THE POLITICS OF POLICY-MAKING ON PASTORALISM IN KENYAReflections on the work of the Ministry of State for Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands

Hon. Mohamed Elmi

Preliminary remarks

Mandate of the MDNKOAL covered all the ASALs, but the focus of this presentation is on arid and pastoral areas which are generally subject to greatest contestation & misunderstanding.

Policy problem: Inadequate & inappropriate policy attention to arid & pastoral areas

Inadequate• Uneven distribution of public investment

(‘foundations’)• As a result, action by the private sector

in the arid lands is limited, but action by humanitarian agencies is very high

• Policy-makers in Nairobi don’t instinctively think about arid lands

• No clear picture of spend in arid lands; not identified in budgeting system

• Tendency of central ministries to post their least experienced officers to the region

Inappropriate• Limited exposure to pastoralism,

leading to low understanding• National policy insufficiently nuanced

to different ecologies/social systems• Administrative procedures developed

with non-arid areas in mind• Political preference for ‘equal’ rather

than ‘equitable’ treatment

Both have historical roots:

colonial / post-colonial continuities in policy approach (containment, separate development, trickle-down economics)

Policy failures create systemic problems which can’t be addressed in a single five-year government term

• Inequality:• Of opportunity: e.g. access to education & health care,

infrastructure, justice, security• Of outcome: e.g. human development index, maternal mortality,

female literacy, infant mortality

• ‘Two Kenyas’: • Attitudes need to change on both ‘sides’:

• Outside the arid lands: respond to pastoralism on its own terms (instead of trying to change it); recognize the common citizenship of all Kenyans

• Within the arid lands: recognize that while marginalization may have been a reality, it is no longer a necessity (Constitution; devolution)

Institutional problem: How should governments organize themselves to respond?

Governments are organized around sectors, not people or regions

• Two imperatives:• Integration: ASALs are the

responsibility of the main sector ministries

• Focus: cross-cutting issues need champions to ensure adequate & appropriate attention (cf gender)

• Institutional framework must deliver both

What type of mechanism?

• Different options: full ministry, department, project, secretariat

• Full ministry gives direct access to Cabinet and senior bureaucrats (otherwise this has to be mediated through another minister)

• Lack of institutional continuity in Kenya to address systemic challenges

 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s

Ministry

 

Ministry of Reclamation

& Development

of Arid, Semi-Arid & Wastelands (1989-93)

 

Ministry of State for Development

of Northern Kenya & other Arid Lands

(2008-13)

Department

ASAL Section, Ministry of Planning (1980-88)

 

Project

 

Arid Lands Resource Management Project (1996-2010)

Office of the PresidentMinistry of

Special Programmes

MDNKOAL

Timeline of principal GoK interventions in arid lands

Implications for MDNKOAL’s approach

• Priority was to change the system: i.e. to re-balance policy & institutional priorities in the long-term interests of the arid lands.

• However, incentives & systems within government (such as in planning, resource allocation, performance management) favour the delivery of tangible projects, not systemic change. The public also expects its ministries to be ‘visible’ (sign-boards).

• MDNKOAL decided to be a ‘different’ ministry: its strategic priority was to help the rest of government meet its obligations in the region.

• Would like this approach to continue.

Opening of a policy space in 2008

• Combination of factors supported MDNKOAL’s agenda:• Inequality had moved up the policy agenda: post-election violence;

Agenda 4• Pastoral civil society activism had started to infiltrate competitive

politics• Ongoing search for a new Constitution: recognition that Kenya’s

institutions needed to change (not just for ASALs)• ‘Resilience’ agenda post-2011: provides a shared agenda for the

humanitarian system & development actors• African Union Policy Framework on Pastoralism (2010): legitimates

MDNKOAL policy position on pastoralism

• Written paper discusses the response of different actors to this policy opportunity

MDNKOAL: four ways of working

1. Coordination• Amplifying the work

of government• Bilateral

engagement, with variable results: strong in some sectors, weaker in others

2. Selective project implementation• ‘Gap-filling’ with

sectors (education, health, water, planning)

• Testing new approaches

• Issues not picked up by others (drought management; ‘One Kenya’)

3. Regional interaction• Limited

engagement, e.g. peace building

• No structured process yet for interaction between regional governments to improve policy harmonization

4. Policy, legal & institutional reform• ASAL policy

approved by Parliament (end of 10-year process)

• Legal reforms addressed by the Constitution

• Institutional framework designed & partly in place

Policy outputsTitle National Policy for the

Sustainable Development of Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands, Sessional Paper No. 8 of 2012

Vision 2030 Development Strategy for Northern Kenya and other Arid Lands

Ending Drought Emergencies in Kenya: Medium-Term Plan

Status: Approved by Cabinet, October 2012, & launched February 2013

Endorsed by Ministry of Planning, August 2011, & launched February 2013

Integrated into Vision 2030 MTP2, 2013-17

Purpose: To re-frame the Government’s approach to the ASALs:

• As a region of potential, not just challenge

• Where Government will think & act differently, taking its unique characteristics into account

• Whose citizens are entitled to the same rights as others

To complement and deepen the national development plan

To integrate ASAL priorities into national development policy and planning

To show how Kenya will end drought emergencies within ten years

Institutional framework: four elements

4. ASAL Secretariat

1. Cabinet oversight

3. Stakeholder coordination

2. Specialist & permanent institutions

Institutional framework: current statusInstitution Status DetailsASAL Cabinet Sub-Committee Constituted Membership defined by Head of Public

Service, 11 October 2012

ASAL Secretariat Operational Provided for in ASAL Policy; not yet formalised in Government

ASAL Stakeholder Forum Operational Inaugural meeting July 2012

National Drought Management Authority

Operational State corporation gazetted November 2011

National Drought and Disaster Contingency Fund

Pending Being established by Treasury

Livestock Marketing Board Approved National Livestock Policy, 2008

National Council on Nomadic Education

Approved Basic Education Act, 2012

Northern Kenya Education Trust

Operational Registered in 2010 (private sector)

Northern Kenya Investment Fund

Pending Design work completed (private sector)

Reflections

1. Progress in policy & institutional reform was due to a network of individuals, both inside & outside government. Some have changed positions; new ones have arrived. How will the same network continue pressing for implementation of reforms?

2. Tension between individuals/institutions: on the one hand, individuals are key to success, but progress should not be subject to personal interest. Now that policy direction is approved, we need collective & coordinated action to implement.

3. Tendency to view arid lands in terms of their ecology/production system rather than holistically. But pastoralists have the same needs as any other Kenyans. Besides, livelihoods are changing with greater diversification, commercialization & urbanization. Need closer engagement from those working on infrastructure, governance, industrial development, financial services – but in ways that are sympathetic to / supportive of pastoralism.

Reflections (cont.)

4. Blockages to progress are not necessarily because of antipathy or indifference to pastoralism: the ‘normal’ shortcomings of government play their part. It’s often the small things that get in the way.

5. Devolution: significant potential to ensure more responsive policy and practice; a major opportunity for previously marginalized regions.

6. Parliament now has a critical role to play in holding the executive to account for implementation of the agreed ASAL policy & application of the institutional framework.

7. Arid lands have previously been left on the margins. Bringing them further into the spotlight will bring new challenges (alienation of land, communal land titling, inappropriate investment).