By OSCAR OBONYO
The plum Ministry of Agriculture, which boasts of over 60 parastatals, is set to be even bigger and politically powerful – thanks to efforts to collapse at least ten ministries into the docket.
Already some politicians opine the giant ministry could be used as one of the carrots to be dangled at players in the ongoing pre-poll coalition negotiations: “Even in its current form, it is powerful enough and soon this proposed docket could find its way on our (politicians’) negotiating tables,” says Cherangany MP Joshua Kuttuny.
Presently, negotiations amongst presidential aspirants are hinged on sharing out of positions of President, Deputy President, Leader of Parliamentary Majority and Speakers of the Upper and Lower houses. The talks may soon feature the post of Cabinet Secretary of Agriculture as well.
Chair of the 11-member Parliamentary Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives, John Mututho, is spearheading the merger of the ten ministries in the agricultural sector.
He envisages a powerful ministry with a paramilitary wing, drawing the Kenya Wildlife Service, Forest Guards, and the Anti-Stock Theft Unit (ASTU). Apart from arresting stock theft and wildlife and tree poaching, the armed wing will contain theft of crops such as coffee.
The new plan targets to merge the Agriculture ministry with ministries of Cooperative Development and Marketing, Development of Northern Kenya and Other Arid Lands, Environment, Fisheries, Forestry and Wildlife, Lands, Livestock Development, Regional Development Authorities and Water and Irrigation.
Bloated Cabinet
The original reform paper drafted by a senior State law official in March last year and seen by The Standard On Sunday explicitly called for merging of the ten ministries. It called for the coordination of the entire sector through a single ministry. “The Ministry of Agriculture shall be responsible for coordinating policy formulation and coordination in the agricultural sector.”
This is part of ongoing efforts to redesign and reduce the current bloated Cabinet to a maximum of 22 ministries in line with the new Constitution.
“We want a single ministry, two at most. We will find the right title for it, but my guess is Agriculture and Animal Resources or Agriculture, Lands and Animal Resources,” says Mututho. The Animal Resources directorate is to draw the current ministries of livestock and wildlife.
It is hardly a secret that self-interests torpedoed the initial objective of merging the agricultural sector ministries into one all-powerful ministry. The road has been bumpy.
Lands Assistant Minister Bifwoli Wakoli, for instance, is not supportive of the view maintaining the Lands docket has fairly huge tasks and therefore must stand independent. And Joint Government Chief Whip, Jakoyo Midiwo argues the redesigning of ministries is solely the task of the next President.
However, Nominated MP George Nyamweya says the move is geared at streamlining services and cutting down on costs and it is “the way to go”. And to circumvent interests of the resisting ministries, drafters of the merger have settled on “functions” as a less-controversial entry to the consolidation. They came up with laws on crops, livestock, research and a regulatory body. It was a politically-correct move that helped stave off self-interests.
Earlier in the week, before the meeting at Parliament, a top official in the Ministry of Agriculture told The Standard On Sunday, “We need to hasten the passage of the proposed reforms so that it becomes easy to merge them immediately after the election. With just five Acts of Parliament, it will not be difficult for the new Government to consolidate the ten ministries into one. The success will determine how the others get joined.”
Reforms
Reforms in the sector are overdue. The current reforms are the first since the legislation in 1904, known as the Agriculture Act, followed by the Alcohol Act in 1907. The Agriculture Act, which is one of those set to be repealed, was developed to protect European farming from Africans.
“The current laws are colonial and do not reflect the lifestyle of Africans. That explains why coffee is branded elsewhere, not in Kenya” says Mr Mututho who is an agricultural expert. “You cannot do business in this kind of atmosphere.”
The Naivasha MP has now kicked off a new mission by having the sector replace the 151 laws that hitherto govern the sector to five. He will then follow it up with a push to have the ten agricultural sector ministries merge into one.
Already a multi-ministerial agency, Agricultural Sector Coordination Unit (ASCU), has drafted five Bills – The Agriculture, Livestock and Food Authority (Alfa) 2012; The Fisheries Bill 2012; The Livestock Bill 2012; The Crops Bill 2012; and the Kenya Agricultural Research Bill 2012 – to replace the 151 statutes.
The first to be replaced is the Agriculture Act (Chapter 318), which is 98 years old. “We have to replace the archaic and obsolete laws. We want fewer laws and regulations,” says Mututho.
Just ten days ago, Mututho helped defuse a potentially divisive situation when he rallied stakeholders in the sector to agree on more laws to cover the interests of the Livestock sub-sector. This was after Ministry of Livestock backtracked on the five Bills, arguing that the process had not been consultative enough, and that the proposed laws defy international conventions ratified by Kenya.
“Reading through the proposed Bill it becomes evident that it lacks the necessary technical input which calls for postponement of its enactment until this is done,” Dr Christopher Wanga, vice president, African Veterinary Association, who has opposed the five Bills, argues. “It is a constitutional requirement for public participation in any law formulation.”
Following the talks involving the House Committee and representatives of the sector, the Livestock ministry was asked to draw three more Bills, to cover Veterinary Services; Livestock Production Services; and a regulatory one. The Fisheries Bill 2012 will now be amended and moved to the livestock section.
“Ministry of Livestock officials are not comfortable with two of the five Bills. Of course, theirs was a fairly weak argument. I think they fear that they will be swallowed up by the (Alfa). But we agreed all the same,” Mututho told the media last week.
According to the MP, “these are powerful legislative proposals that meet all standards, including international ones”. Key officials of the Livestock Ministry were part of the five-year long consultations towards the legal and regulatory reforms in the sector.
Impede its effectiveness
He hinted about the disquiet within the Livestock ministry, pitting the department of Veterinary Services and Livestock Production. “The Livestock Department is happy with the proposals. “I think it’s just a matter of self-interests. Even amongst themselves, there’s a feeling of conflict; they are not in agreement. It will be in bad taste if they are merely trying to protect their turf rather than pursue national interests.”
The Parliamentary Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives is expected to retreat to Mombasa to discuss the livestock Bills this month. “We will look at the livestock Bills in Mombasa. We will listen to everybody. I just hope the matter has been resolved once for all.”
Differences among the technocrats notwithstanding, Mututho points out the merger aims at realising “far-reaching reforms in the sector to make it the key driver of Vision 2030”. Noting that the agricultural sector is the backbone of Kenya’s economy, Kuttuny supports the view, but warns against the ministry being clogged with additional departments that may impede its effectiveness.
While ten ministries represent Kenya’s agricultural sector, Burundi has one, Rwanda two and Tanzania four.
Original Article here
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