per class. But in north eastern the class has 6 children. So you do not build because it doesn’t make economic sense. So you build according to the number of students. We should let the people in Moyale build to their own standards, relevant to their situation
• For nomadic people when you say you have given KShs 1,060 per child, what does it mean? The most appropriate format would have to be a boarding school. We need an area by area approach.
• I came up with the concept of affirmative action. If your area is using the bulk of its money in one service (e.g. health) then government needs to spend extra to bring that area up to standard.
• So for instance, security in pastoralist areas is about getting helicopters or sophisticated communication information to catch rustlers. We must be realistic.
• It is this kind of forum where some of these ideas an germinate so that I am not speaking alone.

• Hon. Moses Muihia: A word of caution: this money is supposed to be an economic stimulus package similar to the way Roosevelt did in the US [during the economic depression in the 1930s]. This is going to happen between August and December 2009. If we do not move fast enough and put mechanisms in place, the money will be history.
• People are waiting in the wings to steal. We need to be in front to make sure the money is not embezzled.

• Moses Kuria: in this country the MPs are crying; even ministers and civil society are lamenting. Let us stop moaning and take action. We don’t need to analyse any more: it is a clear disaster. We need to look at solutions.
• Yesterday I was talking to the PS for public health and asking about the devolved funds. I asked him how they are going to implement it. He said they are going to give one cheque; but to whom to give it? They concluded that they should give it to the DC.
• This was only one instance. For example, who is the owner of the centre of excellence: the ministry of education, higher education or technology? The first thing that people do when they want to steal is to deprive us of detail. We need clarity: who is the cheque going to?
• For the 29 constituencies we need to form ourselves into oversight committees.
• Karue responds: I like to think of this country as divided completely into constituencies so if you divide the whole amount of money it’s about 4 billion per constituency.
• District Development Committee (DDC) which was part of the District Focus: this was a moribund thing. It has never worked. It may be a good institution but there was no money. I have sat on the board. There was no mechanism of telling anyone [comment not fully captured].
• There was also a district development plan (DDP) which still formulated to this day. However, when you go through the plans, it looks like people copied the previous ones. [In other words, there is no originality, no modification according to changing contexts.]
• When I went to Parliament I was trying to get money for health, for instance. The waziri would tell me: get it passed through the DDC. But subsequently it would not appear in the budget and they would say that it came too late (they have their own schedule). Next I would be told I should speak to the PS and so forth.
• You need a lot of goodwill from government when there is no specific regulation [in order to get things done].
• Once a year the DDC will look at the all the monies available so that there is no duplication.
• I would like to see a strategic plan for every constituency.
• In Kikuyu we say: “Muthuthiri mwana angirira, mwana ndagakira. Translation: If the minder cries and the baby is also crying, the baby will never stop crying. You the professionals are the ones to look after Kenya. Don’t let these issues end just here.

• I said I was very happy to be in this forum. I need ARMS’s card.
• One caution, however: this CDF money is only 2.5% of the overall income of the government. The budget this year is 866 billion. The ordinary revenue is 523 billion but the basis was taken as 490 billion. You might over-concentrate on some of these things. Please remember that this is only 2.5% – where is the other 97.5% going? We could easily be having closed eyes when the bigger issue is elsewhere.
• The government budget was nearly 90% recurrent – very little was for development – before NARC came.
• The last time I checked LATF was more than CDF. It’s just that the latter is discussed more. We talk cents and forget shillings.
• Spending rate: personally I think it can be done. The 100m or 200m is too much.
• If it was not there, where was it going?
• You the professionals are part of the problem: do you go to your constituency to take part?

• We have travelled to other countries. No one else is doing CDF. African countries are now busy copying CDF.
• When we went to Zambia, we interacted with MPs there. This was just after NARC government came so we were proud to talk about the achievements such as free primary education (FPE). They were not impressed because they have never had anything other than FPE. The government has always built primary schools. Our standard of secondary schools now is their standard of primary schools.
• They learnt from us that we also have harambee and private schools.
• So we need to realise that we can learn from others.

• [Responding to ARMS’s discussion on funds for water provision during his presentation.]
• Water: CDF is for infrastructure, not for recurrent expenses. If you use it for recurrent expenses you will not move.
• When you build, government will bring the staff. In fact, at first there were too many health centres and not enough staff. Dr. James Nyikal said they had been waiting for the health centres because he was under pressure to provide the healthcare staff. He only asked that the centres be streamlined.
• Wananchi would prefer not to pay for water or for cattle dips.

• Transition from one MP to another: the work being done by MPs is not in the law. We are not able to arrest the situation. We have allowed them to do things they are not supposed to be doing.
• Projects are supposed to germinate from people themselves.
• It is not easy to do strategic plans.
• Example of Ol Kalou when I was there: we had 11 locations divided into a total of 30 sub-locations. I consulted with the councillors. Per sub-location we elected 5 persons (2 men, 2 women and 1 young person) plus the assistant chief for a total of 6. These 180 people plus the 13 councillors plus 11 chiefs, plus the CDFC comes to a grand total of 214 people. It is critical to have these elected representatives.
• From the outset, I would have sat with my committee, knowing we will get about KShs 42 million.
• We would set aside money for a hospital, bursaries, etc and then divide the remainder per location. Then we would go to each location and have a public baraza during which we would give some guidelines and tell them they have X amount of money to spend. We would ask the people for proposals on how to spend the money.  People always gave project ideas. And they were very specific: such and such secondary school or this water project. Transitionally [i.e. from one MP to the succeeding one], it’s very hard to divert projects if they germinate from the people. If you impose your ideas, the next MP will change the plan. So the best thing is to have the people decide for themselves.
• Then we would have the CDF conference during which we would determine what were the common projects among the locations. In this way, decisions coming from the CDF conference did not need to be defended because the people were involved.
• Using this method it was possible to do a strategic plan for 5 years. We started out doing 1-year plans and we built up to 3-year plans. I don’t know what they are doing now.
• First look at the law: does it mention the MP?
• The problem may be implementation.
• Let there be follow-up: we agreed in the location that we would do this, this year and then next year the other thing.

• Ngunjiri Wambugu: are CDF and other devolved funds a reaction to bad governance? In other words, should we actually be trying to make CDF more effective or to change the whole governance system?
• Karue response: when I left parliament, I didn’t leave quietly – I wanted to remain MP. Itwika will not happen automatically – you have to take leadership. You will not get rid of government.
• Firstly it is a money game. You will never have all old or all young people. I don’t think we will get a government that will cherish what people say. We want to dictate. So the more institutional frameworks we put, the better.
• We can change quite a number of things.
• I would love to get a set of recommendations to my task force.

• ARMS: do you clear the mosquitoes or provide more nets?
• If every one of us was to sweep outside our own doors this whole world would be clean. Are you cleaning outside your own door?

• We are seeing duplication, conflict and lack of clarity.
• Poverty is not linked to lack of resources, rather to poor management. Why is Githunguri poor yet there are natural resources?
• Local development only works if citizens are able to engage effectively
• Are we prepared to manage the 300 million at the constituency? The amount has increased from 64m; has the capacity to manage grown in tandem?
• We need to be able to participate in management of the funds right from the beginning. Otherwise we might do things that turn out not to be priority issues.
• People in Kirinyaga central did not know what CDF money was being spent on.
• Accountability must be two-way: leaders to us and us to leaders
• You can’t have rights without responsibilities e.g. Kenyatta University students should not uproot the road in order to have missiles to throw at security.
• The importance of follow-up in managing local funds: for example, if the corrupt guy was identified, what happened thereafter? Was he taken to the police station, to KACC or what?
• We must decide as a country how exactly we will devolve: to what level? Is it the constituency or the ward? Also, how do we relate the district and the constituency? There is now confusion because there are 254 districts, 210 constituencies and now we have 22 regions. [Gakuu Mathenge reported that there are plans to harmonise these units so that districts and constituencies are the same.]
• CDF rules give preference to providers to locals for procurement.
• Members selected by the public should be the ones to take executive positions instead of those that the MP chooses.

• Mumbi Ng’aru: it looks like we have put the cart before the horse. We are to blame: we have put the leaders in those elective positions and then we complain that they’re not doing what they’re supposed to do. I’m asking your organisation: can’t we start the other way round? Educate us on the importance of putting better leaders in those positions. The examples you have given of successful constituencies are because the MPs are good. Instead, we now have garbage-in, garbage-out. We are having high blood pressure in this room because we are trying to see how KShs 300 million will be spent. Let the professionals ensure we don’t put in bad leaders next time around.
• I have been involved in this kind of work. I know that when you do social audits in those constituencies MPs make sure that the people who come to the audit will only say good things. There are places where the MP is a law unto himself.
• Some new MPs dismiss projects of their predecessors.
• Audit the existing funds but also help professionals [to understand the processes].
• Masiga response: it is true that the social audit is not the issue. We also need to discuss how to mentor and nurture alternative leadership. We need to challenge ourselves as professionals and elites from Central. We should be able to say: “I will take this activity and do it for five years.”

• Hon. Moses Muihia: the problems we have are our MPs. The devil is in the detail. Here we have civil society which brings people like the elites together. How will people in the constituencies audit if they are not empowered to understand the process?
• I was contracted to do a school by the school committee through donor funding through Ministry of Education. The donors put in a school committee which is supposed to supervise what I am doing on a daily basis. But they have no allowance so they seek it from me: “Before you sign this contract, please give us 10,000”. So the contractor manipulates the committee.
• I would reply that I sit on a board called the Public Procurement Oversight Authority (PPOA) which is supposed to check corruption. Still, they didn’t get it.
• As we go to empower audit teams, these are the same professionals trying to make ends meet. Even where professionals want to get involved, the allowance issue comes up and the system can be manipulated.
• I wanted to ask Kenneth: when they go for their meetings, who pays for the lunch? If it is him, then it means he doesn’t have a confident audit committee.
• Masiga: he is raising some very fundamental issues. How are we going to do things differently? Some of us do things differently but we need to share information with others.
• Mumbi: I work with Kenneth. The professionals do the work voluntarily and they share costs. He doesn’t use CDF money or his own money.
• Muihia: that’s the answer I was looking for.
• Masiga: an example is this meeting which is self-funded.

• Maina Azimio: you have a very good idea but the problem is workability. I have been involved in many public initiatives. When you want to get people together to do a social audit, most people you want to engage in following up matters do not understand the issues and think you are trying to come and take over.
• We have a community water project. Politics there is very dirty. I have my own borehole. Less than 1 acre; budget of 550,000. Count how many poles have been used. They said we had ganged up against the sitting members. We wanted to have a way of people owning the project. We need more forums like this. We should empower people. How do we put more people on the board to see the benefits of social audit?
• Why is it that in public projects 7-tons of sand from the community costs 10,000 but because it’s a CDF project it costs 25,000? The headmaster conspires with the contractor. He doesn’t want to go through the details. The headmaster bribes other members not to speak up. What should we do?
• Masiga response: the only way you can track is if you are a beneficiary. You must also have information so that you can compare.

• Question: you talk about the MP giving 5 people to the committee. But how can we give a mad person a panga? Why can’t the public decide?
• Masiga response: that is a very valid question but the CDF Act says that you have 15 people and it doesn’t say that you shouldn’t nominate your brother or wife. So this is a recommendation we can make to Hon. Karue.
• Question: in every constituency people are complaining that the MP’s relatives are in the committee
• Masiga response: first we have to change the law.
• Mumbi: now they put their drivers and security detail in the CDFCs because people complained about the family members.

• Gakuu Mathenge: [Point not captured]
• Masiga response: very good suggestion. We need to tie up all issues together.

• Kinyanjui Ndogoni: you have made very interesting observations. I don’t know if the MPs have any interest in reducing poverty. Why did Hons. Kenneth and Karue do what they did? Kenneth wanted to sort out issues because  he wanted to be left alone to live his private life in peace (and not be used as an ambulance service, for example.)
• It doesn’t matter what you do, people can be manipulated; they need knowledge so that they not manipulated. We want to clone Kenneth so that in every constituency there are good leaders. Then the social auditing will produce good outcomes.

• Sophie Ngugi: social audit is not an easy task. One of the challenges we face: we can get the knowledge but you can’t go like a celebrity to the grassroots and say know you know. You must participate in some way. People elect the people they see participating. There was competition between elite and the people. The people said “We will choose the one who is uneducated like us”. The community won’t listen to us.
• Masiga response: how much time do we spend back in our constituencies? How many of us come forward wanting to take up leadership opportunities? We think of ourselves. So we need first need to change our attitudes.

• Mumbi Ng’aru: in your social audit for all the constituencies for Central province, please add the fear factor. We have this fear of professionals and people who want to make a difference and people who want to bring about transformation. The owners of the province won’t let it happen (and each province has an owner). We must find a way to handle the fear factor or else we will never move. I am telling you: it is real. You go and question the CDF and you are targeted by goons hired by the MP. How do you address the fear factor in your social audit?
• Masiga response: we need to discuss how to manage those kinds of risks. 
• Liban: I want to support Mumbi. Politicians have paranoia of people who know their rights. In 2006 there was a massacre in Wajir. A whole village was attacked, people were raped and animals were taken. We sent an appeal to the Boranas and Oromos in the diaspora as a result of which US$10,000 was raised; it was to be channelled through our youth group. At the moment of sending the money, the MP called us and asked who was the MP: him or us? He insisted that the money be sent directly to Moyale. The MP wrote a letter to the financiers and discouraged them from sending money to the youth groups. He said that as an MP and minister he was the better party to be held accountable. In the final analysis, the money was used to buy guns which eventually worsened the situation.
• This situation of fighting professionals is everywhere. Intellectuals who are anti-intellectual.
• We have a Mungiki equivalent: Thuragora which means “pave the way”. These things are real.
• Masiga response: it is better to organise yourselves in a large number so that no one person can be targeted.
• Liban: also teach yourselves how to fight with these people, seriously. Learn karate. 

• This was the first meeting. We have just scratched the surface. People must get angry with the situation.
• There is a notion that central province is a land flowing with milk and honey
• This type of meeting can be replicated in other parts of the country.
• We don’t want people fighting to belong to the privileged class so that they can never be questioned.
• We need to understand decision making:
  • Political decisions: are there some of us who can intervene at this level?
  • Policy decisions: from the PSs, heads of directorates
  • Administrative decisions: how to run something
  • Implementation decisions: CDFC
• Most of us fight with people at the implementation level. This is not a bad thing because it’s an entry point. But that person is under orders from above. Some of us can intervene at a higher level e.g. Hon. Karue whose actions affect the first three levels.
• We need to ask where we can plug ourselves into these processes.
• What can be our place/niche in making a difference? How do we influence the various decisions?
• For some people the status quo is working for them. It won’t be easy.
• Let’s not fight the foot soldiers and engage the generals.
• What are you/we doing to do about these issues we have raised?

• Gowi Odera: an observation about the presentation: A lot of what I’ve seen Masiga do is very cerebral. How do we simplify this to the mwananchi? Often during your presentation I drifted.
• Another challenge: look at development not as a political thing. There are other areas in society that bring about development. We seem to have tunnel vision that politics is the only way. We need to look for other ways to bring about development.
• ARMS: any ideas on that?
• Gowi: what I’m hearing in central Kenya is that we have a deficiency of credible leadership at all levels. We need to invest in that kind of leadership. Someone said that he won’t be compromised and people like that need to be modelled.

• What practical things can we do?
•  I want to add to what pastor has said. Dissemination: I’ve been thinking that I need to go back home to Kieni. Is there a way that we can partner with the media? Even if we joined hands with Mumbi it will take a long time. But most people there listen to Inooro which is owned by S.K. Macharia who is from central. Can we partner with them?
• Also, what information are we disseminating? Let’s not forget about other issues that are going on in this country e.g. land. People in central don’t know what is in the national land policy. Let’s think outside the box.
• Another danger I’ve seen: let’s not think that the politicians don’t know about this meeting. They want to know who attended. The challenge we are facing now: all the leaders we are working with have all been absorbed into the CDFC. People are now co-opted. Our solution will be networking. Most of us work in organisations with money. From where I work, we can arrange radio programs but we don’t have people to come and present. So I will take all your contacts and have you come and speak.

• Thinking about Gowi’s points: The leadership deficiency is pretty obvious. We have thought about starting a leadership identification network (LIN): let people just start talking about what is a good leader. Maybe that’s something we can do.
• How do we engage? I go only infrequently to my home area. If you start going every weekend people start thinking that you are getting political.
• How about constituency development agencies (CDAs): For every constituency in central we could create open boxes and whoever in the network is from that constituency can participate. Moses Kuria mentioned two: Othaya Development Agency (ODA) and Githunguri Development Agency (GDA) arose because their respective MPs were not going to be available to oversee development (one is president and the other is ill). Kuria suggested that K4C should facilitate the emergence of development agencies and have a federation of these agencies.
• People are just looking for an identity. We could pick up on what Kenneth has been doing with his professionals. Let it not just be a Nairobi-based thing. A nice office in the rural areas costs KShs 3,000 per month. This can even create employment. Have a person on the ground who could be the one to collect and disseminate information back and forth.
• We can link up with NGOs who are already doing work in these areas. For example, regarding Githongo’s book, someone came saying they have very many and were asking us to help them disseminate it.

• We have agreed we have a problem and it must be us. I’m from Murang’a. One MP said: you will just be hearing about funerals. In 2007 when Mungiki was very hot, parents were being told pay KShs 5,000 or else their son goes to Kwekwe.
• My brother was arrested and stayed in the police station for three days. I went there and was told that this is a Mungiki suspect. From that time I engaged the OCS, the chief and sub-chief. I brought them to Nairobi and we brainstormed for 4 hours; we agreed that this is not the way to stop the problem. The DO, etc were Kalenjins. These administrative officials are not invested there. They had to hide in the police station because people were so bitter about the way they were doing things. We became very good friends with the admin officials.
• In the end I sponsored a football tournament to bring people together. The team captains are the ones who now report problems.
• The people don’t want criminals in their midst so they are willing to report them.
• I took Raila for a meeting and our MP didn’t show up. He was afraid to be identified with Raila.
• Another issue: why should Indian businessmen be the ones to supply uniforms and beds to our schools (which each have about 500 students)?  Hospital services come from people outside the region. Poverty that is there is because we don’t support our own. There is a lot of money [that can go into the community.]
• Let the people own the projects.
• We [professionals] can engage if we agree that we will be courageous.

• Political, policy and administrative decisions (the first three levels of decisions ARMS listed) are very sensitive in Central province. We should concentrate on community education. The forum we have now should have happened in Nyeri or Murang’a. People would have benefitted.

• Wamuyu: I like the idea of supporting people (leaders) who are already engaged. Maybe we can select a few constituencies (2-3) so that whatever support we have is focused on that constituency for that period.  We can look at mass media and other links. In this way, we can use our critical mass to support initiatives.
• We need to think through the threats before we get going. We need to understand the risks.
• Lang’ata CDF: of the amount allocated, only 30% was used. But there were photos of what has been done – concrete evidence of the projects.
• Mumbi: what are we going to do as “us” and what will we do as “individuals”? Central province has a lot of leadership. What we lack are forums that bring out the best in leadership. We are stakeholders whether we are elected or not. What we need to do is identify at what level of participation we will enter. Parliament is just a small unit. I’m a professional in my own right. Politics turns all the other wheels.
• We need to know: what is our strength? What is my strength? I’m a political technocrat, trainer, network developer. What is your strength? We don’t appreciate our strength because we have been taught by leaders in central to treat each other like small people – kuhuthia. You are leaders.
• Then let’s pick a small team of strategists from around Central province. You can’t work on strategy as a group of 30-40 people. The small strategy team can work behind the scenes to empower those who are in front. Let’s strengthen what Ngunjiri has but let them stay in the background. Make sure there is a backup structure. [Mumbi later reiterated this point: we must have backup for the leaders in front.]
• Also appreciate you are working in hostile ground. I happen to be in ODM alone and I know it.

• Liban: advice to Ngunjiri – read a book on how to stop worrying and start living. Another book: Never Eat Alone (by Keith Ferazzi). It has nothing to do with money. It’s about mobilizing communities and networking. One thing I got from the book: your network is your net worth.
• Let us keep increasing our network countrywide networks because we are like-minded. At the national level we want Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA), Africa Centre for Governance (AfricCOG), the Centre for Multiparty Democracy (CMD), etc to know how to protect us. When I get arrested in Moyale I want my network to know how to get me out. People demonstrate in Nairobi.
• Let us have on standby an ambulance driver who knows how to drive fast and [can help us evade hit squads sent against us]. Why don’t we have someone from the armed forces who has defensive driving skills?
• Let’s contribute money so that civil society can do a good job of defending you. Let us learn martial arts and work on fitness.

• What Mumbi was saying about fear in Central is true.
• In Rift Valley we have extensive communication networks using mobile phones. We have young people discussing ideas at their local centres. I can send an sms to 17 people and it’s forwarded across the constituency. So for the development agencies I recommend that you use sms. We have the Rift Valley Convention: we send messages to the 49 coordinators so that we are all discussing the same issue at the same time. Politicians don’t like that.
• As a group, Rift Valley Convention (RVC) is not registered and no one knows of any officials.
• We have discussed stereotypes in many forums. Kikuyus are now ready to discuss with us. Our politicians don’t like it that we are talking across ethnic groups [because it means that they can’t manipulate us into hating each other.]
• We have to use the media: in the RVC we have the media as members. If someone says that RVC is a PNU project we are able to get airtime to give our side of the story. They give us airtime so that we get a chance to speak for ourselves. I am known as Kimeli Kogo or as Dennis [i.e. more than one name]. You should not be easily identified.
• Defence mechanisms: if we don’t do anything the next election will be worse. It will be a class war, not ethnic. There is nothing called middle class – the middle class is only made up of the opinion leaders of the lower class.

• I can’t change what you think of me, but I can change what I think of you. In the areas where we have wronged people let us correct the situation, even if no one else changes.

• We don’t need to fear anything. There are issues to be tackled and someone has to do it. When all channels of us getting information have been closed we need to realise that we know people on the ground with a lot of information. We also have news reporters from FM stations there

• End of question time 

• This day has turned out much better than I thought.
• A comprehensive report will be circulated as soon as is ready.
• Regarding devolved funds, we have somehow come up with a structure for what we wish they would do:

1. We need a process of management and utilization of funds.
2. Establish a process of identifying and prioritizing the needs in a specific constituency.
3. Integrate the needs of the whole constituency into one place/document to enable planning.
4. Create a constituency strategy plan for the constituency with a specific time-period, and based on the prioritized needs of the constituency as per the first point above and the estimates of meeting those needs (budgeting).
5. Establish a central point/hub/coordinating point for expenditure of all monies to the constituency, to ensure efficiency, accountability and effectiveness.
6. Develop and institutionalise the systems/processes necessary for the efficient, effective and fluid implementation of the constituency plan, including transition gaps in parliamentary leadership
7. Establish all this into a self-sustaining, non-partisan, constituency-owned, replicable, re-usable model that can be used in each of the 210 constituencies.
8. Review, analyse and audit each step and each project. Make the information accessible.

• We have come up with eight areas for action:

1. There is a need to build a Central-wide initiative that we can use to keep pushing issues to the forefront.
2. It’s possible to establish identities in various constituencies that network elites with the leaders at the grassroots. For example, Othaya Development Agency (ODA) deals with development issues in their home area. These are not registered organisations, just initiatives.
3. Identify constituencies to work with: focus on one at a time, build capacity and then move to the next.
4. Build and increase the network e.g. with organisations such as KHRC. We can disseminate information.
5. Gradually build up leadership; figure out how to get the good leadership to emerge.
6. Build a support network as an individual and also as an organisation: what Liban was talking about.
7. Establish discussion mechanisms on local, regular constituency-wide issues: what we have learnt from Kogo. Rift Valley and Nyanza know how to do this; for us it takes 3 months for an issue to find a hearing around the province. In Nyanza they have a network of bunges – where people go in the evening (it’s called the Nyanza Bunge Initiative; there are 11 of them). You just create capacity for discussion in the places where people already meet. But we need to remove people from where they take alcohol into a place they can drink tea.
8. We need to keep building up critical mass, including people from strategic areas such as the media.

• Tabitha: a journey starts with one step; we will work together.
• Wanjira: it’s my first time in such a group and I’m encouraged and challenged.
• [Name needed]: We are going to get change
• Kogo: remain a good friend of K4C and we must determine to do the right thing
• Kamau: we have discovered money is there.
• Maina Azimio: I want to stress that we have a deficiency in leadership in Central; especially in elected leadership. Let’s try to have a network to educate our people. The most frustrating thing is how to educate people on what a good leader is. I’m trying to change the names of schools to real heroes. No one who fought for independence has a school named after them. I have been a member of Release Political Prisoners (RPP) since inception so I have much support. I once was in prison for 21 days [as a result of protest activity].
• Ngunjiri: yes, the current leadership is deficient.
• Njoroge: a request and requirement that we be a bit gender sensitive. Let us bring more women on board. [applause]
• Mumbi: thanks for the invitation; I haven’t interacted much with youth. Please do not reinvent the wheel, otherwise you will end up old without making a move. Build backup. Strategy is not done in a workshop. I know because I am the trainer for Kogo’s group. Strategy can only be done by a small group. I am not worried about the enemy or the devil that you know; what worries me is the 30-year old who thinks at 70 or 80.
• Vivianne: thanks for invitation. This has been very enlightening dialogue. We seem to think alike which means there is critical mass. Now we need commitment to continue and be strategic.
• [Name needed]: I am very happy about the session. We need more interactive sessions. I have gotten much information. Change will start with us.
• Wanyoike: from this discussion I have gotten the fear factor. I have also learnt that there is so much money yet so many loopholes. In Sudan there are boreholes known as donkeys; they always have water. They watch Citizen TV and like to see our news. They are seeing that we don’t have water and yet they always have water. When 911 happened Americans became very patriotic. We need to be the same.
• Gakuu: the most exciting thing about this group is that we realise that there are now others with us – so many like-minded people.  For Mumbi: I feel ashamed when you say the things you have said. I am very angry with myself. In 2007, a man who owns Dormans, bought coffee cheaply at auction and the following day sold at a much higher price. That issue ended up in parliament. This happened at a time when there were new coffee regulations. This guy has now been appointed a board member of the Coffee Board of Kenya. So many people are in a position to do something, saying “why didn’t you come to us earlier?” Just being young and knowing these things means we must do something.
• Gowi: this has been an eye-opener and has given me hope.
• ARMS: let’s keep on. The second phase will be more difficult but let’s die doing it.
• Masiga: I’m encouraged with what is happening. It is not a fearless journey. We must be able to keep up. I’ve worked in central for 9 years so I’m part and parcel of you.
• Liban: thanks. I am humbled and privileged to be here. I’ve now learnt more. Let’s keep expanding the network.
• Sophie: definitely the fear factor is there but “drink deep or taste not”.
• Wamuyu: I’m feeling very privileged to be here. I have received so much. These problems couldn’t have come to a better country. The level of human resources in Kenya is such that we are in a class of our own (compared to other African countries). I am particularly pleased by the people who are not from Central province who are here – for me it has been one of the highlights of this meeting. In forums like this we need to insist that politicians hear from us, not just for them to talk.
• Mahugu: we have heard enough. We now need to go to the grassroots.
• Kinyanjui: thanks. I belong to the lost generation that was lied to by the so-called leaders. We now need to fire-fight because of the problems trans-generationally. People need to focus on self-change. People who have talked have all had a crisis which triggered them to change
• Njeri: I have always believed that the middle class must get engaged.
• Suzanne: I feel so bad that I missed the seminar but it was unavoidable.

• Based the prayer on the national anthem.