nach oben

2021 | Buch

Kapitel lesen Erstes Kapitel lesen

Governing Kenya

Public Policy in Theory and Practice

herausgegeben von: Dr. Gedion Onyango, Prof. Goran Hyden

Verlag: Springer International Publishing

Enthalten in: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

Einloggen, um Zugang zu erhalten

Über dieses Buch

This book is authored by some of the renowned scholars in Africa who take on the task to understand how Kenya is governed in this century from a public policy perspective. The book’s public policy approach addresses three general and pertinent questions: (1) how are policies made in a political context where change is called for, but institutional legacies tend to stand in the way? (2) how are power and authority shared among institutional actors in government and society? and, (3) how effective is policymaking at a time when policy problems are becoming increasingly complex and involving multiple stakeholders in Africa? This book provides an updated and relevant foundation for teaching policy, politics and administration in Kenya. It is also a useful guide for politicians, the civil society, and businesses with an interest in how Kenya is governed. Furthermore, it addresses issues of comparability: how does the Kenyan case fit into a wider African context of policymaking?

‘This volume is a major contribution to comparative policy analysis by focusing on the policy processes in Kenya, a country undergoing modernization of its economic and political institutions. Written by experts with a keen eye for the commonalities and differences the country shares with other nations, it covers a range of topics like the role of experts and politicians in policymaking, the nature of public accountability, the impact of social media on policy actors, and the challenges of teaching policy studies in the country. As a first comprehensive study of an African nation, Governing Kenya will remain a key text for years to come’.

—Michael Howlett, Burnaby Mountain Chair of Political Science, Simon Fraser University, Canada

‘A superb example of development scholarship which sets aside ‘best practice’ nostrums and focuses on governance challenges specific to time and place while holding on to a comparative perspective. Useful to scholars and practitioners not only in Kenya but across developing areas. I strongly recommend it!’

—Brian Levy teaches at the School of Advanced International Studies, Johns Hopkins University, USA, and the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

‘This book is an exploration of important deliberations - of interest for those of us interested in deepening the understanding of public policy theories and their application within a specific African setting’.

—Wilson Muna, Lecturer of Public Policy, Kenyatta University, Nairobi, Kenya

‘This collection of think pieces on public policy in Kenya gives the reader theoretical and practical hooks critical to the analysis of the implementation of the sovereign policy document in Kenya, the 2010 Constitution’.

—Willy Mutunga, Chief Justice & President of the Supreme Court, Republic of Kenya, 2011-2016

‘Governing Kenya provides a comprehensive analysis of public policymaking in Kenya. The book integrates public policy theory with extensive empirical examples to provide a valuable portrait of the political and economic influences on policy choices in this important African country. The editors have brought together a group of significant scholars to produce an invaluable contribution to the literature on public policy in Africa’.

—B. Guy Peters, Maurice Folk Professor of American Government, University of Pittsburgh, USA

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Abstract

This chapter emphasizes the important role that governance plays in society and how it shapes the way public policy is made. It recognizes that governance is about both institutions and power, policy and politics. It also identifies two distinct approaches to governance, one that is normative, another that is functional. While the former has been dominant in the literature in the past three decades, there is a growing interest in the functional approach, not the least in Africa where issues of development tend to overshadow those of democracy. The public policy dimension of governance remains under-researched in Africa and many issues deserve wider and deeper attention, notably (1) how policies are made in a political context where change is called for, but institutional legacies tend to stand in the way, (2) how power and authority are distributed and shared among institutional actors in government and society, and (3) how effective policymaking is at a time when policy problems are getting increasingly complex (or wicked) and involving multiple stakeholders. The various chapters in this volume address these issues by focusing on the different facets of the policy process, how it might be improved, and how the material can be best packaged for teaching purposes.

Gedion Onyango, Goran Hyden

Chapter 2. Africa’s Governance Imperatives: How Kenya Has Responded

Abstract

Public policy theory is not settled. It is driven by practice, the result being that there are many theoretical interpretations available from the experience of already developed countries. The challenge for the study of public policy in Africa is to find the most suitable ways of interpreting policymaking in countries that are structured so differently from those developed countries. This chapter focuses on the fundamental governance imperatives in Africa and how Kenya has responded to these challenges. It highlights the prevalence of a “natural society”, one that is grounded in consumption and the rights that follow in terms of sharing, and the presence of a “state-nation”, one where those in power can lay claim to being the rights-holders. As a country already moving on to middle-income status and the governance obligations that follow, Kenya faces these challenges in more direct ways than most other African countries. Taking the 2010 Constitution as a starting point, the chapter discusses how Kenya has responded and how far it has come as judged by the Building Bridges Initiative Report and the politics of implementing the new constitution.

Goran Hyden

Chapter 3. The Global Nature of Policy Problems

Abstract

Many important public policy issues are trans-boundary in nature and involve global dimensions, constraints, and actors. Given Kenya’s historical experience with globalization and power imbalances in the international system, unpacking the dynamics of potential dependencies, forms of foreign interference, and global cooperation within Kenyan public policymaking is critical. This chapter provides an overview of some of these global dimensions and dynamics of public policymaking in Kenya. Drawing on two case studies in different policy areas (Climate Change and Countering Violent Extremism), it explores how global dynamics play out in practice within the context of local institutions and politics. These case studies show how diverse actors and institutions engage, often contentiously, in crafting policy to address important problems. Despite global power asymmetries, the chapter shows that Kenyan actors can creatively craft autonomous policies to address key problems in society. Even when good policies are successfully crafted and anchored in law, however, implementation remains a challenge, especially in the light of powerful actors that can block change when it threatens their interests.

Jacqueline M. Klopp, Abdullahi Boru Halakhe

Chapter 4. The Powers of Agenda-Setting: The Role of Politicians and Experts

Abstract

This chapter discusses the role of problem identification and definition in policymaking, illustrating how it has shifted in theory and practice since Kenya became independent in the early 1960s. It begins with an overview of how the issue has been covered in the literature focusing on how problem identification has evolved in response to changes in the policy environment, the relationship between technical experts and politicians, and finally how problem identification gives the power to influence the policy agenda and its implementation. The chapter then provides a portrait of the Kenyan policymaking context and how problem identification and definition takes place. A case study of the housing sector is the empirical base for a more detailed discussion of how the exercise today is much more pluralist than it was in the first few decades after independence. Despite the progress that has been made, there is still a mismatch between politicians and technical experts and as a result a mismatch also between supply and demand with the poor and disadvantaged being the losers.

Winnie V. Mitullah

Chapter 5. Legislative Policymaking in Kenya

Abstract

This chapter analyses the development of legislatures in Kenya with a focus on their four core functions: law-making, oversight, representation, and constituent services. It highlights some of the unique aspects of legislatures in Africa and places the Kenyan development in comparative perspective, arguing like Barkan (2009) that Kenya has progressed more than other African countries. These achievements notwithstanding more still need to be done to strengthen the role of the legislative bodies at both national and county levels, especially in their relations with the executive and its bureaucracy. The 2010 Constitution of Kenya has raised the bar of what to expect of political actors in the country. Notably, legislators must strike a better balance in performing their functions making sure that the constituency service does not overshadow the more challenging collective action needed in the legislature to make laws, exercise oversight, and represent people. At the sub-national level, there is a question of how to reconcile the role that Constituency Development Funds play in allocating national resources when there is now already a functional devolution of local development funds to the county level.

Gedion Onyango

Chapter 6. Political Parties and Public Policymaking

Abstract

This chapter explores the link between political parties and public policy processes in Kenya. It demonstrates how the political economy in developed regions has generated political parties linked to specific economic interests and public policy positions. Under the quite different circumstances in Africa, notably social formations based on ethnic affiliation, political parties take on different characteristics. The chapter discusses the challenges they face in influencing public policy processes, examined more closely in the Kenyan context with respect to public participation, gender equality, and national security. Their influence has been limited stemming mainly from ethnic-based composition, internal indiscipline, poor leadership, and polarized partisanship on critical national issues. The chapter goes on to highlight the role of the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP), which is responsible for managing and regulating the party system as envisioned in the Political Parties Act of 2011. In the light of the perpetual underperformance of political parties in Kenyan policymaking and the equally unsatisfactory performance of the ORPP in enforcing its regulatory policies, the chapter ends with a discussion on what might be done to improve the situation.

Solomon Owuoche

Chapter 7. The Politics of Implementation at County Level: Realizing Devolution in Kenya

Abstract

This chapter examines the challenges that have arisen in the implementation of devolution in Kenya, a major shift in how Kenya is supposed to be governed that was adopted with the approval of the 2010 Constitution. Not surprisingly, like the case has been in other countries attempting devolution in Africa, for example, South Africa and Uganda, there have been problems in realizing the full promise of devolution. Politicians have not been ready to give up old ways of doing things which means that tensions and conflicts have marked the first decade of implementation. These conflicts are evident in various institutional relations, notably between the National Assembly and the Senate as well as between executive branches at both national and county levels. Besides, there are tensions within county governments between governors and member of the county assemblies. These contested relations play out in different sectors where they hinder effective implementation of public policy, the health sector being discussed here to show their detrimental effects. The chapter accepts that carrying out constitutional reforms as extensive as those contained in the 2010 Constitution takes time and ends with a discussion of how the promise of devolution might be more effectively realized.

Peter Wanyande

Chapter 8. Policy Implementation as Principal-Agent Problem: The Case of Kenya Wildlife Service

Abstract

Policies are the main tools governments use to improve the well-being of their citizens. Most governments develop policies that are good on paper but fall short on implementation. Thus, understanding implementation is key to assessing policy. This takes on special significance in the contemporary Kenyan context where the 2010 Constitution has been adopted to make government policy efforts both more effective and more participatory. The issue of why policies do not get implemented as intended is captured in the principal-agent model which highlights many reasons for implementation shortfalls. The chapter adopts this model to examine the implementation of the 2012 Wildlife Policy in Kenya demonstrating the challenges that the Kenya Wildlife Service faces as both principal and agent. Following an overview of theoretical insights into how policies are made and implemented, the chapter outlines the principal-agent framework of analysis. The bulk of it is devoted to the implementation of Kenya’s biodiversity policies, a sector of great importance to the country’s future development, demonstrating why its performance is sub-optimal. It ends with a summary of the main points that a “busy practitioner” may wish to take away from the analysis.

Parita Sureshchandra Shah

Chapter 9. Public Accountability: State-Society Relations in Kenya

Abstract

Public accountability is key for democratic governance and has taken on added importance in Kenya following the adoption of the 2010 Constitution which promises strengthened measures for citizen-centred governing processes. This chapter examines public accountability as a way of highlighting the nature of state-society relations in the country. It discusses why and how an accountability deficit persists despite critical reforms and shows how regime maintenance priorities often frustrate the institutionalization of public accountability. It argues that establishing a system of public accountability, based on constitutional and independent public institutions, is likely to take time in a society where (a) autocracy continues to prevail, (b) political parties are constituted as alliances of influential political patrons, and (c) citizen-oversight is weak. Although Kenya has moved further than most African countries towards democratic governance, there is a need for continued debates about making the public accountability framework more effective with regard to (a) the checks on the executive, (b) strengthening the so-called Chapter 15 institutions, and (c) deepening the accountability features of the county government system. The chapter ends with a discussion on the implications of public accountability for better policymaking in the years to come.

Gedion Onyango

Chapter 10. Media and Policymaking in Kenya: Framing in Contested Public Spaces

Abstract

This chapter discusses the role that the media play in framing issues that are being considered for public policy. In doing so, it introduces the theory of communicative action, originally developed by the German theorist, Jurgen Habermas, to demonstrate what a participatory approach to governance would entail. Using the case of the debates that preceded the 2018 Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Bill, it examines the challenges that Kenyan media actors face in participating to enlarge the public sphere. It highlights the increased tensions between the government and its citizens that have arisen with the spread in the use of social media that are more taxing to monitor. The chapter ends with a discussion of how far Habermas and his theory help to understand the role of communicative action in countries like Kenya, the conclusion being that it is important to take note of the differences in context between Habermas’s bourgeois Germany in the middle of the last century and the pre-capitalist values that continue to prevail in African countries in the early twenty-first century.

George Ogola

Chapter 11. The Politics of External Resource Mobilization: From Foreign Aid to Foreign Investment

Abstract

This chapter discusses the challenges that poor countries like Kenya face because of their need for external resources to boost their development. It shows how the balance has shifted from foreign aid to foreign investment as aid dependence in African countries has increasingly become viewed as too heavy and a threat to national sovereignty. This also means a shift from reliance on Western to Chinese sources for finances of national development. The two modes are quite different. Aid has typically implied a set of conditions tied to the actual delivery of the aid—the “conditionalities” that African governments have disliked. Investments deliver an immediate tangible outcome, but since these projects typically are funded on credit, there is an obligation to repay the loan within a certain time-period. As the Chinese investment in the Standard Gauge Railroad shows, uncertainty often prevails regarding the ability of African governments to complete their debt obligations, which forces them to give up valuable assets as collateral. Thus, both modes of external resource mobilization have their costs and benefits. Kenyan policymakers need to be transparent about these matters because they affect not only development today but also the debt burden that future generations of Kenyans must carry.

Fred Jonyo

Chapter 12. Taxation Systems and Public Policy in Kenya: Unpacking the Unwritten Tax Treaty Policy

Abstract

Tax treaties are a major cog in the international taxation system acting as the centrepiece of the interaction between national and international fiscal laws. An investigation of the effects that one may have on the other reveals that the relationship is far from simple. Recently, it has become more apparent that the tax treaties of most countries in sub-Saharan Africa are not especially robust against abuse. Changes to treaty practice, therefore, are required for these countries to strengthen the integrity of their treaty networks. While the importance of these instruments cannot be overstated, the suitability of certain provisions within these agreements for each state is still a matter of great conjecture. This chapter represents a ringing endorsement that the entering and subsequent conclusion of tax treaties in Kenya should be couched in a policy instrument and should not merely be left to the discretion of the negotiators and other associated actors.

Attiya Waris, Elvis Oyare

Chapter 13. Institutions and Policy Reforms in Kenya: From State to Regime Focus

Abstract

The idea that institutions matter is no longer in dispute. They shape human behaviour and choice in social as well as political life. Institutions, however, are also human inventions. They are subject to change either through explicit reform interventions or informal ways of incremental change. This chapter is examining the institutional landscape in Kenya since independence to show how it has shaped public policy. It centres on the tensions that exist between political considerations of legitimacy and policy concerns about effectiveness. It traces how these tensions have been managed by the various governments since independence and their experiences with handling such policy paradigms as development administration, New Public Management, and Sustainable Development. The chapter divides the years since independence into two phases, the first focusing primarily on state effectiveness and the second on changing regime norms. Each of these two phases is further subdivided into shorter intervals reflecting the specific steps that the various governments since the days of Jomo Kenyatta have taken to justify their position in power.

Patrick O. Asingo

Chapter 14. Building and Reforming Institutions: From Technology Transfer to Policy Networks

Abstract

This chapter examines the experience of building and reforming public institutions in Kenya. It begins by pointing to the challenges of filling organizations with institutional content that is directed to serving the public interest. Although major reform efforts have been carried out in Kenya, not the least the devolution of power to county governments, the focus has continued to be on government and its hierarchy. The recognition in recent decades that problems are multi-faceted as well as complex and therefore are best solved in multi-layered and multi-stakeholder fashion needs to be given greater weight in any future discussion about institutional reforms in Kenya. This chapter discusses more specifically the role that policy networks already play and how its role may be expanded to serve as an alternative to a policy agenda that is exclusively set and carried out by government ministries and their subordinate bureaucratic agencies. The chapter has three takeaways: (a) strengthening collaborative policy networks, (b) empowering and enhancing local participation in problem-solving, and (c) inculcating integrity and professionalism as part of the reform menu.

Eric E. Otenyo

Chapter 15. Kenya: A Comparative East African Perspective

Abstract

This chapter compares the policy practice in the four East African countries—Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda—and examines how far mainstream theory helps explain these practices. It highlights how the countries have evolved different policy regimes drawing on precolonial legacies and their experience since independence. It places these regimes in a global perspective evaluating their position on governance and development indices. There are few outstanding cases although Rwanda’s position on facilitating business and maintaining public integrity are exceptions. Generally, however, the four countries fall at the lower half of these global indices, and in an African comparison, they are neither at the top nor at the bottom. The chapter ends with a discussion of the applicability of three policy development theories—gradualism, punctuated equilibrium, and critical juncture—suggesting that all three help explain parts of the policy process in the four East African countries but more research is needed to enhance knowledge about how public policy is made and carried out.

Goran Hyden, Gedion Onyango

Chapter 16. The Evolution of Public Policy Studies in Kenya

Abstract

This chapter traces the evolution of policy studies with a special focus on Africa in general and Kenya, in particular. It begins by highlighting the differences that exist between a liberal and a Marxist perspective on the state and how these differences translate into contrasting views of policy—the former holding that public policy is the product of a neutral and autonomous state, while the latter maintaining that it reflects the interest of a ruling elite. The liberal theorist gives priority to policy and public administration when debating the state; the Marxist puts primary emphasis on the political nature of policymaking. Both perspectives have been prominent in the evolution of policy studies in Kenya. The chapter identifies three periods in this evolution since independence: the first being dominated by a public administration perspective; the second, much in reaction to the World Bank-imposed Structural Adjustment Programs in the 1980s, a Marxist perspective arguing for a recognition of the political economy predicament of countries like Kenya in the periphery of the world economy; and a third period that has evolved this century focused on democratic theory and the empowerment of citizens to participate in the policy process.

P. Anyang’ Nyong’o

Chapter 17. Teaching Public Policy in Kenya: Approaches and Current Issues

Abstract

This chapter provides an overview of the theoretical perspectives that highlight the cyclical nature of the policy process and thus constitute the mainstay of curricula in universities, colleges, and administrative training institutions. Although the material is inevitably a simplification that leaves out details that may appear significant to the policy practitioner, it is the standard way of making sense of this complex and intertwined process. Thus, in line with other literature on the subject, this chapter discusses how the cycle begins with problem identification and definition before the issue becomes subject to formulation into policy, decided upon in an authoritative context and manner, implemented, and finally reviewed and evaluated. The chapter also looks more specifically at the Kenyan situation to identify the issues that arise in teaching the subject. It points to the lack of teaching material, the difficulty of accessing public information, and the value of bringing academics and policy practitioners together to generate relevant teaching material and spur innovations in the public service.

Patrick O. Alila, Goran Hyden

Backmatter

Titel: Governing Kenya
herausgegeben von: Dr. Gedion Onyango
Prof. Goran Hyden
Verlag: Springer International Publishing
Electronic ISBN: 978-3-030-61784-4
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-61783-7
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61784-4

Springer Professional

Über dieses Buch

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Frontmatter

Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 2. Africa’s Governance Imperatives: How Kenya Has Responded

Chapter 3. The Global Nature of Policy Problems

Chapter 4. The Powers of Agenda-Setting: The Role of Politicians and Experts

Chapter 5. Legislative Policymaking in Kenya

Chapter 6. Political Parties and Public Policymaking

Chapter 7. The Politics of Implementation at County Level: Realizing Devolution in Kenya

Chapter 8. Policy Implementation as Principal-Agent Problem: The Case of Kenya Wildlife Service

Chapter 9. Public Accountability: State-Society Relations in Kenya

Chapter 10. Media and Policymaking in Kenya: Framing in Contested Public Spaces

Chapter 11. The Politics of External Resource Mobilization: From Foreign Aid to Foreign Investment

Chapter 12. Taxation Systems and Public Policy in Kenya: Unpacking the Unwritten Tax Treaty Policy

Chapter 13. Institutions and Policy Reforms in Kenya: From State to Regime Focus

Chapter 14. Building and Reforming Institutions: From Technology Transfer to Policy Networks

Chapter 15. Kenya: A Comparative East African Perspective

Chapter 16. The Evolution of Public Policy Studies in Kenya

Chapter 17. Teaching Public Policy in Kenya: Approaches and Current Issues

Backmatter

Premium Partner