baseline survey report fair draft

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KILIFI COUNTY BASELINESURVEY REPORTA Report of the Elewa Katiba Mashinani Project

Eco Ethics International Kenya

2/9/2012


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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Eco-Ethics Intl., Kenya as part of the implementation of the Elewa Katiba Mashinani project

implementation undertook a baseline survey study in Ganze, Bahari and Kaloleni constituencies of

Kilifi County. The goal of the study was to establish the capacity of Kilifi county members toparticipate in the implementation of CoK (2010) with regard to the devolved system of governance.

The specific objectives were to establish understanding and perspectives of term devolution by the

people of the study area; establish expectations from devolved system of governance; establish

knowledge of county legislation system and; to investigate the potential of CoK (2010) to mitigate

risk electoral violence. Structured interviews were carried out on 150 respondents in the three

constituencies. The respondents were randomly and to a smaller extent, purposively sampled.

Key findings of the study were that 40% of the members of Kilifi County are unfamiliar with theterm devolution, with majority of those coming from Ganze constituency followed by Kaloleni and

Bahari constituencies. Most of those who claimed familiarity with the term, said it entailed bringing

the power closer to the people and allowing equal distribution of resources. Respondents from

Bahari constituency which hosts the County capital town; Kilifi, were better informed about the

devolution concept as compared to the other two constituencies thereby indicating a gap in

knowledge influenced by levels of development.

As concerns expectations from the devolved government, farmers and small scale business persons

expect the county leadership to formulate and implement programs aimed at improving technology,

diversifying livelihoods and economic empowerment. Respondents from Ganze in particular

expressed concern that most of the natural resources in the area remain underutilized or somehow

their use does not benefit the local people. Respondents in this constituency also feel economically

marginalized citing the lack of a single tarmac road in the whole area.

The legislative system is also poorly understood. The main county level legislative body i.e. the

county assembly was known by the majority 70% of the respondents but few understand the details

in terms of its composition and roles.

The citizens of the county also thought ttribalism, hunger for political power and delayed

announcement of election results were given as the major reasons for the Post election violence

2007/2008. Tribalism accounted for 50% of the respondents views followed by fight for political

power at 32% and delayed announcement of election results at 10%. Other reasons included vote


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rigging, land issues, historical injustices and lack of adequate authority of the election body.

Therefore, as per the respondents, there was no major weakness in the old constitution that can be

blamed for electoral violence. There was unanimity of the residents that the new constitution will

help prevent electoral violence in future if well implemented even though it was not very clear how

for most of them.

Key recommendations of the study were that the project needs to take on a needs-based approach

with greater focus on grassroots rural communities. The civic education exercise should also be

more comprehensive with focus on the socio economic contexts of target communities. The

information to be passed should be with full regard to the capabilities of the target groups i.e. in a

language and structure that is tailored to the needs of the communities. Lastly but most important,

the civic education process should explicitly state opportunities for local communities to benefit in

the devolution governance process, their roles e.g. in voting while addressing the potential risks to

peace in the target areas. This is considering the risk of marginalization of local minority ethnic

communities in the distribution and access of resources and services. The study also recommends

efforts to strengthen partnerships with government entities and non-state actors both in the

implementation of the project and for long-term education and pursuit of the objectives of the Elewa

Katiba Mashinaniproject beyond its lifetime.


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Contents1.0 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................... 5

1.1 Background ..................................................................................................................................... 5

1.2 Objectives of the Study ................................................................................................................... 6

CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................................................. 8

2.0 METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................................................. 8

2.1 Study design .................................................................................................................................... 8

2.2 Sampling Design .............................................................................................................................. 8

2.3 Data Collection Instruments and Procedure ................................................................................... 8

2.4 Data analysis ................................................................................................................................... 9

CHAPTER THREE .......................................................................................................................................... 10

3.0 PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION............................................................................... 10

3.1 Response rate ............................................................................................................................... 10

3.2 Understanding/Perspectives on Devolution as Per CoK, 2010 ..................................................... 11

3.3 Expectations .................................................................................................................................. 13

3.4 County Legislation System ............................................................................................................ 14

3.5 Electoral Violence.......................................................................................................................... 14

3.6 Discussion ...................................................................................................................................... 15

4.0 THE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................... 17

4.1 Summary of Findings ..................................................................................................................... 17

4.2 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 18

4.3 Recommendations ........................................................................................................................ 18

References .................................................................................................................................................. 21

Appendix 1.0: Interview Schedule .............................................................................................................. 22


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CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

This section gives the background of the baseline survey and the objectives of the study

1.1 BackgroundKilifi County is located northeast of Mombasa. The County has five constituencies: Bahari,

Kaloleni, Ganze, Malindi and Magarini covering a total area of 12,639KM 2. Kilifi has a total

population of 1,109,735 with an average growth rate of 3.05 against a national average of 2.6. 71.4%

of the people in the county are poor based on the Kenya Integrated Household Budget Survey

(KIHBS) report of 2006. This poverty is not, as expected, uniformly spread across the county.

Ganze Constituency is for instance the poorest in Kenya while the other constituencies such as

Malindi are much better. Additionally, in the areas nearest to the ocean, poor people are often

surrounded by wealthy tourists and golfers. Notably, there are more females than males with the

former being 52%.

Kilifi County has low education levels with just 7.1% of the population having attained secondary

education or higher. It ranks a dismal 43 rd position out of the 47 counties (Kenya Revenue

Authority, 2011) in terms of education performance. Education promotes social equality and has a

strong link to reduction of poverty; it produces a more informed citizenry, it empowers individuals

and enables them to become more proactive, gain control over their lives and broaden the range ofavailable options (UNESCO: 1997). Therefore with such low levels of education, poverty is

inevitable besides deepening inequality.

Nationally, Kenya is undergoing critical reforms following the promulgation of the new constitution

in August 2010. An important feature of this constitution is the devolved system of governance.

Devolution can be defined as the practice or form of decentralisation through which the authority to

make and implement decisions in selected areas of public policy is conferred to elected sub-national

levels of government by law (Juma, 2008). Bosire (2010) indicates that the defining feature of

devolution is the transfer of political powers and autonomy to sub-national units which are in turn

politically accountable to the local communities as opposed to the centre.


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As such, for effective implementation of the devolution concept; it is important for the people to

understand the basic aspects of devolved governance systems. Proper civic education should be

carried out to improve the capacity of the people to take advantage of the socioeconomic

opportunities that devolution presents as well participate maximally in governance. It was against

this background that Eco Ethics Int. Kenya, an environmental and community development NGO

based in the coastal region of Kenya, partnered with UNDPs Amkeni wakenya facility to implement

a project dubbed Elewa Katiba Mashinani, which translates to understand the constitution at the

grassroots levels.

This 18 months project seeks to reach out to and empower focal leaders, councillors, district

officers, chiefs, sub-chiefs, village elders, religious leaders, youth leaders, and women leaders in

Kaloleni, Ganze, Bahari, and Magarini constituencies in Kilifi County with knowledge and

information on devolved governance with a desire of enhancing citizen participation in the setting

up of people centred, accountable and responsive devolved governments in the County. Its

implementation is guided by three broad expectations/outcomes i.e. increased citizens awareness on

the new devolved structures and avenues of representation in Kilifi county, enhanced citizens

engagement in the development and implementation of the policy and legislative frameworks setting

up new devolved structures in Kilifi county, and promoted accountability and transparency in the

management of devolved government structures in Kilifi county.

As a key part of the project implementation, a baseline survey was done to determine baseline

conditions. The results of the baseline survey will give indicators which will inform the monitoring

and evaluation process of the project. This report gives an insight into the objectives, methodology

and key findings of the survey.

1.2 Objectives of the Study

The main goal of the study was to establish the capacity of Kilifi county members to participate in

the implementation of CoK (2010) with regard to the devolved system of governance. The capacity

was gauged against the level of understanding and perspectives on the devolution concept. This wasto inform the implementation, monitoring and evaluation of the Elewa Katiba Mashinaniproject. To

achieve this goal, the following specific objectives were to be achieved:

Establish understanding and perspectives of term devolution by the people of the studyarea


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Establish expectations from devolved system of governance Establish knowledge of county legislation system Potential of CoK (2010) to mitigate risk electoral violence

The study was conducted in three constituencies in Kilifi County: Bahari, Kaloleni and Ganze. This

was narrowed to the following wards: Dungicha, Jaribuni, Sokoke and Vitengeni in Ganze

constituency; Kaloleni, Mariakani, Mazeras, Kawala, Kadzonzo, Mwembeni, Mkapuni and Vishakani

in Kaloleni constituency; and Tezo, Hospital/ Sokoni,, Kibarani, Matsangoni, Junju, Mwarakaya,

Mnarani, Shimo la Tewa, Chasimba and Mtepeni in Bahari constituency. The study took a period of

three months.


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CHAPTER TWO

2.0 METHODOLOGY

This section describes the research methodology used to address the objectives of this study. It gives

detail on the research design, sampling design, instruments used in data collection and data analysis.

2.1 Study design

This study adopted a two stage design that entails an exploratory study and a formal study (Cooper

and Schindler, 2008:150) to survey the study areas residents understanding of the devolution

concept. The exploratory study was qualitative research which formed part of the first phase of the

research to determine the concepts to be incorporated in the study theory and to support the

background of the study. This was intensive exploratory study of existing literature available onKilifi County. The objective of this study was to clarify key definitions, identify variables linked to

the understanding (or lack of understanding) of the concept and the perspectives that surround the

same. The study also identified previous relevant work done on the study topic and refined the

research design blue print that guided this study. The second phase involved a formal study survey

as recommended by Cooper and Schindler (2008:142).

2.2 Sampling Design

The study population was the residents of the three constituencies. Of these the study sampled 150as follows: 70 from Kaloleni, 40 from Bahari and 40 from Ganze constituencies. This was based on

the population differences in the different constituencies, the amount of resources available and the

time frame of the survey. The 150 were sampled randomly from each constituency save for the very

few that were selected purposively given their positions, possession of special knowledge or any

other factor the investigator thought would specially serve the objectives of the study. Random

sampling was necessary to produce representative results.

2.3 Data Collection Instruments and ProcedureThe main data collection instrument was an interview schedule (guide). The instrument was selected

based on the low levels of education and foreseen difficulties associated with illiteracy. Interviews

are also more flexible and provide an opportunity to observe non verbal data. The interview

schedule was made to cover all the research questions broken down into easy-to-understand bits and

personal data including personal data such as level of education and age. This personal data was


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deemed relevant to the research variables e.g. the level of education and occupation are important in

understanding ones possibility of access to information such as national constitution provisions.

The instrument was then tested in a pilot study of ten respondents during a preliminary visit to the

study area. The instrument was then revised following the findings in the preliminary study to

reduce or eliminate ambiguity or otherwise better serve the objectives of the study. Data was

collected by interviews done during the field visits between 17th and 25th January.

2.4 Data analysis

Data analysis involved breakdown of collected data into constituent parts in order to obtain answers

to research questions (Blanche and Durheim, 2002:105). Data was analyzed following the steps of

Cooper and Schindler (2008:476). Descriptive methods such as mean, median, mode and variance

were used to interpret the data.


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CHAPTER THREE

3.0 PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION

This chapter will present the findings, a discussion of the findings, conclusion and recommendations

of the study team based on the findings of the study.

3.1 Response rate

There were 150respondents in this study. Their gender representation is as shown below.

Respondents Gender Percentage

53 Female 35

97 Male 65

Table 3.1 Respondents by gender

Majority of the respondents were male (65%) as shown in table 2.1. This can be attributed to

prospective female respondents often turning down the data collectors requests to be interviewed.

Of the respondents, 88% claimed to be in secondary schools or at least having attained secondary

education. Table 2.2 shows the respondents by level of education.

Respondents Level of education Percentage

132 Secondary and above 88

18 Primary and lower 12

Table 3.2 Level of education of the respondents

Therefore, majority of the interviewees were literate and had at least partially attained secondary

education. This can be attributed to the willingness of better schooled persons to participate in the

study as opposed to their counterparts who have hardly passed through primary school.


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3.2 Understanding/Perspectives on Devolution as Per CoK, 2010

Of the residents interviewed, 40% said that they were not familiar with the term devolution, with

majority of them coming from Ganze constituency followed by Kaloleni and Bahari constituencies.

Pie chart 3.1 Respondents Familiarity with Constitution

Most of those who said they understood the term, said it entailed bringing the power closer to the

people and allowing equal distribution of resources. Respondents from Bahari constituency which

hosts the County capital town; Kilifi, were better informed about the devolution concept as

compared to the other two constituencies thereby indicating a gap in knowledge influenced by levels

of development. Most of those unfamiliar with devolution concept came from Ganze constituency

where poverty prevalence is highest compared to the two constituencies. The table below shows the

poverty levels and the number of persons whove either never heard of the new national

constitution or have no idea what it is about in respective constituencies.

Constituency Poverty level1 (%) % of people unfamiliar with CoK

Ganze 84 35

Kaloleni 74 29

1Ministry of planning and national development (2005) Geographic Dimensions of Well-Being in

Kenya Vol. IIWho and Where are the Poor? A Constituency Level profile

40%

60%

Familiarity with CoK, 2010

Never heard Farmiliar


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Bahari 65 15

Table 3.3 poverty and familiarity with constitution

There is a consistent correlation between the levels of poverty and the chances of an individual ever

getting access to the provisions of the constitution as shown below.

Graph 3.1 Poverty and Familiarity with Constitution

Ganze and Kaloleni constituencies which also have larger rural population and the highest poverty

rates of the three had the highest percentage of persons that were unfamiliar with the new national

constitution. These were double those of Bahari constituency. The major reasons for never hearing

of the important document were unavailability of a readable copy or inability to read. Some were just

not interested.

For those familiar with the provisions of the new constitution, majority deemed empowerment of

the local people as the most important difference between the old and the new constitution. This

was particularly in respect to public participation in governance and over local resources. This view

was particularly dominant in the rural populations in Ganze and Kaloleni constituencies who blamed

their poor economy on poor planning and unresponsive allocation/use of local resources.

Individuals living in urban areas were more concerned about individualistic issues such as job

creation and business opportunities. The other major view shared across the study area is the

possibility of reducing the rich-poor gap and inequalities in the different regions of Kenya. This was

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Ganze Kaloleni Bahari

Poverty level[1] (%)

% of people whove never

heard of CoK 2010


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with the regard to the emphasis on transparency, non discrimination and local development

associated with sections on devolution (CAP 11) and principles of governance.

As expected there was no clear response on what the devolution concept was. 37% of the

respondents gave I dont know as the answer. Majority of those who replied otherwise gave someacceptable aspects of what devolution was. A section felt it was Majimbo with a new name. Others

were a lot more descriptive giving phrases like empowering the electorate or equal distribution

and utilization of resources. Sharing of power was also fairly common. As of this, there was not

any one respondent who gave a precise description of the devolution concept.

3.3 Expectations

Majority of the respondents in the three constituencies expect the new constitution to satisfy their

interests adequately at the local ward level. Specific expectations varied with every respondents

personal circumstances but revolved around poverty eradication. For instance teachers and students

expect the new constitution to better education standards in the area through infrastructural

development and adequate allocation of technical resources.

Farmers and small scale business persons expect the county leadership to formulate and implement

programs aimed at improving technology, diversifying livelihoods and economic empowerment.

Respondents from Ganze in particular expressed concern that most of the natural resources in the

area remain underutilized or somehow their use does not benefit the local people. Respondents in

this constituency also feel economically marginalized citing the lack of a single tarmac road in the

whole area.

The costs of doing business and earnings were also a key expectation among both rural and urban

residents across the study area. The respondents expect new investors and job opportunities for the

locals. Of note was the expected increased exploitation of mineral resources for the benefit of the

locals. The residents pointed out the existence of mineral resources such as titanium, salt, limestone,

sand and gemstone among others as basis for future development. This is subject to leadership that

is local driven and people centred.

On the downside, majority of the respondents thought the devolved system of government will

favour local ethnic communities in employment opportunities and allocation of resources. Many

claimed that the cases of immigrant ethnic communities holding menial jobs that can be performed


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by the local indigenous ethnic communities such as the Mijikenda were set to reduce if not varnish

completely.

3.4 County Legislation System

There was generally very rough understanding of understanding of the county legislation system for

most of the respondents. The main legislative body i.e. the county assembly was known by the

majority 70% of the respondents but few understand the details in terms of its composition and

roles.

Pie chart 3.2 County Legislation System Understanding in Kilifi

The executive arm of the county government i.e. the governor and their group are a big source of

confusion with almost all the respondents having no idea what the difference between the senator

and the governor would be. Attention was always centered on who of the two positions would be

more powerful than the other. The county assembly hardly elicits any much interest from the

respondents.

3.5 Electoral ViolenceKenya suffered post election violence in 2007/2008 that claimed over 1200 persons. However, Kilifi

County was not so much affected as compared to other counties in Nairobi, Rift Valley and Western

regions. However, the probability of the county experiencing electoral violence of similar magnitude

remains above zero. This study sought to understand the potential of the constitution to in the least

reduce the risk of elections-related violence.

70%

30%

County Assemblies

Understand Don't understand


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Asked what the cases for the violence were in 2007/2008 the respondents thought t tribalism, fight

for political power and delayed announcement of election results were given as the major reasons.

Tribalism accounted for 50% of the respondents views followed by fight for political power at 32%

and delayed announcement of election results at 10%. Other reasons included vote rigging, land

issues, historical injustices and lack of adequate authority of the election body. Therefore, as per the

respondents, there was no major weakness in the old constitution that can be blamed for electoral

violence.

Only a few pointed (5) out that the new constitution comes out strongly against discrimination and

better principles of governance which are good contributors to strong national identity and unity

and the risk of ethnic based violence is likely to be greatly reduced. There was unanimity of the

residents that the new constitution will help prevent electoral violence in future if well implemented

even though it was not very clear how for most of them.

3.6 Discussion

Kilifi County is one of the poorest counties in the country with low education levels. Access to

information is low and further limited by language and infrastructural barriers. The vast Mijikenda

community that hosts other immigrant groups prefers Swahili as the language of use with just a

handful being comfortable with English. These circumstances have hindered access to civic

education and promoted misinformation especially by political actors.

It is no surprise therefore that just a few of the members of Kilifi County understand the provisions

of the constitution of Kenya 2010. From this study, we can infer that a considerable number of

them have hardly heard of the new constitution more than one year since it was passed. Majority

(85%) of those who claim to be familiar with the new constitution have never read the real

document and depend on the understanding of their peers and politicians. this can be a source of

misinformation and half truths. such populations also remain vulnerable to inciters and other selfish

actors.

The concept of devolution is also poorly understood by the world since it takes variant forms in

different contexts and therefore lacks a standard definition. This can be a problem for the people of

Kilifi County since the different aspects of it Kenya are well spelt out in the constitution. A

significant number interpret devolution by one or other aspect in a positive way such as convenient

access to government services and better management of local natural resources for the benefit of

local communities. However, quite a significant number imply that it will mean marginalization of


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other ethnic immigrant communities. Open discrimination of minority ethnic communities is likely

to be transferred from the national to the county level. This will erode all other expected benefits of

the new constitution in terms of national peace and unity as well as local economic and social

development. This also raises the risk of electoral violence in the county and the voting patterns may

even be more affected by tribal to clan factors. Politicians may also take to pleasing the dominant

ethnic community at the expense of others.

Devolution may also not benefit the local communities as much if they dont have understanding of

the structures at the local level. The study reveals poor understanding of the county legislation

system and its significance. The county assembly is in charge of making laws that are specific to a

county as a response to local needs. This calls for strong public input in such processes. Poor civic

education would mean a disconnect between county laws and expectations of the locals if there s no

effective public participation. The election offices and their roles are also poorly understood.Needless to say, the capacity of the grassroots communities in the county so much depends on their

understanding of the offices to which they elect leaders to and the expected credentials of the

suitable person.

On the other hand, it is also important to note the hope and confidence with which the people of

Kilifi County have received the new constitution. Even though they are short on details especially

where individual roles are concerned, Kilifi county members have lots of positive expectation from

the envisaged changes. This presents an opportunity to make the intended benefits of the document

come true through sustained civic education.


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CHAPTER FOUR

4.0 THE SUMMARY OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

4.1 Summary of Findings40% of the members of Kilifi are unfamiliar with the term devolution, with majority of those

coming from Ganze constituency followed by Kaloleni and Bahari constituencies. Most of those

who claimed familiarity with the term, said it entailed bringing the power closer to the people and

allowing equal distribution of resources. Respondents from Bahari constituency which hosts the

County capital town; Kilifi, were better informed about the devolution concept as compared to the

other two constituencies thereby indicating a gap in knowledge influenced by levels of development.

As concerns expectations from the devolved government, farmers and small scale business persons

expect the county leadership to formulate and implement programs aimed at improving technology,

diversifying livelihoods and economic empowerment. Respondents from Ganze in particular

expressed concern that most of the natural resources in the area remain underutilized or somehow

their use does not benefit the local people. Respondents in this constituency also feel economically

marginalized citing the lack of a single tarmac road in the whole area.

The legislative system is also poorly understood. The main county level legislative body i.e. thecounty assembly was known by the majority 70% of the respondents but few understand the details

in terms of its composition and roles.

The citizens of the county also thought ttribalism, hunger for political power and delayed

announcement of election results were given as the major reasons for the Post election violence

2007/2008. Tribalism accounted for 50% of the respondents views followed by fight for political

power at 32% and delayed announcement of election results at 10%. Other reasons included vote

rigging, land issues, historical injustices and lack of adequate authority of the election body.

Therefore, as per the respondents, there was no major weakness in the old constitution that can be

blamed for electoral violence. There was unanimity of the residents that the new constitution will

help prevent electoral violence in future if well implemented even though it was not very clear how

for most of them.


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4.2 ConclusionThe study found that the capacity of Kilifi county members to participate in the implementation of

CoK (2010) with regard to the devolved system of governance is very low. This is due to the

demonstrable lack of understanding of the different aspects of the devolution concept as provided

for the constitution of Kenya 2010. However, even for the limited understanding of the document,

the study population reveals great confidence that the CoK (2010) will adequately meet their local

needs only if fully implemented. The Elewa Katiba Mashinaniproject is therefore a timely initiative

especially with the national general elections fast approaching and the county governments about to

be set up.

Besides poor understanding of the devolution concept and structures, the significance of the

expected county legislation system and process cannot be overemphasized. The study found the

citizen knowledge on this very wanting with many being not sure who shall be the member of the

county assembly and what role they would play.

the study also found that the citizens of Kilifi county think the constitution has great potential to

reduce or eliminate completely the risk of elections related violence such as the one experienced in

Kenya in the 2007/2008 elections.

The study therefore adequately answered the research questions.

The residents also expressed support of civic education campaigns guided by the urge to fully

participate towards developing their county. With clear understanding of devolution concept being a

critical pre-requisite to translate devolution from theory to practice, there is a need for civic

education campaigns to focus on not only the devolution concept but how the residents can fully

and actively participate towards the development of their regions.

4.3 Recommendations

Based on the findings of this survey, the following measures are recommended to be incorporated

within theElewa Katiba Mashinaniproject and other initiatives by other development actors in Kilifi

County:


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1. The project needs to take on a needs-based approach with greater focus on grassroots ruralcommunities. Rural poverty in Kilifi County is great and as the study has found, poverty

among other effects, implies low access to information. Most rural communities in Ganze

and Kaloleni are unreached by most actors including government agencies and non-state

actors. The project should prioritize these areas if the constitution and more specifically the

devolution concept is to be implemented fully and in a participatory manner.

2. There are also a few focus areas that are most critical to understand in theoperationalization of the devolution concept. Key of these is as concerns the democratic

rights in voting. With a population so lowly informed voter education is of utmost

importance. Unlike in previous years where this has been restricted to teaching the citizens

on how to mark the ballot, there instead the need for a more holistic approach. This can

include education the people on the different roles of the electable offices in question. Forinstance the roles of the ward representatives and the structure of the county assembly

should be explained in details during the civic education campaign. Others include the

governor and the senator. this will ensure the voters are in better control and have capacity

to make informed decisions

3. There is also need to check expectations of the citizens in the implementation of thedevolved system of governance. the objects of devolution and the principles of devolved

government as provided in article174 and 175 respectively should be given due emphasis in

education. This is to guard the county government from emerging perspectives that are

injurious to national unity and security. It should be clear that devolution was never meant

to fragment the country into ethnic blocks and that the part on devolution should be read

alongside other parts of the constitution that guard against any forms of discrimination.

Moreover, the civic education exercise should point out the opportunities available for the

local communities and how they can be exploited. It should be clear that there is not any

opportunity that does not require effort on the part of the expected benefactor. Besides

competence of county government staff and leadership in performance remains key tosuccess in economic empowerment and poverty eradication among the local communities.

It should not be replaced with other irrelevant considerations such as tribe, colour or

affiliation.

4. The committee of experts who spearheaded the drafting of the present nationalconstitution made very commendable efforts in educating the public throughout the


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constitution making process. However, as evidenced in this study, these attempts were

never adequate. Most of those who have hardly had information on the constitution blamed

it on the technical legal language. There is still a lot to be done to get these citizens to gain

access to information that best suits their needs. This cannot be wholly achieved under the

Elewa Katiba Mashinani project. More partners need to come on board to contribute to

building factual, simple and easy use (probably in Swahili) information materials and

disseminating them at the grassroots level. Media partners should also be engaged since

they have potential to reach a larger audience cheaply.


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References1. D Juma Devolution of power as constitutionalism: the constitutional debate and beyond in 2. The Kenyan section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ- Kenya) (2008)Ethnicity,

Human Rights and Constitutionalism in Africa37.

3. UNESCO (1997) International Standard Classification of Education4. Government Printers (2010) Constitution of Kenya5. D o n a l d R . C o o p e r a n d P a m e l a S . S c h i n d l e r ( 2008). B u s i n e s s R e s e a r c h

m e t h o d s , Tata Mc Graw Hill.


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Appendix 1.0: Interview Schedule

ECO-ETHICS, KENYA

ELEWA KATIBA MASHINANI PROJECT (KILIFI COUNTY)

Baseline survey on peoples understanding of devolution

The following interview is aimed at providing information on the understanding on the concept of

devolution contained in the constitution of Kenya 2010. The information shall be used to facilitate

civic education for Kilifi County and is not intended for any income generating activity.

Respondents Personal Information:

NameGenderAge

Constituency..................Ward

Level of educationContact.....

Occupation..Other (specify)...

Questions:1. Have you read or otherwise familiarized yourself with the new national constitution (2010)?

Yes NoIf no, give the reasons for this .......

If yes:i.Do you think the new constitution adequately caters for the needs of the people in yourward?

Yes Noii.What do you think is the major difference between the old and the new constitution?

2. What does devolution mean to you? . Is it a good thing to the people of your area (ward)?

Yes Noi.How will devolution benefit people at your area? ..

ii.What do you think is the main objective of devolution?

iii. What is the structure of the devolved government? .


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Do you know of the county assembly in the new constitution?

Yes Noi.What is the role of the county assembly? ...

ii.What do you think is your specific role in the new government structure?

iii.What do you expect from the county assembly?

iv.Who shall compose the county government? .

3. What in your view was the constitutional reason the post election violence in 2007/2008?

i.In your view, how do you think the new constitution and devolution in particular canhelp avoid events like the PEV? .

Any Additional Information:

baseline survey report fair draft

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