Building Bridges

to a United Kenya:

from a nation of blood ties

to a nation of ideals

A REPORT BY THE PRESIDENTIAL TASKFORCE

ON BUILDING BRIDGES TO UNITY ADVISORY

OCTOBER 2019

Presidential Taskforce on Building Bridges to Unity Advisory,

Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Nairobi.

His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya

and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces,

Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta, CGH,

State House,

Nairobi.

23 October 2019

Your Excellency,

You appointed this Taskforce by Gazette Notice No. 5154, published on 31 May 2018. It was our privilege, as per the mandate, to evaluate the national challenges outlined in the Joint Communiqué of ‘Building Bridges to a New Kenyan Nation’, and having done so, make practical recommendations and reform proposals that build lasting unity. We conducted comprehensive public consultations that included meetings with citizens in all 47 counties, hearing from elected leaders at the National and County levels, senior state officers, constitutional commissions, civil society and professional organisations, cultural leaders, the private sector, and subject-matter experts.

The Face of Kenya was captured in this process: more than 7,000 citizens from all ethnic groups, genders, cultural and religious practices, and different social and economic sectors were consulted. The Taskforce heard from more than 400 elected leaders past and present; prominent local voices from the community; and young people who added their voice to citizens in the Counties; 123 individuals representing major institutions, including constitutional bodies and major stakeholders in the public and private sectors; 261 individuals and organisations who sent memoranda via (e)mail; and 755 citizens who offered handwritten submissions during public forums in the Counties.

The result is the following policy, administrative reform proposals for each identified challenge area.

Continued…

We now have the honour to submit our report, and to express our gratitude for the privilege to be of service to the Nation and to express our highest esteem to your Excellency.

Senator Mohamed Yusuf Haji (Chairperson & Member),

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Prof. Adams Oloo (Vice-Chairperson & Member),

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Mrs. Agnes Kavindu Muthama (Member), Senator Amos Wako (Member),

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Dr. Florence Omosa (Member), Prof. Saeed Mwaguni (Member),

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Mr. James Matundura (Member), Major John Seii (Member),

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Bishop Lawi Imathiu (Member), Hon. Maison Leshoomo (Member),

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Prof. Morompi ole Ronkei (Member), Bishop Peter Njenga (Member),

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Hon. Rose Museo (Member), Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth (Member).

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Amb. Martin Kimani, Mr. Paul Mwangi,

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Joint Secretaries.

Abbreviations and Acronyms 6

Executive Summary 7

Reading the BBI Report 18

Chapter 1: Notable issues that Kenyans must deal with 21

Chapter 2: Lack of a national ethos 30

Major recommendations 31

Chapter 3: Responsibilities and rights 37

Major Recommendations 39

Chapter 4: Ethnic antagonism and competition 44

Major Recommendations 45

Chapter 5: Divisive elections 48

Major Recommendations 50

Chapter 6: Inclusivity 57

Major Recommendations 59

Chapter 7: Shared prosperity 63

Major Recommendations 66

Chapter 8: Corruption 73

Major Recommendations 75

Chapter 9: Devolution 80

Major Recommendations 82

Chapter 10: Safety and security 88

Major Recommendations 90

Chapter 11: Commissions and cross-cutting issues 94

Chapter 12: Conclusion 98

ANNEX 1: Detailed recommendations 100

ANNEX 2: Joint communiqué: building bridges 127

ANNEX 3: Participation 135

Abbreviations and Acronyms

BBI Building Bridges Initiative

CRA Commission on Revenue Allocation

CSO Civil Society Organisation

CDF Constituency Development Fund

DPP Director of Public Prosecutions

EACC Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission

ECD Early Childhood Development

GDP Gross Domestic Product

IEBC Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission

JSC Judicial Service Commission

MCA Member of County Assembly

MDAs Ministries, Departments and Agencies

MP Member of Parliament

M-PESA Mobile Money Transfer Service in Kenya

NCIC National Cohesion and Integration Commission

NHIF National Hospital Insurance Fund

NIS National Intelligence Service

NPS National Police Service

NGO Non-Governmental Organisation

NIS National Intelligence Service

PSC Public Service Commission

PWDs Persons with Disabilities

SRC Salaries and Remuneration Commission

UNEP United Nations Environment Programme

Executive Summary

The Building Bridges to Unity Advisory Presidential Taskforce has submitted this report which reflects some of the most extensive public consultations ever undertaken by a similar body in Kenyan history. The Taskforce visited all 47 Counties, and it heard from an inclusive group of citizens from every Constituency that paid attention to gender, ethnic and religious diversity, youth, elders, persons living with disability, civil society, and the public and private sectors. The Face of Kenya was captured in this process.

The Taskforce heard from more than 400 elected leaders past and present; prominent local voices from the community; and young people who added their voice to citizens in the Counties. This included more than 35 Governors and their Deputies as well as dozens of Senators, MPs, and MCAs in the Counties and in Nairobi. Submissions were given by 123 individuals representing major institutions, including constitutional bodies and major stakeholders in the public and private sectors; 261 individuals and organisations who sent memoranda via (e)mail; and 755 citizens who offered handwritten submissions during public forums in the Counties. Kenyans made their views heard as individual citizens, institutionally, and based on diverse interests and experiences. This report reflects their views and insights.

Kenyans feel Kenyan when political competition and the use of ethnicity as an organising tool are at rest between elections. Across the country, they are extremely concerned at the poor values we express as a people and a leadership crisis at multiple levels, reflected above all in the continuing elevated levels of corruption. Kenyans are tired of elections that bring the economy to a standstill every few years and feel that politics has become too adversarial while trying to entrench itself in every facet of their waking lives. They would like a more stable and predictable politics that is democratic and produces governance at the National and County levels that is inclusive of our ethnic, religious, and regional diversity.

While a major focus of this report, again reflecting what we heard from Kenyans, is about Government and the Public Service, the country is far more worried by the lack of jobs and income. This has led to so much poverty, inequality and frustrated hopes, that our continuity as a unified and secure country is uncertain should we persist in the present course. We desperately need a shift in our economic paradigm if we are to provide enough jobs to our youth and have enough revenue to meet the service and welfare needs of Kenyans.

This report is structured to respond to the nine major national challenges to a united Kenya that were contained in the Joint Communiqué issued following the famous ‘Handshake’ of 9 March 2018.

However, before going forward, the Taskforce would like to give a special note of thanks and recognition to Rt. Hon. Raila A. Odinga, EGH. As earlier indicated, the Taskforce was responding to the Joint Communique that was agreed by the two leaders. Their bold step and support in establishing this process have become milestones in the building of bipartisanship and unity in Kenyan history, and further afield. It is the privilege of the Taskforce and its members to inform Rt. Hon. Odinga that the taskforce has completed its work and discharged its mandate in full. His leadership and partnership in bringing unity to Kenya will be remembered for many years to come.

Knowing well the Kenyan tendency to keep report-reading light, and thus to focus mostly on executive summaries, we urge every Kenyan to go deeper into the report. The different chapters are linked and missing the context and analysis in one leads to a shortfall in understanding the recommendations in others.

The nine core challenges in the order they are presented in the report are: lack of a national ethos; responsibilities and rights of citizenship; ethnic antagonism and competition; divisive elections; inclusivity; shared prosperity; corruption; devolution; and safety and security.

The major recommendations are made at the end of each of the chapters dealing with these challenges, while Annex 1 lists the recommendations in detail. The challenges are preceded by key observations made by the Taskforce in the ‘notable issues’ chapter on matters of such gravity that the Taskforce feels impelled to share them. They frame many of the specific recommendations that will follow, and therefore should be regarded as integral to the report.

National ethos: We lack shared beliefs, ideals and aspirations about what Kenya can become if we all subscribed to a national ethos that builds and reinforces our unity. This report is a historic opportunity for us to begin willingly defining, developing and subscribing to an enduring collective vision that would lead to a united Kenya equal to all its major challenges. It would appreciate and honour excellence in leadership, in the civic practices of citizenship, and in our care and consideration of one another. Such an ethos would be deeply respectful of differences in culture, heritage, beliefs and religions. Its character would guide and constrict the planning and actions of the State to the benefit of the people of Kenya. The journey to developing such a national ethos begins by accepting the desperate need for it. That is the most important recommendation made in this report.

Kenya is made up of cultures that have endured for many generations, and that have at their core the development of ethical and honourable people. Our national ethos will emerge from expanding our sense of belonging beyond our blood ties so that we come to regard every Kenyan, and our collective existence as a nation, to be worthy of our personal commitment and ownership. We will need to have conversations and initiatives that allow us to innovatively combine the young, dynamic and urbanising cultures with the enduring wisdom of our diverse cultures.

This is bottom-up work, starting in the family and the community, supported by initiatives that embrace the positive cultures, beliefs and ideals of Kenya’s diverse communities and facilitated by civil society, the private sector, and State institutions. It will become embedded in the formal education system, starting from the earliest age and lasting for a lifetime, religious and cultural institutions, the media, and our arts sector. It will not be an ethos made of a single note but will be a complex song of many voices that are inspired by the desire to contribute to, own and build a nation to which we all belong. A Kenya in which a Kenyans’ character of embracing hard-work, honesty, integrity, and respectful behaviour will be recognised and rewarded.

Among other important recommendations, the Taskforce believes it is profoundly important that we give ourselves an official and inclusive national history, of every community, and stretching back a thousand years. Knowledge of our histories is necessary for us to see far into the future. The Taskforce has also recommended the formation of an Ethics Commission to sit under the Office of the President that will keep track of and support the diverse efforts to develop, build and entrench a new national ethos.

Responsibilities and rights of citizenship: Kenya is increasingly a nation of distinct individuals instead of an individually distinct nation. And we have placed too much emphasis on what the nation can do for each of us — our rights — and given almost no attention to what we each must do for our nation: our responsibilities. The Taskforce calls for us to develop a responsibility and execution culture through mechanisms embedded in schools. There is also a recommendation that leaders in Public Service personally use the services they govern, to increase ‘skin in the game’. The need for educated parenting is flagged as key to raising healthy and responsible children in an increasingly complex and fast-changing Kenya. The duties articulated in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights should be included in civics curriculums as Kenyans undergo continuous training throughout their lives. The Taskforce also believes that Kenyan holders of dual citizenship should be equal citizens. The Kenyan constitution, reflecting the deepest shared ideals of our nation, makes it a requirement that the human rights of every Kenyan be protected by all Kenyans and by every organ and office of the State. At present, unfortunately, there is an emerging political practice that seeks to create two-lanes to citizenship whereby one group of citizens, by virtue of their dual citizenship, should not have the equal rights to serve in Government. Regarding Kenyans with dual citizenship as being somehow untrustworthy or unworthy amounts to discrimination and a lowered standard of protection and recognition. Kenyans willing to serve should be judged according to their character and track record and not presumed to have split loyalties that compromise their integrity or patriotism. Furthermore, there is little argument about how valuable the learning, remittances and voice of Kenyans in the diaspora are to the prosperity and well-being of Kenyans. Many members of the Diaspora, if not the majority, yearn to return home to serve their fellow Kenyans, while hoping that their children, born abroad, will one day also return home and take up their place. The limits to the ability of holders of dual citizenship from serving Kenyans should therefore be highly limited. One such acceptable instance is in regard to the defence forces, which constitutionally are ‘responsible for the defence and protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic’. This means that, in defence of Kenya, they may be called on to take up arms against the armed forces of other countries in which they may hold citizenship. In this rare, but still possible scenario, there would be potential legal penalties for the Kenyan with dual citizenship if Kenya’s defence forces undertake hostile actions against his or her other country of citizenship. In light of these observations, the Taskforce recommends that the only limit to State service by Kenyans with dual citizenship be the Commander-in-Chief of the Defence forces, members of the defence forces, and the membership of the Defence Council.

Ethnic antagonism and competition: These are a major threat to Kenya’s success and to the very continuity of our country. The Taskforce calls for us to do away with a winner-take-all model for the Presidency and opt for a more consociational model that works best for ethnically divided societies. All political parties should also be compelled to reflect the Face of Kenya in ethnic, religious, regional, and gender terms. Individual Kenyans should be educated, exposed, and incentivised to respect ethnic and religious diversity, and this principle should be reflected in the Public Service. In addition, the per capita share of national resources for every Kenyan should be carefully balanced to account for every Kenyan being treated as equal, as the Constitution makes clear, while ensuring that those who have been marginalised in the past, or are being marginalised at present, are given extra help where they need it. Regional integration should be accelerated to change the ethnic calculus of our politics with the East African Community project to achieve political federation following confederation being accelerated. To ensure that we deepen our unity, the Taskforce recommends that the President, as the symbol of national unity, should benefit from the private advice of eminent, experienced, and honourable citizens serving in a Council of Advisors on a non-salaried basis.

Divisive elections: In our rush to adopt, and even mimic, foreign models, particularly from the democratic West, we have forged a politics that is a contest of us versus them. And we have chosen our ‘us’ and ‘them’ on an ethnic basis, especially in competing for the Presidency, which is the highest office in Kenyan politics. Lack of inclusivity is the leading contributor to divisive and conflict-causing elections. Kenyans associate the winner-take-all-system with divisive elections and want an end to it. The Taskforce recommends a system that addresses our unique needs, especially in forging a homegrown or autochthonous national Executive structure with an Executive President who will be Head of State and Government and Commander-in-Chief, and be the central symbol of national unity, who appoints a Prime Minister to deliver on the day-to-day implementation of policy. The President shall be elected through universal suffrage. For a candidate to be declared the winner of the presidential election, he or she must win 50% + 1 of the presidential votes and at least 25% of the votes cast in each of more than half of the Counties, as is now the case. The President will remain the Head of State and Government, Commander-in-Chief, and be the central symbol of national unity. He shall chair the Cabinet that compromises the Deputy President, the Prime Minister, and Cabinet Ministers. The Taskforce has called for the retaining of the present two-term limit of presidential terms.

A Prime Minister – The role of a Prime Minister will be crucial in strengthening inclusivity and accountability. It will ensure that the work of Government is better overseen by Parliament, while also ensuring greater inclusivity from political parties with strength in the National Assembly. Within a set number of days following the summoning of Parliament after an election, the President shall appoint as Prime Minister, an elected Member of the National Assembly from a political party having a majority of Members in the National Assembly or, if no political party has a majority, one who appears to have the support of a majority of MPs. The nominee shall not assume office until his or her nomination is first confirmed by a resolution of the National Assembly supported by a majority vote of the members. The nominee for Prime Minister shall not assume office until his or her appointment is first confirmed by a resolution of the National Assembly supported by an absolute majority vote of MPs. If the Prime Minister nominee is not confirmed, the President shall have another set number of days to make another appointment. This process shall continue until there is a successful nomination for Prime Minister; a measure to ensure that this process is not indefinite, and that governance is continuous should be considered. The Prime Minister may be dismissed by the President or through a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly that wins an absolute majority.

The Prime Minister shall have authority over the control, supervision and execution of the day-to-day functions and affairs of the Government. He or she shall be the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly. On the President’s tasking, the Prime Minister will chair Cabinet sub-committees. In the exercise of his authority, the Prime Minister shall perform or cause to be performed any matter or matters which the President directs to be done. The Prime Minister will continue to earn his or her salary as a Member of Parliament with no additional salary for the prime ministerial role.

The Taskforce recommends that to avoid the politicisation of the Public Service, the Permanent or Principal Secretaries will not be subject to Parliamentary approval. Their accountability will be strictly administrative and technical. The work of these senior administrative officers will be coordinated by the Permanent/Principal Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister who will chair the Technical Implementation Committee of Principal/Permanent Secretaries.

Cabinet – The Cabinet is a crucial part of the Executive arm of Government. Similarly, its structure is critical to an inclusive and efficient Government. The current debate on whether the Cabinet adds enough value in governance and delivery has revolved around three key issues. The first issue has been whether it ought to be a cabinet of technocrats (like the American system) or whether it should be composed of elected Members of Parliament (akin to the British parliamentary system). There is discontent with the current system, judging from what Kenyans told the Taskforce. The Taskforce proposes that the Cabinet be structured as follows:

The President will appoint Cabinet Ministers after consultation with the Prime Minister. The Ministers shall be responsible for the offices that the President establishes in line with the Constitution.
The Cabinet shall be drawn from both parliamentarians and technocrats with the latter being made ex-officio Members of Parliament upon successful Parliamentary approval.
The Taskforce is also recommending that the Cabinet Secretary be renamed Cabinet Minister.
To ensure more effective political direction and Parliamentary accountability, there shall be a position of Minister of State that will be appointed from members of the National Assembly and taking direction in their ministerial duties from Cabinet Ministers. These Ministers of State will continue to earn their salary as MP with no additional salary for their ministerial role. The Taskforce further recommends eliminating the post of Chief Administrative Secretary.

The runner-up of the Presidential election becomes an ex-officio Member of Parliament and the Leader of the Official Opposition if his or her party is not represented in the Government, or of a coalition of Parliamentary parties not represented in the Government. The Leader of the Official Opposition shall be enabled to have a Shadow Cabinet to challenge the Government’s positions in Parliament.

Representation

A critical part of the Taskforce’s recommendations is on representation. The success and sustainability of democracy, to a great extent, depends on the fairness of representation in the electoral system. Kenyans expressed a powerful attachment to their right to fair representation that is accessible and responds to their needs. In light of this, the Taskforce strongly recommends that whatever form reforms to representation take, that they accord to the following principles if Kenyans are to be fairly and equally represented:

That the people’s choice, as reflected in the election of their representatives, including in Party primaries and nominations, shall be upheld through fair, free and transparent elections. This principle should be provided for in the Political Parties Act.
Individuals included in any Party lists shall initially have undergone a process that uses transparent public participation in the Counties even before any other vetting procedure is used. This principle should be provided for in the Political Parties Act.
That there shall be the equalisation of representation and equality of citizenship, as much as possible, by ensuring that each Kenyan vote has the same status and power, as envisaged in the Constitution.
Parties should be compelled through the Political Parties Act to be consistent with the Constitution to meet the Gender Rule and other Constitutional measures of inclusion through their party lists. This will equalise both genders in political terms, rather than creating a parallel system that creates a sense of tokenism.
Party lists for Members of County Assemblies shall follow the same principles and processes of public participation, elections and vetting as the National Assembly. This will ensure that the people and parties can ensure that there is accountability in a direct manner.
The existing constituencies will be saved, including the protected seats because they have become key for representation of sparsely populated areas.
The nomination lists through parties should be completed in a transparent process governed by the political parties overseen by the Registrar of Political Parties and the IEBC.

There are also recommendations by the Taskforce on changes to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Inclusivity: In its consultations, the Taskforce heard a lot about the desire for inclusivity and came to understand that Kenyans have a very particular ethnic interpretation of this principle that is changing fast, particularly due to rapid urbanisation. The Taskforce found that Kenyans, at core, interpret inclusivity in very political terms as ‘who gets what, when and how’, and focus on the authoritative allocation of resources and values. They therefore yearn for more inclusion in executive power, at the National and County levels, as articulated in the section on divisive elections. Connected to this is Kenyans’ need for fair and equal representation, and their desire to respond to the inequality in the power of the vote that has grown over the years, with some areas needing many more votes to elect a representative. The Taskforce makes major recommendations on increasing inclusivity on a political, economic, social, religious, cultural, youth, and gender basis. It also seeks to reduce the ironic phenomenon of those marginalised at the national level being responsible for marginalising others in the Counties. A critical aspect of inclusivity is that it must be perceived as reality, especially in job allocation in the Public Service, which should reflect the ethnic, religious, regional, and cultural Face of Kenya, and should be free of corruption in recruitment. An elevated concern is in corruption in the recruitment of Kenyans into the disciplined services, which causes incoming officers to be inducted into a bribe-demanding culture right from the start of their careers. The Taskforce recommends an out-of-the-box solution to utilise private sector recruitment companies with internationally reputable brands to help in filling the recruitment pool for the disciplined services in a way that reflects merit and the Face of Kenya.

Shared prosperity: We need an economic revolution, to build an economy that can produce the jobs we need, urgently. Kenyans speaking in every consulting session run by the Taskforce, in every County, spoke of their problems fed by poverty and joblessness or under-employment. No country has progressed based on such disparities — including corruption, exclusion, increasing poverty, hunger, unemployment and persistent inequalities — while lacking a common national character. The single most important matter facing Kenyans when it comes to shared prosperity is generating enough jobs and employment, particularly for young people.

It is not enough to merely improve our economic output and present rates of investment: we must entirely transform the way our economy operates if we are to deal with the present lack of jobs. It is therefore crucial for us to build an economy that is founded on the principles and practices of value creation, and that rejects the extractive model as the primary mode of economic activity. This will require a new economic paradigm for jobs and prosperity that raises national domestic savings beyond 25%, that enables rapid growth of labour-intensive manufacturing through deeper regional integration, and that uses economic coordination by the State though not State ownership to grow markets and industries. Kenya will become more prosperous, with far more jobs created, if we deepen our regional integration with neighbouring countries in achieving a genuine common market underpinned by eventual political federation.

The future of the global economy is in innovation and invention using intellectual property, genes, and the living bodies of knowledge developed by generation after generation of our people. Kenyan laws must be fashioned to protect these resources fiercely, and the Government structured to project compliance throughout the world. This should be accompanied by frameworks for use that maximise the ability of Kenyans to build upon these properties. To build actual wealth and jobs, a surge in entrepreneurship will be needed, and should be provided through widespread training, and macro- and micro-economic policies that favour start-ups and small growing businesses.

We will need to think big and long term if we are building an industrialised economy that meets the needs of the current and future generations. We must start with a 50-year plan that has as its aim, Kenya joining the world’s most prosperous, shared and sustainable economies. To ensure that our prosperity is indeed shared, the Taskforce calls for the entrenching of Article 43 on economic and social rights in political platforms and national policy. It also recommends using scarce public resources for development not bureaucracy by targeting a ratio or ceiling, written into law of 70:30 for development versus recurrent expenditure. In addition, young people should be allowed more employment and livelihood chances by Government making it easier for small businesses to compete and grow.

Corruption: The growing public perception of Kenya having a rigged system that rewards cronyism and corruption, as opposed to the productive and hardworking, is the greatest risk to Kenya’s cohesion and security. Tackling corruption is the single most important mission Kenya has now. Many Kenyans told the Taskforce that it is the lure of illicit financial gain through the holding of elected or appointed positions that drives much of the aggressive and negative ethnicization and even militarisation of political competition. The Taskforce makes major and actionable recommendations on freeing Kenya from cartel capture; that Public Officers should not be in business with Government; and that wealth declaration forms should be made public including a written narrative of how wealth above Kshs 50 million was acquired. It also calls for making Kenya a 100% e-services nation by digitising all Government services, processes, payment systems, and record keeping. These services must be secured from criminal tampering. The Taskforce calls for more resignations to show that leaders in executive positions should take responsibility for disasters on their watch by resigning. The Taskforce has also recommended that strong reforms need to be undertaken to increase public confidence in the Judiciary, which at the moment is relatively low. The Taskforce understands that core constitutional principles in Kenya are the separation of powers, between arms of Government, and accountability to the people of Kenya. This means that in undertaking reforms, the independence of the Judiciary must be protected as a fundamental principle, while the Judiciary should be accountable in a clear manner to the sovereign people of Kenya.

Devolution: Devolution has largely been a success. However, devolution is still frustrated by serious challenges that if unaddressed, will raise questions about its political and economic sustainability. Kenyans overwhelmingly told the Taskforce that they wanted their Counties to remain as they are but with services further decentralised to the ward level; and that each ward should benefit by receiving at least 20% of the development fund in each five-year term. Kenyans want far better service delivery and for development projects to receive enough oversight to prevent wastage and corruption. Kenyans told the Taskforce that they lament the devolution of corruption and impunity to the County Governments and called for strong anti-corruption measures to be taken. The same calls for inclusion that were made by Kenyans regarding the National Government were made for the Counties. The ‘winner-take-all’ phenomenon in Counties, following elections, is said by many Kenyans to lead to discrimination, inequality, and inequity in resource distribution.

The Taskforce calls for the retention of the 47 Counties and for support to the voluntary process of Counties forming regional economic blocs. Depending on further consultation with Kenyans, consider that while Kenyans are strong supporters of devolution and their counties, they also want better value for money and more money to be used for development as opposed to high recurrent and administrative costs. Perhaps there is a way that the 47 Counties can be maintained as the focus of development implementation and the provision of services, while representation and legislation are undertaken in larger regional blocs. It recommends increasing the resources to the Counties by 35%–50% of the last audited accounts and ensuring that the focus is on service delivery in the settled and serviced areas, including for people living near the furthest boundaries. Services provided by the Counties must be as equal as possible, and there should be investment in critical areas such as health, agriculture, and the urban areas, while taking account of past and existing marginalisation. The aim should be for all Kenyans to have to cover the same distances to access public services. The Taskforce proposes changes to the County Executive, including, but not limited to, the running mate of every candidate for the position of Governor being of the opposite gender. Steps should be taken to strengthen the ability of the Members of County Assemblies in providing proper oversight on the County Government. At a minimum, this should be done by ensuring that the transmission and management of County Assembly budgets are insulated from arbitrary or politically-motivated interference by County Executives; these processes should also be subjected to rigorous public finance management processes. Recognising the critical importance of growing the national economy, the Taskforce calls for Counties to encourage their residents to be more entrepreneurial, and to compete for investment from other parts of the country, and abroad, to flow into the County. In addition, a recommendation is made to strengthen dialogue and the integration of communities in the Counties, especially those that are multi-ethnic, with a focus on ensuring minorities are heard and respected.

Safety and security: Kenyans told the Taskforce that they do not feel sufficiently safe and secure. The Taskforce noted the dangerous region Kenya is in and the continuing threats of terrorism, failing or fragile states and countries with territorial ambitions, police abuses and rogue illegal actions that violate human rights. The Taskforce strongly recommends that the value of a Kenyan life impacted by violence, insecurity and poor safety standards should be the same across Kenya in terms of police response, investigation and prosecution. A life in an upscale Nairobi suburb should be equally protected as one in Loima village. It also calls for every incoming President within three months of taking office to publish a comprehensive National Security and Safety Strategy and renew it two years later. It should be pro-active, preventive, and pre-emptive, while reflecting the priorities and needs of the entire Government as well as all sectors of society. There is also an urgent need to strengthen the performance and public-service orientation of the National Police Service, as well as supporting the mental health and wellness of officers.

Commissions and cross-cutting issues — The Taskforce recommends the transfer of work reporting on, promoting and enforcing ethical conduct to a proposed Ethics Commission (in the chapter on National Ethos). This will mean separating the obligation to conduct criminal investigations from the obligation to promote and enforce ethics in Public Service.

It also calls for strengthening the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to complement the independence of the criminal-justice system which includes the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary. There should also be an in increase in the resources for the Director of Public Prosecutions to enable effective prosecutions.

The Taskforce strongly recommends that regulation in Kenya be simplified and made more transparent and predictable. This can start with the rationalising of the mandates of regulatory bodies to ensure lack of duplication, and to ease transparency, affordability and prompt service to enable higher levels of regulatory compliance.

The Taskforce has recommended that it is critical that every organ and arm of Government be accountable to the people of Kenya. That means that every independent commission must have internal accountability systems that clearly and transparently separate the power of appointment and promotion from that of interdiction and censure. In addition, rigorous audits that inquire into value for money and upholding sound principles of public finance management should apply to every arm of government and every public institution.

The Taskforce in listening to views on resource sharing, and the provision of services has come to the conclusion that Nairobi, by virtue of being the national capital and an extra-territorial seat of the United Nations, which has the city as its third global headquarters, is dissimilar to other counties. The Kenyan people look to the capital as the seat of all arms of Government and as a critical location for their civic participation in national life. This means that the Commission of Revenue Allocation formula would struggle to take into consideration this special status of Nairobi and the demands for services that come with it. Further to this consideration as capital city, the 26 March 1975 agreement between the Republic of Kenya and the United Nations regarding the headquarters of the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi agrees actions by the National Government that touch on the environment, infrastructure, amenities, public services, and accessibility of the headquarters. To demonstrate the far-reaching implications of the agreement, consider its agreement that ‘the headquarters seat shall be supplied with the necessary services including without limitation by reason of this enumeration, electricity, water, sewerage, gas, post, telephone, telegraph, local transportation, drainage, collection of refuse and fire protection…’ It also holds that ‘in case of any threatened interruption of such services, the appropriate Kenyan authorities shall consider the needs of UNEP as being of equal importance with those of essential agencies of the Government…’ These actions are agreed with the National Government and not the County Government. The status of Nairobi as host of a global UN headquarters is a big reason why it has become a diplomatic hub with dozens of countries establishing missions that will allow them representation at UNEP and other UN bodies governed from Nairobi. These missions in turn demand a minimum level of services and facilitation from the National Government. The Taskforce recommends that Nairobi be accorded a special status as capital city that allows the National Government the means to provide the services and facilitation necessary to maintaining it as a capital city and as a diplomatic hub. At the same time, such a special status should not impede the rights of the Kenyan people to representation at the ward and parliamentary levels.

Reading the BBI Report

The Taskforce proposes that this report be read, as much as possible, in its entirety. The more we examined the challenges Kenya is facing, the more interconnected they appeared. While there is considerable interest in the more political recommendations the Taskforce is making, we strongly believe that reading them in isolation from the rest of the report will detract from their successful application. For this reason, we have chosen to append the major recommendations at the end of every chapter rather than summarising them at the beginning of this report. More detailed recommendations for the Government, civil institutions, and individuals charged with implementation are to be found in table form in the appendices.
The Taskforce offers this advisory report in humility and deep gratitude for the thousands of Kenyans who shared their considered and constructive views with us. We are grateful for the millions more people who have enthusiastically embraced BBI as part of a historic opportunity to effect lasting positive change in our country. We are also profoundly conscious of the magnitude of the task we were set, and our momentous opportunity to communicate Kenyans’ insights and knowledge clearly and as concisely as possible. This report encapsulates the core concerns we heard from Kenyans — citizens in their thousands and many experts, leaders, and representatives of civil, business, religious, academic, and political institutions. We pray that as many Kenyans as possible will read this report, taking note of its spirit as much as its letter, and treating it as an opportunity to begin the journey we must undertake together to build a united and prosperous Kenya. We ask for forgiveness, in advance, for any shortcomings or lapses in this report that reflect our limits as individuals and as a group.
We are also thankful to the numerous Kenyans who assisted us in carrying out this task. From our secretariat and researchers, we got willing effort and confidentiality; thank you. We are thankful for the Government and security officers who ensured that we were safe and well taken care of. To the members of civil society who dovetailed their advocacy efforts with our drive to hear from Kenyans by sending us memoranda and engaging us, thank you. Above all, we are thankful to the thousands of Kenyans who took off time from work to share their views and insights; this report is dedicated to you and our national quest to become a united and prosperous country.
The March 2018 ‘handshake’ between His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta and the Right Honourable Raila Odinga, was a historic moment in sealing a bipartisan accord to build national unity and work together to face some of the most daunting challenges the country faces. The public embrace and applause of this gesture was, and remains, extremely strong such that the ‘handshake’ has taken on an iconic and historic status. Their consideration of the discord and weakening national cohesion following the 2017 election season, led them to identify the following challenges set out in this report as key threats to national unity. They then committed to working together, alongside other Kenyans, to face these challenges in a united manner for the sake of a Kenya that is cohesive and peaceful. President Uhuru Kenyatta subsequently sought advice on the course of action to take, even as he, and Rt Hon Raila Odinga, consulted widely with other leaders and Kenyans. President Kenyatta formed the Taskforce on Building Bridges to Unity Advisory with a mandate that it consult citizens, leaders, institutions, civil society, the private sector, the religious sector, and other stakeholders to recommend to him solutions that he will share with relevant institutions and processes. Though there are other important challenges, the Taskforce focused specially on nine major ones as per its mandate. In hindsight, having held broad public and expert consultations, it is even clearer today that these challenges are the key ones facing a Kenya that aspires to build shared prosperity, peace, and a unity that respects difference and diversity.
This report was compiled through nationwide public participation and drawing on the expertise and perspectives of institutional leadership of Public Service entities, the private sector, religious and cultural associations, and dozens of elected leaders. The views of Kenyans were collated and analysed. The emerging insights were debated for inclusion in the report’s diagnosis of the challenges and potential solutions to them. Annex 3 contains names of elected and cultural leaders, major NGOs and associations, and others who participated in the expert and institutional consultations at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre. There is also a list that includes the elected leadership and NGOs that shared their views during the Taskforce’s consultations in the 47 Counties. During these County visits, at least 20 citizens were drawn from every constituency with care being made to ensure that the full ethnic and religious diversity was captured, as well as gender, age, people with disabilities, the private sector, and different livelihoods. This has been an extensive exercise of public participation that has included at least 7,000 Kenyans, many who are elected or in civil society representing millions more Kenyans.

Chapter 1: Notable issues that Kenyans must deal with

As the BBI Taskforce traversed the country, it took note of serious challenges that call for deep reflection by all Kenyans, and especially leaders at all levels, if we are to truly manage to build a united, peaceful and prosperous Kenya. They are laid out below and will hopefully spark constructive conversations. They frame many of the specific recommendations that will follow, and therefore should be regarded as integral to the report.
A NATION OF IDEALS VERSUS A NATION OF BLOOD TIES — For Kenya to be a united nation, it must be bound by shared ideals and aspirations and not by blood and soil. If anything, the politics of ethnicity stretch and tear at our national bonds by pitting those with shared blood ties against other ethnicities in a struggle for power. A nation bound by shared ideals and aspirations is a projection of hope that has its gaze set upon the future of the country. It is a nation that is built in the present by a politics that can be competitive but never descends into a contest between friends and enemies. This is not where Kenya is today. The many Kenyans who spoke to the Taskforce testified to our lack of a unifying ethos. We seem to know only how to oppose, whether it is colonialism or other ethnic groups. We saw how easily many Kenyans in positions of responsibility, and even of leadership, take on a weary cynicism when it comes to appreciating Kenya as a unified nation with the potential for greatness. We know that this cynicism comes from the repeated disappointments that have characterised so much of our history as an independent country — disappointments that might even seem to justify corruption and the deepening of an ‘us versus them’ mentality. Yet ultimately, we will only genuinely be able to embrace our enormous potential when we can collectively glimpse a nation of ideals and excellence in the future. Our collective sacrifices and efforts will be needed to build this future day by day.
KENYA IS RUNNING OUT OF TIME — Kenyans know we have to change our trajectory, our social and economic software, and the way we are governed, if we are to avoid catastrophic failure, or, just as bad, a continuing downward drift into sustained poverty, misery, instability, and conflict. We have designed political and economic systems that are not fit for purpose, and we continue to tempt fate by building on their failures to the detriment of most of our people. We must either change together, and stop the few who resist change for selfish and corrupt reasons, or our potential as a people will go unfulfilled. It is time Kenya proved to itself, and to the world, that an African country can rise to the highest economic, political, and security heights. Individual Kenyans, in large numbers, show us every day what it takes to beat elite global competition for achievement and honours. We have it in us to replicate their individual feats at scale; we can become the first African country this century to have a powerful and inclusive national vision and be truly wealthy, have more jobs than job applicants, to offer fairness and security to all, and develop a golden age of the arts, industry, and invention. The world and Africa are waiting for such a country, which will herald a new age in human affairs by creating a template of success that shall be emulated by a billion Africans. Nothing stands in our way except ourselves.
YOUNG PEOPLE FEEL LEFT OUT — Kenyans aged 15–24 make up 20.3% of the population, far above the world average of 15.8%, and they are all aware of the acute shortfall in opportunities to gain decent employment. The number and quality of jobs available to young Kenyans is far less than what is required. The gap is so serious that it is taking on the proportions of a crisis, one that has serious implications for our country. Young people, broadly speaking, feel that their needs and aspirations are not being met by the economic, social, and cultural structures in place today. Yet they are the majority. It is not enough to merely improve on the status quo; we must utterly transform how our economy operates. We must undertake radical measures to change the dynamics and structures that have led them to feel this way. Failure to do so puts at risk one of the greatest opportunities Kenya will ever have — of having most young citizens who are willing to work — and increases the risk of instability, division, and even conflict. The Taskforce concluded from its consultations — both with the young men and women who shared their views, and the experts — that we must shift our economic paradigm and the politics that feed it to allow for rapid, large-scale investment. We believe that such an economy is radically different from our present model. The recommendations made in the chapter on shared prosperity should be taken seriously and implemented with ambition and determination.
KENYA HAS A TRUST DEFICIT — High degrees of social trust have sustained all lasting and successful nations: trust by the majority of people in their leaders and institutions, in the cultural norms and pathways that lead us from childhood to adulthood, for our personal and family prospects in economies that are trusted to reward effort and minimise corruption and the abuse of power. The nine major challenges to our unity outlined in the Joint Communiqué are made so intractable by an entrenched trust deficit. This lack of trust by citizens in the political process, in public institutions, in their elected leaders, and in the economic system to reward merit and effort over cronyism, blocks our sense of belonging to, owning and building a unified nation. The trust deficit manifests itself in our politics most of all and makes us hold onto identities and interests that we have politically weaponised against each other. It is trust we must build if Kenya is to be a peaceful, prosperous and fair nation.
KENYANS DISRESPECT THE LAW AT ALL LEVELS — It is a common and all-pervasive phenomenon in Kenya that we — leaders and citizens alike — have a noticeable and destructive inclination to disrespect the law. This phenomenon is particularly evident among Public Officers, who commonly ignore the law and too often subordinate it to the pursuit of their personal interests. It makes for a Kenya that largely has the correct legislation and policies but seems unable to implement them, leading to a widespread cynicism which itself feeds and spreads impunity. If there is a single action that would greatly change Kenya it is that those Public Officers who refuse to implement laws or to properly discharge duties placed on them by law, or disobey court orders, should be appropriately punished. Just as dangerous as impunity is the shaping of the law by special interests that use it to reshape, in their favour, competition in our economy, how regulations are designed and implemented, and even how budgeting and use of public resources are undertaken. The capture of our laws, and even part of the State system, by special interests that we call cartels risks confirming the dangerous sentiment that the economic system and Government decision-making are rigged against hardworking citizens and law-abiding small businesses. It should be regarded as a matter of urgent national security interest to ensure that special interests do not rig the economic system against those without access and influence in the great offices of State.
IN KENYA THERE IS NO TOMORROW, ONLY TODAY — Every country that has made the leap into prosperity and long-term stability has been able to sustain a national vision through an extended period. Across generations. In Kenya, by contrast, there is limited public appreciation of how our efforts today contribute to our collective future, as a country and as a people. This reflects our lack of a collective vision, and contributes to the short-term, selfish interests that feed corruption, the wastage of public resources, environmental destruction, and a poor culture of maintenance. When money is known as ‘pesa ya serikali’ it is something to plunder not respect; indeed, people who try to save public money are dismissed and even rebuked. Our leaders must lead, or get out of the way, in the crafting of a 100-year vision of Kenya that has as its aim the achievement of a shared prosperity to rival any on earth, and for a Kenya where security and sovereignty are safeguarded generation after generation. Such a vision would need to be powerful and binding enough to serve as a guiding star to successive Governments and generations. It is needed, and this moment of momentous change is the time to develop and launch one.
KENYA MUST NURTURE AND PROMOTE ITS TALENTED CITIZENS — We cannot help but notice the huge surge of Kenyan excellence across sectors when compared to countries of a similar economic level. We also notice that such success is usually achieved outside of Government resources and initiatives. Ninety per cent of Kenyans leading the world in their discipline do it by investing in themselves and competing for opportunities. One has only to think of our athletes, like Eliud Kipchoge and Brigid Kosgei, and the team that represented us at the 2019 World Athletics Championships in Doha; or the students from Strathmore University who recently won a Moot Court competition in world trade law against some of the best law schools in the world. Witness, too, the passion and selflessness that drove Peter Tabichi to win the Global Teacher Prize 2019. The World Giving Index conducted by a global polling firm on behalf of a major charity looked at how people in more than 125 countries have given their time and money to causes that they care about in the last 10 years. It found that Kenya is Africa’s most generous country, the eleventh in the world overall, and the second most improved. All this shows that Kenyans are making progress, and the world is noticing. But meanwhile, they must contend with more than 40 regulatory agencies, badly spent Government resources that rarely invest in their efforts, and policies that seek to control Kenyans, rather than freeing them up. Yet it is the Kenyans with courage, ambition, and great ideas who are going to build the efforts, across all sectors, that lift our country and provide opportunities for millions of others. All Government policy must be examined for its positive or negative effect on individual Kenyans and small businesses that are not powerful and connected. We should be unleashing our full potential and not getting in its way.
THE KENYAN FAMILY IS IN CRISIS AND WE ARE SUFFERING A FAILURE OF PARENTAGE — In all the areas that the Taskforce visited to consult with citizens, there was a common concern regarding the indiscipline of children. Parents accepted responsibility for how families are turning out, and many felt that they had failed in their duty to guide and instruct effectively. They noted the breakdown in traditional forms of authority in the raising of children; the despair that was leading to elevated levels of depression and suicide among young people; the prevalence of domestic violence; and the occurrence of child abuse and incest. The fact that most of the population is young makes it imperative that as a nation we undertake a major effort to strengthen parenting skills, in a way that blends tradition and the needs of a dynamically changing Kenya. Each home, family, community, religious organisation, and school should develop a system to build parenting skills — which include the protection of children from abuse — for all new parents so that they know how to properly instruct, correct, rebuke, and support their children. So important is this mission that we believe that the President, as the constitutional symbol of national unity, should annually report on the State of the Family during the annual State of the Nation Address to the joint Houses of Parliament.
WE MUST BAKE A BIGGER NATIONAL CAKE — The Taskforce noted from its discussions with Kenyans that political ideas regarding prosperity dwell mostly on sharing rather than creating. Our national anthem states that ‘plenty be found within our borders’, and indeed there is a strong impression that Kenya is a wealthy country with plenty for all, if only it were shared. Yet the truth is a grimmer one: Kenya may have found its way to the lower-middle income tier globally, but we are a relatively poor country with some of the lowest GDP per capita figures, scoring low on the Human Development Index, and with low-to-declining agricultural and industrial production. The mismatch between the size of our national economy and our personal and collective desires for material progress is dangerous. Into that gap can jump opportunistic politicians who do not care to explain the reality, or to craft policies that really make a positive impact. The politics such figures feed on and propagate would divide Kenyans, driving down productivity even more as they introduce policies of redistribution and the over-regulation of productive enterprises. We as a people must build an economy that is dominated by value creation and not value extraction. The latter, unfortunately, greatly characterises our economy at present. Our value extraction economy is dominated by parasitic entities who always seek unfair advantages and try to escape from competition, particularly from small and growing businesses. It utilises tax avoidance schemes and offshore structures; it is an unaccountable free rider on public resources and public goods; it privatises profit while seeking bailouts from the public for its losses; it is singularly focused on debt and financialization, and capturing the poorest in schemes that initially promise financial inclusion but have become sophisticated shylock schemes; and it often uses fraud, cronyism, and even violence to capture State institutions, policies, and processes.
We have confused value extraction with capitalism. This has shaped a deformed and dead-end capitalism whose failures can lead to the even greater disaster of centrally planned redistribution — resulting in even greater poverty and misery. Among countries that have transitioned from poverty to wealth in the last 50 years, the source of transformation has been value creation. The single most important thing that any Government can do for the Kenyan people is to facilitate the energy and genius of Kenyans by building an economy dominated by value creation. At the core of such an economy is accountability by economic actors — companies, entrepreneurs, and regulators — to consumers, customers, clients, employees, and the broader community. It is an economy that would use the SGR to export more goods to the world, rather than just to import for consumption. It would be globally competitive in terms of skills, production costs, quality standards, logistics, and regulatory burdens. It would reward companies building value, keep taxes at a minimum, enable small businesses to compete against larger ones, and safeguard its economic policymaking and regulation from capture by major companies and cartels. It would be an economy that is deeply integrated with the rest of the region. We must make the creation of wealth a key part of our national philosophy. It must be expected from everyone and every institution to add value to their customers, employees, the community in which they operate, and to services and products that make a tangible positive impact for all Kenyans.
KENYANS FEEL LET DOWN BY THEIR LEADERS IN ALL SPHERES OF LIFE — Listening to Kenyans talk about their leaders, the Taskforce came to the conclusion that the country has a leadership crisis. Whether in the local community or religious organisations or politics, leaders in Kenya are failing and Kenyans are feeling let down. In our consultations, it emerged that Kenyans pay close attention to political leaders in both positive and negative ways. On the one hand, they treat them as special people and grant them great prestige. On the other hand, Kenyans told the Taskforce that their political leaders are the major cause of their woes. Kenyans feel that they mostly live in peace with one another but are driven apart by the way politicians weaponize identity and division for the sake of selfish and corrupt interests. We strongly recommend that we find a way to raise barriers that will keep out those with a track record of fraud, corruption, division, and incitement, to utilise party nomination lists to increase competence in National and County legislatures, and to undertake continuous civic education at all ages and in all sectors.
PUBLIC SERVICE IN KENYA IS A FAVOUR, NOT A RIGHT — The 2010 Constitution changed the basis on which power is derived and public offices are established. The Constitution clearly stated that all power belongs to the people and those who wield it do so as delegates of the people. Despite this, Kenyans are complaining that public servants in all branches of Government continue to treat them arrogantly and people often must plead or bribe for services. Our Public Officers have yet to internalise an understanding that the power and authority assigned to them is a public trust that they are meant to use for the benefit of the people, not for their personal aggrandisement. All inquiries made by the Taskforce showed that the problem is not in training or induction. Neither is it due to lack of rules or a lack of effort to deal with the problem. We have come to the conclusion that there is a deep-rooted problem in the attitude of Public Officers — at all levels — to providing service to Kenyans. It is a matter of urgency that we conduct an independent performance audit and overhaul the Public Service, implementing the recommendations of the audit in a way that is linked to a public strategy for reform. We realise that public sector reform is difficult, particularly given the deeply entrenched interests within the system that are resistant to change.
KENYANS ARE INSENSITIVE TO PEOPLE LIVING WITH DISABILITIES — Too many of us do not regard disability as something that we ourselves can suffer or that can be suffered by a person dependent on us. Disability is looked at as someone else’s curse. The traditional view of people living with disability as condemned by fate persists, and we have created a separate world for them to live in rather than struggling to integrate them into our society. Everywhere the Taskforce visited, people living with disability complained that they were patronised by the rest of society and treated as incapable of taking care of their own lives and interests. We need to interrogate our attitudes towards our brothers and sisters living with disability. A review of the way we have handled matters respecting people living with disabilities shows that we do not regard their concerns as equally urgent as those of the rest of society. For instance, we have taken an inordinately long time to formulate a policy on disability. We have also taken too long to align the law on disability to the 2010 Constitution. In fact, even the old Act has never been fully implemented. We urgently need to give due attention to integrating people with disabilities to live as full members of society with equal rights and equal opportunities as guaranteed by the Constitution. It is also important that people living with disabilities choose their own representatives and not have nominated representatives be chosen for them by parties.
THE PROBLEM IS MOSTLY IN OUR SOFTWARE, NOT OUR HARDWARE — Overall, the Taskforce notes that Kenya’s greatest obstacles are our attitudes and behaviours. We struggle to take responsibility for our actions or our responsibilities. When was the last time a senior Government or company official resigned on a matter of conscience after a disastrous development — not because he or she was directly guilty, but as a way of acknowledging their responsibility? We believe that such an official would instantly become a national hero! At present it is always someone else’s fault. Our fingers are always pointed out to accuse others, to throw on the mantle of victimhood, and very rarely to raise a hand and play our individual role. Others are corrupt, even as we personally offer and solicit bribes. Our churches and mosques are packed to the rafters with fervent worshippers, yet many, outside those hours of worship, behave in ways that are in direct contradiction of our faith. We cannot fix Kenya until we first fix ourselves as individuals. Having said all this, it is not enough for this Taskforce to sound like our interest is only in lecturing Kenyans. We believe that it is possible to change the software of our country through a great moral and ethical reawakening from the bottom up. Many of the recommendations in this report focus on what must be done, by all of us, to achieve this. We should mention a few qualities that are essential if we are to become a country that is an example of greatness to the world. We must reduce the penetration of electoral competition into every sphere of our communities and forums: enough with our funerals, weddings, and self-help efforts becoming perpetual platforms for political warfare, incitement, and negative manipulation of our feelings. Let the politicians keep their politics to electioneering time, and then engage us in strengthening our communities, economies, and wellbeing. We must also reject those known to be corrupt and abusive of their public office from places of honour among us. Praising the corrupt is encouraging corruption and increasing it. The cultures and heritage of every Kenyan community give pride of place to the honourable, the wise, and those who enlighten and uplift; let us not replace what has stood for numerous generations with a new culture of praising those who undermine our young country.
MOST INJUSTICES IN KENYA ARE SWEPT UNDER THE CARPET — We have adopted a system of sweeping injustices under the carpet. Year after year, Kenyans suffer from many forms of abuse and injustice, including when they are carrying out their political rights during elections. They seek redress. Commissions are launched and author reports that stay on the shelves, unimplemented. The institutions and leaders who have the responsibility to provide justice, rehabilitation and redress, never complete their work. Often, they do not even begin. Frustration piles on suffering, trust is lost as citizens become alienated from their own Government, and progress in achieving the ideals we need to embrace to build a united Kenya is frustrated. In many parts of the country, Kenyans told the Taskforce of their past suffering at the hands of the State. They protested the lack of responsiveness to the findings of past Commissions and some even asked openly whether this Taskforce was going to join that trend. The Taskforce is profoundly aware of the bipartisan and patriotic basis of the Handshake that launched the Joint Communiqué to which this report responds. The Taskforce recommends that the implementation of the recommendations of this report, many which are far-reaching, should include the interests and needs of the victims of historical injustices. Including ensuring that the relevant Chapter 15 commissions effectively carry out their mandates that touch on historical injustices.
KENYANS FEEL INSECURE — The Taskforce heard from Kenyans about chronic insecurity and lack of safety. News headlines and everyday conversations are filled with stories of domestic violence, which destroys psychological wellbeing and even kills. Sexual abuse and violence are making the home and other protected spaces like schools, religious centres, and workplaces feel threatening and unwelcoming. Brutal criminals violently waylay Kenyans on country paths and break into their homes. Drug dealers induce promising young people into ruin. Radicalisers mix with our children in spaces that should be safe to induce them into becoming terrorist murderers. Food bought at enormous expense for our loved families makes us sick enough that we must use all our savings in search of medical care. In all these instances, the institutions that should prevent these harms and respond to them with justice, rehabilitation, and redress often underperform. Channels for victims reporting safely and without stigma or further exploitation are rare. The effect is an insecure people, unable to trust that citizenship grants a minimum guarantee of safety and security. It is imperative to shaping a united and prosperous future that the safety and security of all Kenyans should be the major preoccupation of all Government efforts. Institutions that regulate food and drugs must have their mandates rationalised and their operations made more effective. The security services must draw up strategies that are rooted in human security and responsive to the harms befalling individual Kenyans.
A NATIONAL CONVERSATION — We need a national conversation on the country we want our children and their children to live in, a Kenya three generations from today, and on how our day-to-day behaviour and attitudes will help to build it. This should start with the launch of the BBI report starting a national conversation to discuss its findings. This civic interaction should be carried out by as many communities, churches, mosques, temples, associations, clubs, civil society groups, and citizens as possible, with the aim of driving honest and open conversations and a bottom-up consensus on the nation we want to build. The conversation should be aided by technology and townhall meetings. The leaders who drive this process of change should go out and speak to Kenyans and listen to them. A powerful national consensus will emerge, not only on the contents of the BBI report but also on the New Kenya for our children’s children — a future for which we are willing to make sacrifices today.

Chapter 2: Lack of a national ethos

“Naomba tu nikisema ya kwamba let it be a collective social responsibility tujue ya kwamba nyumba mzuri inaanzia kutoka kwa msingi”. A resident of Meru County.

A nation is founded on a national ethos

We lack shared beliefs, ideals and aspirations about what Kenya can become if we all subscribed to a national ethos that builds and reinforces our unity. This report is a historic opportunity for us to begin willingly defining, developing and subscribing to an enduring collective vision that would lead to a united Kenya equal to all its major challenges. It would appreciate and honour excellence in leadership, in the civic practices of citizenship, and in our care and consideration of one another. Such an ethos would be deeply respectful of differences in culture, heritage, beliefs and religions. Its character would guide and constrict the planning and actions of the State to the benefit of the people of Kenya. The journey to developing such a national ethos begins by accepting the desperate need for it. That is the most important recommendation made in this report.
The thousands of Kenyans who spoke to the Taskforce, from every social class, all wanted their children, and their children’s children, to prosper, to be safe and respected, and to enjoy equal opportunities and rights like every other Kenyan. Kenyans told the Taskforce of our being a people suspended in a sort of purgatory between our traditional heritage and a vision of Westernisation as a superior form of modernisation to aspire to. ‘Kusema ukweli sisi ni kama tumepotea sana sababu moja ni vile tumekosa zile sheria za mila zetu, desturi zetu’, said a Kenyan to the Taskforce. Many spoke of our suffering from broken historical narratives, a disconnection from our pre-colonial societies, and a sense that together, as African peoples, we are not the equal of others from distant lands. Kenyans yearn for a national ethos of cultural pride, one that allows us to reconcile our traditions with the new and dynamically changing world around us.
Kenyan communities have adapted successfully to change throughout history, and they can continue to do so. The country is composed of diverse cultures that for many generations located at their core the development of ethical and honourable people. Our national ethos will emerge from a trusting expansion of our circles of brotherhood such that we regard every Kenyan, and our collective existence as a nation, to be worthy of our commitment and ownership. We will need to have conversations and initiatives that allow us to innovatively combine the young, dynamic and urbanising cultures with the enduring wisdom of our diverse cultures.
This is bottom-up work, starting in the family and the community, supported by initiatives that embrace the positive cultures, beliefs and ideals of Kenya’s diverse communities and facilitated by civil society, the private sector, and State institutions. It will become embedded in the formal education system, starting from the earliest age and lasting for a lifetime, religious and cultural institutions, the media, and our arts sector. It will not be an ethos made of a single note but will be a complex song of many voices that are inspired by the desire to contribute to, own and build a nation to which we all belong. A Kenya in which a Kenyans’ character of embracing hard-work, honesty, integrity, and respectful behaviour will be recognised and rewarded.
Even as the Taskforce recommends sustained action to build a national ethos, it is aware that this has been tried in the past with mixed success. Recall the slogans from the past that encapsulated campaigns driven by the State: Uhuru na Kazi, Harambee, and Fuata Nyayo. Without being overly critical, and admittedly with the benefit of hindsight, the Taskforce observed that the behaviour of the State and its leadership was too often at odds with what it was preaching. The slogans became just that — slogans, which were daily contradicted by those who mouthed them loudly on public platforms.
Instead, Kenyans must build from the ground up, guided by some of the recommendations made below, but informed by diverse approaches, in every community, sector, or institution. In short, Kenya must undertake a sustained bottom-up and top-down civic, cultural and social initiatives that, at a minimum, transform Kenyans, and particularly the young, into individuals with a respect for others and a readiness to serve and assist others in a way that shows integrity.
A major part of strengthening our national ethos is included in the Taskforce’s consultations and recommendations on responsibilities and rights. The two should be read together.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

The most crucial national task is to think big and long-term — Elections will come and go with different administrations in place, but Kenya will endure. We need a vision of the Kenya we want to exist in 3 generations or 100 years. It will be a country that makes a special contribution to humanity, perhaps by being the spark for a resurgence of vibrant, prosperous and confident African civilisations throughout the continent. We must undertake a major consultation, in the form of a national conference, of Kenyans of every age, class, ethnicity, belief, and philosophy with the single aim to produce a vision of a unique Kenyan civilisation 100 years from today. Processes that allow Kenyans to sustain this vision beyond electoral cycles and politics should be supported in academia and think tanks.
That vision must stand alongside an official and inclusive history — we should give ourselves a definitive, evolving, and inclusive official history.

The Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service should be renamed the Official Historian and National Archives Service. The re-energised body should have its mandate broadened to be a pivotal point in collaborative and professional efforts, by libraries, universities, museums and individual historians, to research, analyse and present a thorough and definitive Kenyan history to Kenyans and the world.
The institution should be led by an established and highly regarded scholar of African history or a world-class expert on library science or curating. It should have a board with representation from the Ministries of Heritage and Education; domestic and foreign universities; domestic and foreign museums of history and heritage; curators; artists; citizens and elders.
H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta should commission an Official History of Kenya whose production will be led by an Office of the Historian resident in the National Archives. This history should go back 1000 years and provide an accurate and definitive account of the settlement of Kenya by the present inhabitants; the political, economic, and cultural histories of all ethnic groups in Kenya; the role of women throughout this history; an account of the international slave trade and colonialism; the anti-colonial struggles; the post-colonial history of every part of the country; and contemporary histories including those of urban areas and newly formed communities in Kenya.
Inside the Official Historian and National Archives Service should be a working staff of professional historians, librarians, curators, and professionals from other relevant fields of expertise such as philosophy, anthropology, theology, politics, and the sciences to name a few.
The work should be connected to the mission of the National Museums, publicly funded, cultural centres, the Ministry of Education and all public bodies undertaking curriculum development, training and education of Kenyans. Its work should be shaped in such a way that it can be presented and understood by all Kenyans, and particularly students and young people.

3. We must become comfortable in our own African skin — The Taskforce recommends that Government undertake initiatives that harmonise modern Kenyan identity with our diverse African cultures so that we are Africans comfortable in our skin and not operating between two, or more sometimes contradictory worlds.

Strengthen the Ministry of Culture and Heritage to build and promote cultural policies that are linked to the Counties’ promotion of cultural activities. The Ministry should also be able to do more to document, protect, and promote ancient and historical monuments of national importance.
County Governments should be empowered to discharge their Constitutional duty, according to Schedule 4, to promote cultural activities and implement the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act 2016.
Replace Boxing Day on 26th December with a National Culture Day for celebrating culture and learning about other Kenyans’ cultures (this could also be done on 1st January).
Link Elders to formal mediation processes recognised by the legal system through training and certification opportunities, and ensure they are well connected with judicial and Government institutions nationwide.
The Ministry of Culture and Heritage should use public participation and input from experts to codify an official pantheon of Kenyan heroes who reflect Kenya’s values and ethos, our fight for democracy and freedom, our aspirations and our outstanding achievements. These heroes should be included in museum displays, curriculums and displays.
The officially recognised living national heroes should receive State support if they are vulnerable or destitute.

4. All of us have a responsibility — Every major sector of the country must take its role and responsibility seriously in building a national ethos out of the country’s diverse cultures, interests, and groupings. The following activities, while they do not form a comprehensive list, should be undertaken:

Senior national and political leadership should take the lead in promoting the importance of this national moment for forging a renewed and strengthened national ethos. Our leaders must live what they preach on the national ethos.
There must be a renewed focus among parents and mentors on teaching morality, including sacred truths whose importance stretches beyond the individual.
Elders and cultural leaders should commit to strengthening the moral and service ethos passed to the young and including in it a civic component. Insert civic education into traditional and communal rituals for passage into adulthood. There should be a specific effort made to insert the call to service and integrity, as citizens, in all ceremonies of passage into adulthood of Kenya’s cultural and religious communities — for example, in circumcision ceremonies.
The media can build up or tear down. Kenyans need media that hold the powerful to account. Equally, Kenya needs media that uplift us through investing in quality local content. The media should build programming around Kenyan histories and showing us what is exceptional about ourselves.
Kenyans should learn service from the earliest age. In schools, and particularly boarding schools, students should carry out work and exercise responsibilities that demand their effort and service to the community.
All students should be involved in structured volunteer initiatives that serve the poor and needy beyond the school gates. These initiatives should reflect values of compassion, empathy, cooperation, and responsibility.
Religious groups, including churches, mosques, and temples, should play a strong role in strengthening the national ethos by mainstreaming ethics training and awareness in their activities.
The National Government, working with private sector associations, should develop and launch a National Volunteers Network that identifies the need for volunteers and gives formal certification for the work done. This should use technology to identify people or organisations with a need for volunteers and link them to willing groups in schools, homes, and workplaces. In schools, it should include adult volunteers and mentors engaging with students. School holidays can be used for students’ volunteering work, in environments that are different from where they live or go to school.
There should be a compulsory curriculum — throughout a Kenyan’s formal education — instilling in the learner at an early age, a sense of national ethos rooted in ethics, morals, and integrity. You should not be able to graduate without having completed these courses.

5. A full-time focus on ethics — The EACC should be focused on stopping economic crimes and given constitutional protection as a Chapter 15 Commission. Its ethics mandate should be redirected to an Ethics Commission to be under the Office of the President. The NCIC should be subsumed in the Ethics Commission and its mandate brought in line.

Monitor and publicly report on the ethical state of public life throughout the country while providing widespread and accessible ethics and public leadership training.
The re-mandated body on ethics should advise the President on ethical standards across the whole of public life in Kenya.
It should monitor and report to the public on the standards of conduct of all public officeholders.
Undertake annual integrity, ethics and efficiency surveys of all Government entities, and the perceptions of Kenyans, and then publicise the results.
Strengthen the linking of cultural systems of ethics with Kenya's constitutional values.

6. Link the cultural values and modern norms of Kenyans as reflected in rites of passage to constitutional values and principles, and the responsibilities and rights of citizenship. This can be achieved through policy guidance from the Ministry of Culture and Heritage and the County Governments implementing measures that encourage and enable all Councils of Elders or community leaders to formalise rites of passage to include both genders, and to incorporate into them national values and citizen rights and responsibilities.

7. Develop and implement enforcement mechanisms for the Leadership and Integrity Act that capture and act on breaches. We have lost track of the enforcement of Chapter 6 on National Values and have few working mechanisms. The present focus on financial impropriety, as important as it is, excludes other important breaches of our national values such as bullying, misleading the public, discrimination, and demeaning public office; these may not amount to criminal behaviour but are clearly breaches of the Constitution.

Chapter 3: Responsibilities and Rights

To develop, engrain and implement our national ethos, every individual Kenyan is going to need to embrace, in our personal conduct, the responsibilities and rights we have as citizens. To investigate the status of responsibilities and rights in Kenya, the Taskforce had the privilege to speak to Kenyans who make immense sacrifices for us all.
We heard of our young Kenyan soldiers bravely fighting, and sometimes making the ultimate sacrifice, to protect our homeland from murderous terrorists. Just across the border, as the Taskforce consulted with Kenyans on our side of the border with Somalia, we were protected by police officers who undertake daily patrols in search of militants who regularly try to waylay them with improvised explosive devices.
The Taskforce learned that Kenya is sustained by many actions that are not captured by the television cameras or lauded by headlines. Across the length and breadth of Kenya, many patriots rise to heal, encourage, rescue, and sacrifice, all because of their profound feeling of responsibility. If it were not for their efforts, and those from others who have since passed on, Kenya may possibly not even exist in the form we know it.
However, the Taskforce was also told of deep concerns by many Kenyans that there are still far too many who do not know what their responsibilities to the country are. The point was frequently made that lacking a sustained civic education, and given the lack of trust among Kenyans, our national sense of responsibility to the public good and Kenya is far from where it should be. The Taskforce heard from Kenyan after Kenyan that we are increasingly a nation of distinct individuals instead of an individually distinct nation; and that we have placed too much emphasis on what the nation can do for each of use — our rights — and given almost no attention to what we each must do for our nation: our responsibilities. Our sense of being wenye inchi is not strong enough for many of us to resist the lure of corruption and dishonesty that compromise Public Service, leading to insecurity and even disasters.
Our attitudes to responsibilities and rights are rooted in our history, which must be understood if we are to forge an approach to these two key pillars of citizenship that allows us to craft a strong national ethos.

A history of responsibilities and rights in Kenya

Responsibilities and rights in pre-colonial times — For most of our histories, African nations were egalitarian in nature and founded on the understanding that' ‘I am because you are’. This sharing of responsibilities created a system in which the right to enjoy food and protection was reliant on the duties undertaken by members to ensure the continuity of the community. In pre-colonial African society, the taking up of responsibilities was a dominant feature of becoming an adult and a citizen. There is important work that needs to be undertaken in documenting this aspect of our history.
Responsibilities and rights during colonialism — Under colonial rule, our pre-colonial system of responsibilities and duties was replaced by a Western model of formalised education which was established and reproduced for the sake of maintaining the domination and hegemony of the British. This new foreign system of social relations altered many of our socio-economic, cultural and political structures. We adopted modernisation as a project to eject our indigenous knowledge systems as they came under ferocious ideological and even violent assault from the coloniser.
Responsibilities and rights in post-independence Kenya — Our independence in 1963 led to the introduction of formal (legal) rights in Kenyan society, beginning with the enactment of our inaugural Constitution in 1963. As was the case under colonial rule, the 1963 Constitution failed to acknowledge the responsibilities that had always existed in and held together our communities in African society. Instead, the 1963 Constitution over-emphasised the place of rights, setting in motion the challenge of a responsibility-light and rights-heavy society which we currently face in Kenya today.
Under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010 — An exploration of our responsibilities must begin with an assessment of the Preamble to the 2010 Constitution. The word ‘preamble’ stems from the Latin word praeambulus, which means ‘to walk before’. It follows that the framers of our 2010 Constitution envisaged that the long journey of progressively implementing our current Constitution in its true essence must begin with the set of key steps which we agreed to and set out in the Preamble. While often overlooked, the Preamble paints a vivid picture of the range of fundamental behaviours and attitudes which we each must embrace as our individual and collective duties to one another, if we are to give life to the letter and spirit of our current Constitution. Reflecting the underlying spirit, philosophy, intent, facts, and assumptions in our Constitution, the Preamble contemplates a society in which we the people of Kenya previously held and will perpetually hold to the following individual and collective duties, that:

We acknowledge the supremacy of the Almighty God of all creation;
We hold in high esteem people who struggled to procure our nation’s freedom and justice;
We celebrate and tolerate our ethnic, cultural and religious diversity and in so doing endeavour to live peaceably as a nation;
We respect and sustain our environment as a bequest which we received and will impart to future generations;
We uphold a commitment to nurturing and protecting our individual and collective well-being;
We recognise the aspirations of all our fellow Kenyans towards a humane Government, predicated on equality, freedom, democracy, social justice, human rights and the rule of law; and
We exercise our sovereign and inalienable right to determine the form of governance in Kenya.

5. Kenyans can be proud of the inalienable rights they have won and articulated in Chapter 4’s Bill of Rights, which also recognises that with every right there are responsibilities. Article 24 provides the general principles on the limitation of those rights.

6. Despite being tucked away in our Constitution’s Preamble, this set of expectations are essential pre-conditions which we meet if we, as citizens of Kenya, are to enact our Constitution not just into law but into our lives and if we are to ultimately to bequeath it to future generations of Kenyans in both letter and spirit.

7. Whereas the 2010 Constitution briefly outlines the above-mentioned expectations of Kenyan citizens, it nevertheless remains heavily skewed towards articulating the rights of citizens, many of which are consistent with those set out in rights previously guaranteed under the 1963 Constitution.

8. Other legal responsibilities and rights rooted in the Constitution — There are laws that enhance Constitutional provisions in areas such as the payments of taxes; political participation; electoral conduct; public participation in legislation, policy-making and public financing; and the responsibility to hold public institutions and offices accountable. Wider individual responsibilities to which we are all beholden as citizens include responsibilities towards other individuals, our families, communities and country.

9. At the institutional level, the responsibilities of our private institutions as corporate citizens pertain to the promotion of the rights of employees and engagement in corporate social responsibility. Correspondingly, all private actors have duties that include honouring their contractual obligations; preventing the facilitation of corruption; and, as employers, in ensuring employees enjoy their employment rights.

10. A huge part of the work of strengthening citizens’ embrace of both responsibilities and rights dovetails with the Taskforce’s consultations and recommendations on national ethos. They should ideally be read together.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Recognise that the responsibilities and rights of Kenyans are rooted in the individual and enable the knowledge and attitudes that strengthen responsible citizenship —

For you to enjoy your rights, another Kenyan must discharge their responsibility. This means that every one of us must also accept our responsibilities if the rights we argue for so strongly are to ultimately to be respected for all of us.
This responsible attitude must be ingrained in the behaviour of every one of us, from the youngest possible age.
Kenyans have God-given rights that must now stand alongside a Kenyan Charter of Citizen Responsibilities that is inspired by the National Anthem and the National Values, and includes a Patriot’s Pledge to the Nation and the Constitution of Kenya (for schools, workplaces, and official national and public events)
We must ensure that the mechanisms and attitudes in the Public Service protect Kenyans to safely exercise their responsibilities, for instance when willing to whistleblow or report a crime. That means there should be strong whistleblower protections and responsive and accessible communication channels, manned by reliable and trustworthy personnel.
There is an urgent need for continuous and widespread civic education on rights and responsibilities. Civic education should be prioritised in Government policies and initiatives, both nationally and in Counties. This includes a specific ongoing civic education campaign that is continuous and is based on innovative approaches that do not utilise the typical workshopping model; for instance, the use of barazas. Citizenship education should be provided at all stages of education through to the undergraduate level.
Develop a responsibility and execution culture because there is a national deficit in execution and the acceptance of individual responsibility. To build a culture of responsibility and effective implementation is not intuitive, it must be deliberately inculcated in people from their upbringing, our communal and national ethos, and in their training and education.) To this end, Kenyan schools should draw all students into chores and responsibilities that uplift and provide for the school and the broader community. This will help to develop a culture of responsibility, and getting tasks done. Schools, at every level, should also actively encourage and enable volunteering for those in need in the communities or institutions close to the school.
The citizen’s responsibilities and rights should be incorporated in the cultural, religious, and communal processes of initiation and religious and cultural education (based on all religions having expectations of engaged citizenship).

2. ‘Skin in the game’ and responsibility of leadership — Part of choosing to be a Cabinet member or to be a Principal Secretary, and their equivalent in the Counties, is to be ready to have 'skin in the game’ in using the services that you develop and manage on behalf of all Kenyans. If it is good enough for Kenyans, it should be good enough for you. The Ministerial Code should include Ministers making use of services for their own personal and family needs. For instance, the children of the Education Minister should make use of public schools; the Health Minister should use public healthcare; and so forth. All Ministers should use public facilities and services. These principles should be reflected in the Counties with the County Executives.

3. Effective parenting is learned — Educated parenting is important to raise healthy and responsible children in an increasingly complex and fast-changing Kenya. Like the classes many churches insist be taken by couples planning to wed, to ensure that they know how to uphold marriage, there should be similar efforts to strengthen parenting. To put this into action, an inter-ministerial Taskforce should be formed to develop a generic and simple parenting curriculum and make it available to religious and cultural institutions, health centres, and sub-chiefs and chiefs for the widest possible dissemination.

4. Entrench ethics awareness, training and accountability in the workplace — Every Public institution, non-governmental organisation, and company should develop an integrity and ethics strategy that includes training and safe ways to report infractions and make it part of evaluating departments and managers.

5. Growing through being of service — All Kenyans should voluntarily give six months of their lives to national service between the ages of 18 and 26 as a means of developing personal responsibility through service to others. All Kenyans should be encouraged to give their time to volunteering and service. There should be a national volunteer network that allows efforts that need volunteers to sign on and be connected to those who want to serve; this network should also offer certification of completed volunteering stints. Incentives, including by making this a requirement of applying for Public Service jobs, should be considered.

6. Utilise the duties articulated in the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights to develop civic training on responsibilities — Every Kenyan citizen, in upholding our responsibilities and rights shall be guided by the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights, to which Kenya is a party, and specifically the Articles below:

Article 27 —

Every individual shall have duties towards his family and society, the State and other legally recognised communities and the international community.
The rights and freedoms of each individual shall be exercised with due regard to the rights of others, collective security, morality and common interest.

Article 28 — Every individual shall have the duty to respect and consider his fellow beings without discrimination, and to maintain relations aimed at promoting, safeguarding and rein- forcing mutual respect and tolerance.

Article 29 — The individual shall also have the duty:

To preserve the harmonious development of the family and to work for the cohesion and respect of the family; to respect his parents at all times, to maintain them in case of need;
To serve his national community by placing his physical and intellectual abilities at its service;
Not to compromise the security of the State whose national or resident he is;
To preserve and strengthen social and national solidarity, particularly when the latter is threatened;
To preserve and strengthen the national independence and the territorial integrity of his country and to contribute to its defence in accordance with the law;
To work to the best of his abilities and competence, and to pay taxes imposed by law in the interest of the society;
To preserve and strengthen positive African cultural values in his relations with other members of the society, in the spirit of tolerance, dialogue and consultation and, in general, to contribute to the promotion of the moral well-being of society;
To contribute to the best of his abilities, at all times and at all levels, to the promotion and achievement of African unity.

Chapter 4: Ethnic Antagonism and Competition

If we do not find a better way to manage our diversity, particularly in the competition for power, then it will be our collective ruin. Even those who benefit from dividing us along ethnic lines will lose, and their children, and children’s children, will lose when this mode of competition runs out of room, as it eventually will.
Competition for resources, recognition and power are inevitable, and even natural, where human beings are concerned. Kenya is an African country made up of multiple, ancient nations that were often defined along linguistic and ethnic lines — with varying political and cultural models of governance. They competed and even fought over resources — whether these were pasture, water, livestock or land. Over time, neighbouring nations and communities developed and implemented mechanisms for the regulation and settlement of these conflicts.
The coming of the modern State as a colonial enterprise — which was racially defined and placed in opposition to our African nations — led to the recruitment of ethnic division and manipulation as a tool for the exploitation and governance of the colony. Colonialism was a winner-take-all system that entrenched the principle of ‘might is right’ and used the control of the State as the excuse for dispossession and oppression. At independence, we inherited the winner-take-all model particularly for the Presidency, with ethnic and racial identities as the primary vehicles for political competition. Our system is at odds with the consensus-led model of settling political and social differences that is characteristic of almost every ethnic and cultural community in Kenya.
An ethnically driven politics that ends with a winner-take-all model contradicts political and cultural cultures in Kenya that have lasted for much longer than we have been Kenyans. It does not offer us the capable leaders who will offer a strong vision and rally us to implement national visions that uplift us. And it will certainly keep us forever in one form of ethnic-based conflict or another, leading to the loss of lives and frustrating our desire for a peaceful and prosperous Kenya.
This problem is not unique to Kenya: tribalism is present in our entire region and all over the world. Tribalism as a form of competition and antagonism does not just belong to ethnic groups, there are different forms of tribal attachment that are equally, if not more, destructive. What matters is the amount of cultural, social and political innovation that a country can produce to build itself structures that minimise group antagonism.
One of the major ways we can escape the trap of ethnicised political competition is to more deeply integrate with our neighbouring countries, and to achieve the political federation that is the ultimate objective of the East African Community. Deeper integration, at the political level, will lead to today’s ethnic politics being swallowed by much larger populations so that any one group in Kenya is a small minority in the federated region. There is already an official EAC process underway to get to a Federated East African Community through an initial process of confederation that allows each country to retain its sovereignty for a period while converging legally, policy-wise, and administratively in preparation for federation.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Build and strengthen the ties that bind us — The Taskforce also recommends that throughout their education, and in sustained civic education for non-students, Kenyans be exposed to — and incentivised to respect — ethnic and religious diversity, and for this principle to be reflected in the Public Service. Specifically, the measures required to implement this recommendation are as follows:

School curriculums should feature compulsory components on history, cultural diversity, knowledge of the major religions including traditional ones, and the relationship between the Constitution and our cultures/religions.
Ensure that secondary boarding schools that are publicly funded have representation from different Counties amounting to at least 50% of the student body.
Align the National Museums of Kenya to this mission.
Promote and support inclusive cultural centres in every County.

2.Do away with a winner-take-all model for the Presidency and opt for a more consociational model that works best for ethnically divided societies — The Taskforce proposes that we transform our political system to be more in line with the consensus-driven traditions of our people, and to reduce the appeal of ethnicity as our primary mode of political competition, which takes on a do-or-die quality. We take this to mean principally that we should do away with a winner-take-all model for the Presidency and opt for a more consociational model that works best for ethnically divided societies. The Executive should reflect what is commonly known as the Face of Kenya in a way that inclusively reflects the political will of Kenyans and does not simply mean making appointments based on ethnicity.

3. Make resource distribution to be fair and felt to be fair — Decrease conflict over national resource distribution by treating all Kenyans as equal — this should take into account population, needed investment in health and agriculture, service provision, and access to natural resources and livelihood opportunities. The per capita share of national resources for every Kenyan should be carefully balanced to account for every Kenyan being treated as equal, as the Constitution makes clear, while ensuring that those who have been marginalised in the past, or are being marginalised at present, are given extra help where they need it. The institutions responsible for resource distribution should report their work clearly and understandably to all Kenyans.

4. Baraza la washauri — That the President as a symbol of national unity should benefit from the private advice of eminent, experienced, and honourable citizens serving in a Council of Advisors on a non-salaried basis.

5. Accelerate regional integration — One of the major ways we can escape the trap of ethnicised political competition is to more deeply integrate with our neighbouring countries, and in particular to achieve the Political Federation that is the ultimate objective of the East African Community Treaty which is already part of our laws and Government. Deeper integration, at the political level, will lead to today’s ethnic politics being swallowed by much larger populations with any one group in Kenya being a small minority in the Federated country. There is already an official EAC process underway to get to a Federated East African Community through an initial process of Confederation that allows each country to retain its sovereignty for a period while converging legally, policy-wise, and administratively in preparation for Federation.

6. Institutionalisation of national political parties — All political parties should be compelled to reflect the Face of Kenya in ethnic, religious, regional, and gender terms. A significant reason for our ethnicised politics is the lack of a strong referee in the political field. The existing referee, the Registrar of Political Parties, should be strengthened and supported so that the office is assertive, independent, and proactive. This should be done while taking note that the since the creation of this office in 2007, it has lacked a substantive Registrar in breach of the Constitution and the Political Parties Act. Strengthening this crucial office can be achieved by undertaking the following actions:

Recruit and appoint a substantive Registrar and ensure that this position is maintained in future.
In recruiting for the Registrar, the requirements should be comparable to that of a Chairperson for a Chapter 15 commission.
Strengthen the Office of the Registrar in monitoring the implementation of the political parties’ Code of Conduct, and sanctioning where necessary.

Chapter 5: Divisive Elections

Our politics have taken on the aspect of a conflict that every five years threatens to destroy lives, and even puts the continuity of our country at risk. It allows those we charge with responsibility, from the high offices of State, to our schools, churches, and mosques, to manifest the worst in themselves and to degrade our trust even further.
In our rush to adopt, and even mimic, foreign models, particularly from the democratic West, we have forged a politics that is a contest of us versus them. And we have chosen our ‘us’ and ‘them’ on an ethnic basis, especially in competing for the Presidency.
The Presidency is the highest office in Kenyan politics. Competition for it is the leading contributor to divisive and destabilising elections. If we maintain the status quo, it will mean that every five years Kenyans will risk crisis, ethnic division, and possibly even violence. At the core of this challenge is the desire for inclusion in the governance of the country, at the highest levels, and representation to access resources.
Kenyans, by and large, believe that they will gain personally from being the clients of a successful political leader, with that success being gained by victory in elections. Despite the decentralisation of decision-making and resource allocation through devolution, there is still a strong belief across the country that winning the Presidency will lead to an unequal allocation of public resources and service delivery with the ethnic group of the winner taking a disproportionate share. One Kenyan who communicated his views to the Taskforce said, ‘People want their own in power because resources go with the Presidency’.
The Taskforce learned that Kenyans overwhelmingly hope for elections that deliver predictable stability, peace, and an opportunity to reward good governance and relevant political platforms. The cycle of division, and the risk of political and even violent crises, every five years is roundly condemned throughout the country. Kenyans associate the winner-take-all-system with divisive elections and want an end to it.

Winner-take-all-system

The winner-take-all system, as it is understood by Kenyans, is a political system in which an alliance defined by ethnicity wins an election and the elected candidate proceeds to assume exclusive control of the National and County-level Executive and makes decisions that are perceived to exclude the interests of ethnic alliances that were on the losing side of the election.
Ironically, the aftermath of elections often brings perceptions that parts of the winning ethnic coalition are also excluded. Even where the winner appoints members of different ethnic groups, including from the communities on the losing side, they are seen more as tokens rather than meaningful expressions of the political will of their communities. All the present constitutional and legal provisions for public participation and the division of powers between the Executive, Parliament, the Judiciary and the host of independent commissions, have not succeeded in shifting Kenyans’ perception that their country is governed by a winner-take-all system.
This is a challenge that Kenyans have recognised for the last twenty years. Prior to the 2010 Constitution, we had a plurality system in which the Presidential candidate won by having more votes than any other and at least 25% of the vote in five provinces. Recognising the need for a higher degree of representation, the present Constitution changed this to the 50%+1 system with provision for a run-off if the first vote does not attain the threshold. Even this has not satisfied Kenyans’ desire for greater representation of their political interests in the Executive. Kenyans told BBI that they want not just to see the ‘Face of Kenya’ in ethnic terms included in the high table of power, at the National and County levels, but that they want those who take seats around it to be politically and socially accountable to them.
With the perceived high stakes of the winner-take-all system, elections for the President have taken the quality of a do-or-die affair, which leads to extreme scepticism and mistrust of the electoral process. The importance of the outcome for major politicians is so high that there is either the strong temptation either to rig votes or to reject the results of credible elections. Divisive elections are the result, with such enormous political pressure applied to the IEBC that it is almost certain to be judged a failure by one side or the other. Unfortunately, since ethnicity is the main currency of such intense electoral competition, it eventually takes on the character of a conflict between ethnic groups, leading to the ethnic antagonism that has undermined national unity and compromised security and stability.

Delivering a system that addresses our unique needs

Kenyans told the Taskforce that they want to trust that Government will be guided by approaches that deliver equality and equity in governance and the utilisation of public resources. While the Constitution and law have attempted to deliver the oversight necessary to achieve this, and tried to address the need for inclusivity, the high level of corruption suggests that office holders still exercise a level of discretion that is open to abuse and the exclusion of other Kenyans.
Kenyans noted that few communities have had a chance to have their member as President because under the present system the Presidential election is in effect a form of ethnic census. For more Kenyans, drawn from different ethnicities, to have a chance to lead the country it is necessary for there to exist strong, multi-ethnic, and nationwide parties that permit leaders of stature to grow; these may come from any number of ethnic groups. Kenyans had different proposals on how to change the political system. Common to these proposals was a desire for greater inclusivity, equality, fairness, equity, and accountability in the distribution of resources and for the top leadership table to seat not only their ethnic brethren but individuals who express their political will as expressed by parties and electoral outcomes.
Kenyans have been in a process of institutional reform for decades. The debates about the extent of change required in our political institutions have been extensive and have too often been guided by partisan and short-term political interests. The political class, whose members draw most of their political support from their leadership of ethnic communities, has been shy and hesitant to accept, in fundamental terms, that the transformative reform of Kenya into a truly united and successful country can only be achieved by meeting the ethnicization of political competition head-on. It is difficult for a political class that owes so much to ethnicity as a rallying tool to have the will to reduce its importance. There is a need for enlightened and determined leadership to shift this paradigm, and by doing so to lay the foundations for a stable politics for generations to come.
However, even as a new structure of the Executive is under consideration, it is useful to remember that the very size and inefficiency of Government is at the heart of the current debate. It is equally useful to bear in mind that a model that works for Kenya must entail cohesive and strong leadership that can offer decisiveness and democratic and accountable governance without the paralysis usually induced by bureaucratic infighting that arises where the constitutional parameters are ill-defined or open to multiple interpretation. It is therefore crucial that inclusivity and diversity in Executive power be balanced against the necessity for effective Government. We must make decisive changes to every other part of our system of selecting leadership and governance, if we are to overcome divisive elections.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

An autochthonous national executive structure — As a country, since we won independence, we have experimented with the three major Western models of executive government. Between 1963 and 1964, we had a pure Parliamentary system; we felt it was not serving us. Between 1964 and 2007, we had a hybrid semi-presidential system; we felt it was not serving us. Between 2008 and 2013, we had a hybrid cohabitation system under the National Accord; we felt it was not serving us. Since 2013, we have had a pure Presidential system; but Kenyans are agreed that they do not want a winner-take-all system. All these models since independence were borrowed and did not reflect our unique needs as Kenyans. Listening to Kenyans across the country and hearing their views reveals that they want a home-grown, inclusive system that reflects not only the pre-colonial political structure but also our day-to-day autochthonous system. Kenyans want to see the inclusion of different political, and identity interests in the Executive, while also wanting to directly vote for their President. Kenyans told the Taskforce that while they appreciate the increased accountability of the parliamentary model, they also want to vote directly for a President holding executive power to offer decisive leadership. They also want to have a President who leads an Executive that enjoys overwhelming support from across the country, and from the bulk of ethnic communities. Kenyans also told the Taskforce that they want a strong opposition and a Parliament that will hold the Executive accountable through applied checks and balances.

The kind of autochthonous, home-grown executive structure that responds to our political realities, sought by Kenyans is broad-based and inclusive, and has the following characteristics:

Running for and winning the Presidency — The President shall be elected through universal suffrage. For a candidate to be declared the winner of the Presidential election, he or she must win 50% + 1 of the Presidential votes and at least 25% of the votes cast in each of more than half of the Counties, as is now the case.
An Executive President —The President will remain the Head of State and Government and the Commander-in-Chief. He or she shall be the central symbol of National Unity. The President will chair the Cabinet, which compromises the Deputy President, the Prime Minister, and Cabinet Ministers.
The Executive, under the authority of the President, shall have the power to determine the policy of the Government in general, while the Ministers under the leadership of the Prime Minister, shall be collectively responsible in the National Assembly for the execution of the affairs of the Government.
Term limit — Retain the present two-term limit for the role of President.
Deputy President —The Deputy President is the running mate to the President. The Deputy President shall deputise the President.
Prime Minister — Within a set number of days following the summoning of Parliament after an election, the President shall appoint as Prime Minister, an elected Member of the National Assembly from a political party having a majority of Members in the National Assembly or, if no political party has a majority, one who appears to have the support of a majority of MPs.
Approval by Parliament — The nominee for Prime Minister shall not assume office until his or her appointment is first confirmed by a resolution of the National Assembly supported by an absolute majority vote of MPs. If the Prime Minister nominee is not confirmed, the President shall have another set number of days to make another appointment. This process shall continue until there is a successful nomination for Prime Minister. A measure to ensure that this process is not indefinite, and that governance is continuous should be considered. The Taskforce would also like to point out that some members of the public expressed concern that the use of simple majorities may find it a challenge to guarantee inclusivity in Kenyan politics. There were proposals made for raising the bar and requiring higher majorities. The Taskforce members felt that this is a matter for a larger national conversation.
Dismissal — The Prime Minister may be dismissed by the President or through a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly that wins an absolute majority.
Leader of the Official Opposition — The runner-up of the Presidential election becomes an ex-officio Member of Parliament and the Leader of the Official Opposition if his or her party is not represented in the Government, or of a coalition of Parliamentary parties not represented in the Government.
Need for a strong opposition — The party or coalition of parties that is not in Government shall be the Official Opposition.
Shadow Cabinet — The Leader of the Official Opposition shall be enabled to have a Shadow Cabinet to challenge the Government’s positions in Parliament. This will include the ability to have adequate provision of quality research on the policy and legislative agenda of the Government.
Question Time — The Opposition will play a key role in Prime Ministerial and Ministerial Question Time sessions in Parliament. Question Time is an opportunity for MPs to question Government Ministers about matters for which they are responsible.

2. The Role of the Prime Minister —

The Prime Minister shall have authority over the control, supervision and execution of the day-to-day functions and affairs of the Government.
The Prime Minister shall be the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly.
On the President’s tasking, the Prime Minister will chair Cabinet sub-committees.
In the exercise of his authority, the Prime Minister shall perform or cause to be performed any matter or matters which the President directs to be done.
The Prime Minister will continue to earn his or her salary as a Member of Parliament with no additional salary for the prime ministerial role.
The Principal Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister will chair the Technical Implementation Committee of Principal/Permanent Secretaries.
To avoid the politicisation of the Public Service, the Permanent or Principal Secretaries will not be subject to Parliamentary approval. Their accountability will be strictly administrative and technical.

3. A mixed cabinet — The cabinet is a crucial part of the Executive arm of Government. Similarly, its structure is critical to an inclusive and efficient Government. The current debate on whether the Cabinet adds enough value in governance and delivery has revolved around three key issues. The first issue has been whether it ought to be a cabinet of technocrats (like the American system) or whether it should be composed of elected Members of Parliament (akin to the British parliamentary system). There is discontent with the current system, judging from what Kenyans told the Taskforce. The Taskforce proposes that the Cabinet be structured as follows:

The President will appoint Cabinet Ministers after consultation with the Prime Minister.
The Ministers shall be responsible for the offices that the President establishes in line with the Constitution.
The Cabinet shall be drawn from both parliamentarians and technocrats, with the latter being made ex-officio Members of Parliament upon successful Parliamentary approval.
The Taskforce is recommending that the Cabinet Secretary be renamed Cabinet Minister.
To ensure more effective political direction and Parliamentary accountability, there shall be a position of Minister of State that will be appointed from members of the National Assembly and taking direction in their ministerial duties from Cabinet Ministers. These Ministers of State will continue to earn their salary as MP with no additional salary for their ministerial role.
Eliminate the post of Chief Administrative Secretary.

4. Representation in the electoral system — It is crucial that whatever form reforms to representation take, that they accord to the following principles if Kenyans are to be fairly and equally represented:

That the people’s choice, as reflected in the election of their representatives, including in Party primaries and nominations, shall be upheld through fair, free and transparent elections.
Individuals included in any Party lists shall initially have undergone a process that uses transparent public participation in the Counties even before any other vetting procedure is used.
That there shall be the equalisation of representation and equality of citizenship, as much as possible, by ensuring that each Kenyan vote has the same status and power, as envisaged in the Constitution.
Parties will be compelled through the Political Parties Act to be consistent with the Constitution to meet the Gender Rule and other Constitutional measures of inclusion through their party lists. This will equalise both genders in political terms, rather than creating a parallel system that creates a sense of tokenism.
Party lists for Members of County Assemblies shall follow the same principles and processes of public participation, elections and vetting as the National Assembly. This will ensure that the people and parties can ensure that there is accountability in a direct manner.
All the existing 290 constituencies will be saved, including the protected seats because they have become key for representation of sparsely populated areas.
Independent candidates -- There should be considered a standing legal political vehicle that is a party of independent candidates.
Devolve political parties to have strong County based party branches that will allow the people to have the political forums and avenues to hold their elected leaders accountable throughout a term and not just during elections.
The nomination lists through parties should be completed in a transparent process governed by the political parties overseen by the Registrar of Political Parties and the IEBC.

5. Changes to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission —

A mechanism be devised that gives leaders of parliamentary political parties a role in the recruitment of Commissioners of IEBC. In nominating candidates to be Commissioners, the political party leaders should nominate individuals who are non-partisan, with a record of accomplishment and integrity, and who are not known political supporters or activists of the party.
From the views received from Kenyans by the Taskforce, faith in the IEBC remains low. The Taskforce therefore recommends that we go to the next election with a clean slate to strengthen faith in the institution.
All IEBC staff should be employed on a three-year contract, renewable only once, if their performance is good. Otherwise, it will be terminated. This will prevent the continuation of errors by enabling each Commission at one time in its term to make appointments.
Returning officers should be hired through a process like that used for commissioners, with the involvement of public participation. At the end of the process of recruiting returning officers, IEBC should receive reports on what their decision is and the basis on which they made the decision. This should be available to the public.
Returning officers should be contracted on a part-time basis and should not oversee more than one general election.
Any person with at least fifteen (15) years management experience at senior level should qualify to apply for Chairmanship of IEBC. It should not be the preserve of lawyers. However, one of the Commissioners should be a lawyer.
All current senior officers of IEBC should be vetted.
Separate the duties of Secretary and Chief Executive Officer; make the Chairman of the Commission the Chief Executive Officer.
The composition of the Commission must reflect the Face of Kenya on all levels.
Explore ways to enact provisions that reduce the disproportionately high costs of our elections. The party list system is one.
Reform present electoral system to ensure it is simple, accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent as mandated by Article 86 of the Constitution.

Chapter 6: Inclusivity

Kenya is blessed with a diverse population in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, religion, and social and economic circumstances. Added to this are perspectives informed by people’s gender, age, and disability status. This diversity means that citizens’ interests, priorities, capabilities, and experiences are highly complex. It also means that there is a massive store of solutions and approaches to our many challenges, if we are open to utilising our diversity. One of the greatest strengths of democracy and public policies run on behalf of all citizens is the ability to tap into that diversity, to allow different Kenyans from many backgrounds to contribute fully in our political, economic, social and cultural life. This requires that Kenya be inclusive.
In its consultations, the Taskforce heard a lot about the desire for inclusivity and came to understand that Kenyans have a very particular ethnic interpretation of this principle that is changing fast, particularly due to rapid urbanisation. Despite the constitution’s attempts to entrench inclusivity, in general the political elite and its followers and supporters are certain that missing being represented in the Executive branch is exclusion. There also exists a political elite of professionals and opportunity seekers who believe that only by their fellow ethnic being in the Executive can they get access to the resources, jobs, and opportunities accessed through Government. They in turn are also connected to millions more economically disadvantaged Kenyans who have been brought up on systems of patronage that seem to demand that one or more of their own must be in power for their lot to improve.
It is no exaggeration to argue that ethnic mobilisation for the sake of capturing executive power is the most potent organising and rallying force in Kenyan political life. The premium placed on the control of executive power to control State resources poses a clear danger to the stability of the constitutional order. The current debate on changes to the structure of the Executive, coming after the highly divisive and politically volatile 2017 electoral season, has reopened these fault lines in the structure of the political and constitutional order.
The common thread that runs through most of the current proposals for reform is the theme of dissipating executive authority: both as a way of taming the potential for executive overreach, and as a way of broadening the political leadership.
Broadly speaking, Kenyans recognise that not every ethnic community can be represented at the top of Government; inclusion therefore does not mean every ethnic group having its chosen individuals lead the Executive and the other heights of the National and County Governments. Kenyans believe there is inclusion when there is no perceived or real capture of the national or County Executive by narrow ethnicised interests whose decision-making in resource sharing excludes those of other ethnic groups.
According to Kenyans who made presentations to the Taskforce, the following are the essential qualities of inclusivity:

That Government appointments are manifestly reflective of the Face of Kenya.
That there is equal representation of all Kenyans regarding the ability to vote.
That decision-making visibly flows from deliberations, debates, and participation by people who reflect most political interests in Kenya.
Women want to take their place in leadership at all levels and believe that measures to comply with the two-thirds Gender Rule and ensure women are visible in leadership will establish a more level playing field when it comes to electoral competition.
That the Government in its decisions, and actions responds positively and visibly to the needs and concerns of most Kenyans as expressed in their absolute numbers, ethnicity, and Counties of residence.
That the Government does not regard itself as being in the exclusive service of the majority but is also a protector of minorities such as people with disabilities, and ethnic and religious groups with low populations.
That the Government in the implementation of its policies needs to respond particularly strongly to the needs and concerns of young people, women, and people living with disabilities.
That the economically vulnerable have as much say in how the Government works, and who it serves, as the prosperous and privileged.
That there is no abuse of economic power by individuals or networks to manipulate or dominate political outcomes and the actions of all branches of Government.
That Government visibly respects the diverse cultures and religious practices of Kenyans.

7. For the purpose of making recommendations on inclusivity that are in line with Kenyans’ understanding, and the other areas of recommendation, the Taskforce will define inclusivity as the highest degree of responsiveness by decision-makers in the Government to the interests of social/ethnic groups and the needs and concerns of distinct constituencies such as young people, women, people with disabilities, and elders, among others, as expressed by their elected representatives, by petition, or directly through referenda. It is also about the levels of representation, with many Kenyans increasingly speaking out about feeling under-represented.

8. The Taskforce found that Kenyans, at core, are motivated in their approach to voting by this conception of politics as ‘who gets what, when and how’ and the authoritative allocation of resources and values. Connected to the need for inclusion in executive power, at the National and County levels, as articulated in the section on divisive elections, is Kenyans’ need for fair and equal representation. It is a core principle of inclusion and participation in our democracy that every adult has a right to vote, and that every Kenyan, no matter their age should be represented to accord to the one man, one vote democratic principle.

9. The challenge appears to be implementation. For example, Article 21 (2) compels the State to take legislative, policy and other measures, including the setting of standards, to achieve the progressive realisation of the rights guaranteed under Article 43; namely health, accessible and adequate housing, adequate food of acceptable quality, clean and safe water, social security and education. Another conspicuous example is the gender make-up in Parliament. In other words, our institutions have failed us in applying inclusive strategies which would improve inclusion.

10. Kenyans and our institutions need to become more inclusive with Public Officers and citizens alike recognising and assuming their responsibilities. The aim is to focus on Kenyans’ wellbeing and standards of living in the State’s formulation and implementation of policies. This calls for a change in attitudes and our understanding of the importance of diversity.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Kenyans are yearning for inclusivity on a political, economic, social, religious, cultural, age, and gender basis.

Political inclusion — At the heart of citizenship is equality, as recognised by the Constitution. To guarantee equality of representation, which is fundamental to inclusion, every Kenyan vote should as much as possible have equal power at the ballot box. Please see other relevant recommendations in the chapter on divisive elections.
Economic inclusion — The National Government policies to generate economic development should be undertaken with equality and equity throughout the country. In addition, please see the recommendations in the chapter on shared prosperity.
Protect freedom of religious association and faithful Kenyans from fraud — Ensure that all churches, mosques and temples are properly recorded in a public register; and that their finances are subjected to an annual independent audit that is publicly posted where every member of the congregation can see it and submitted to the registering authority.
Representatives of the Muslim community also made strong representations to the Taskforce on wanting an appellate court within the Kadhi court system.
Cultural inclusion — Invest in promoting, and building trust in indigenous knowledge, cultural technologies embedded in traditions and practices, foods and medicines.

2. The marginalised should not marginalise others — Evident from the Taskforce’s consultations in the counties was a strong sentiment that some communities that complained about marginalisation at the national level were themselves guilty of marginalising minorities in their respective Counties. It became clear that the reforms to increase inclusivity at the national level should be equally reflected at the County level.

3. The Public Participation Rapporteur — Strengthen the quality, transparency, and inclusion in public participation processes required by the Constitution by establishing an Office of the Public Participation Rapporteur. The office would be mandated to conduct all public participation on behalf of all State and non-State entities undertaking policy and operational initiatives that Constitutionally require public participation. The Public Participation Rapporteur should keep a publicly accessible and accurate record of public participation and be responsive to institutions seeking its services. In addition to the role of strengthening the transparency and effectiveness of public participation, add to the office a mandate that enables public interest litigation in a way that is insulated from supplier/vendor influence. An example of how this can work in a democracy is available in India model.

4. Transparency in business lobbying — Linked to protecting public participation, minimise the disproportionate power of unelected networks and individuals that utilise economic power and even corruption to shape governance and policymaking in their own interests, leading to lower inclusion for Kenyans. In this regard, the Office of the Public Participation Rapporteur should have the legal power to record all business lobbyists who seek to interact with offices and individuals to influence legislation, policy and regulation on behalf of businesses. This record should be placed in the public domain.

5. Employment in the Public Service should reflect the ethnic, religious, regional and cultural Face of Kenya and be free of corruption in recruitment. We note with profound concern that recruitment into the Public Service, and especially the disciplined services, has been corrupted with potential recruits having to pay bribes that cause many to start their careers with an act of corruption. We must innovate to solve this crisis.

Regarding the disciplined services and forces, consider utilising a consortium of private sector recruitment companies with internationally reputable brands to help in filling the recruitment pool for the disciplined services in a way that reflects merit and the Face of Kenya.
Ensure that recruitment into the Public Service reflects the Face of Kenya. Where there is no candidate, required to attain the Face of Kenya, with the right qualifications, the Public Service Commission and County Governments should be empowered to undertake professional search and development for minority candidates to increase their chances of qualifying for the positions.
The Public Service Commission should be enabled to publicise its annual report on diversity in the Public Service.

Chapter 7: Shared prosperity

Our Kenyan anthem sets out the dream of prosperity our forefathers had for us at independence. We sang then, and continue to sing, ‘raha tupate na ustawi’, ‘Tuungane mikono, pamoja kazini’. We dreamt of prosperity that is built by coming together and working for it. Fifty-six years later, we have well compared to our region but remain one of the world’s poorer countries.
There is extreme poverty and hunger in parts of the country. Unemployment and underemployment, particularly of the young people, is high. We suffer from extreme income inequality, with our form of economic growth not closing the gap. There are irrational incentives against innovation, growth and job creation, together with too many Kenyans lacking decent income and investment in Kenya being frustrated by persistent gatekeeping and rent-seeking by those in Government.
Starting and doing business in Kenya, particularly for youth-led small businesses, is an invitation to innumerable obstacles, unlike in other countries where entrepreneurs are encouraged and assisted to venture. It also matters who you are, who you know and where you live. Kenyans continue to experience inequalities in access to education, health, infrastructure, clean drinking water, wastewater management, and to factors and boosters of production. These challenges are made worse by poor policy coherence, and the absence of an economic vision that can enable us to break out of our present circumstances.
Kenyans speaking in every consulting session led by the Taskforce, in every County, spoke of their problems fed by poverty and joblessness or underemployment. They complained of Government not facilitating their ventures through the provision of an environment that is conducive to doing business, and of being left to suffer in the hands of brokers. No country has progressed based on such disparities — corruption, exclusion, increasing poverty, hunger, unemployment, persistent inequalities, and the lack of a common national character. Our present path puts Kenya on non-sustainable development grounds and exposes us to overwhelming political risks. We need an environment conducive for shared prosperity amongst members of the current generation and between the current and future generations, because, as a nation, we are as rich as the poorest in our society. The Taskforce completed its consultations with a profound sense of unease at the lack of employment among young people and the ills that follow this circumstance.

Our challenge is building an economy that can generate jobs

The single most important matter facing Kenyans when it comes to shared prosperity is generating enough jobs and employment, particularly for young people. It is not enough to merely improve our economic output and present rates of investment: we must entirely transform the way our economy operates if we are to deal with the present lack of jobs.
It is critical that the correct diagnosis be given for what ails us if we are to genuinely build shared prosperity in Kenya. The Taskforce, after listening to thousands of Kenyans, and many experts and groups, believes that only an honest self-assessment will allow us to reach conclusions that can be used to genuinely deliver. A lot of the public commentary on ‘shared prosperity’ is dominated by how to share the cake, and far less is about how to grow it so that there is enough opportunity and wealth to build the Kenya we want. We are a country of almost 50 million people of sound mind and body. We are more educated than any previous generations of Kenyans, and more exposed to the world and all its ideas, technologies and industries. Yet we continue to languish in the bottom league of global prosperity, while being a country that can simultaneously be celebrated for its technology sector and its vibrant and mixed economy, which now even exports oil.
In the decades since we gained independence, dozens of countries, mostly in Asia, have gone from the same economic starting point as Kenya to become extremely wealthy. They followed the famous maxim by Singapore’s Lee Kuan Yew, who argued: ‘No country has become a major economy without becoming an industrial power’.
Kenya has tried many of the same reforms, particularly regarding liberalisation. However, while our economy is growing healthily by most measures, it has failed to achieve the escape velocity we need to achieve widespread prosperity.
After half a century, we should admit that what we are doing is necessary but insufficient to meeting our goal of transformation. The fact is that the overwhelming number of low- and middle-income developing countries like Kenya have been unable to close the gap with the high per capita incomes of the so-called developed world. The ones that have, such as the Asian Tigers, are exceptions to the rule. So persistent and longstanding is this dynamic that economists have called it an ‘income trap’.
Yet, due to the exponentially greater access to information and aspirations that are influenced by standards from the developed countries, many Kenyans expect far more than their parents and grandparents ever did. The gap between what the economy can bear in terms of employment and consumption and the expectations of citizens, particularly the young who are most globalised in their tastes, creates the risk of political and social instability. In a country that has strong political divisions based on ethnicity, solutions to reduce economic inequality can take a dangerous ethnic dimension. It is easy for ethnic politics to be used in the service of ethnicised or area-driven economic measures of redistribution.
It is therefore crucial for all Kenyans to be aware that shared prosperity goes beyond sharing what we have. It entails producing a lot more — enough that we can come close to meeting our globalised and escalating expectations. We must build an economy that is built on the principles and practices of value creation, and that rejects the extractive model as the primary mode of economic activity.
It is also critical to national unity and peace that economic development throughout the country should not be uneven to the extreme. While it is impossible to guarantee that all parts of the country are exactly the same in terms of economic growth, the Government should try and be seen to try all available means to ensure that Kenyans from every part of the country have equal opportunities to participate in a growing and prosperous economy. We should note that this is a mission that can only be achieved by the Government working closely with the private sector, not by it seeking to take control of ever larger parts of the economy.

A new economic paradigm for jobs and prosperity

Kenyans’ expectation that the Government should intervene to offer economic relief and assistance demands that public revenues grow strongly over an extended period. Elevated levels of borrowing must not be what closes the gap between revenues and expectations. Rather the focus should be on increasing domestic national savings — to at least 25% of GDP — and taking all efforts to incentivise and coordinate the growth of labour-intensive manufacturing, particularly aimed at neighbouring countries. We should embrace economic coordination (not State ownership), and exponentially grow the number of entrepreneurs by ensuring that the ease of doing business for start-ups and small businesses is dramatically increased. It is their growth into profitability that will allow the Government the revenues to meet the service delivery and welfare needs of Kenyans.
Most Kenyans make their living on farms and with their livestock. Rent-seeking and gatekeeping have deeply harmed these sectors: there are cartels in the agricultural sector that frustrate both producers and consumers. They use State power and rigged processes, including their undue influence in politics, without adding any value, to seize illicit and corrupt profits. This leads to poverty and lack of competitiveness for the farmer and means that consumers must use a sizeable percentage of their income on food — leading to malnutrition and political instability. We urge the State and the principals to ensure that clear processes to attack this status quo are undertaken. A suitable beginning would be a NIS-led audit of the processes enabling cartels in the agricultural sector, leading to executive action under the anti-corruption and Government reform agenda. New appointees to these sectors should be vetted for any business or material linkages with known members or networks of cartels. Taking these actions will increase inclusiveness throughout Kenya by allowing Kenyans more opportunities. Their money will go further and what they purchase will be safer.
Kenya will become prosperous because of selling goods and services to neighbouring countries. To achieve this at scale, producing the jobs that Kenyans need, the Government needs to accelerate the process of confederation as a step toward political federation as agreed in the East African Community. Kenya then will become a country that is the key driver of trade, investment and manufacturing that serves the East African region while linking it to the capital and markets of the Indian Ocean rim.
In short, we must seek an economic paradigm that sharply raises productivity; encourages the development of labour-intensive village-level factories; makes a serious attempt to help grow the livestock and maritime industries; and has a low tolerance for entrenched cartels that abuse economic and political power to distort markets. The economy must be grounded in a State that is a determined seeker and creator of new, competitive domestic and foreign markets; and that carefully balances between competitiveness and sustainability in regulation and taxation.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

We need an economic revolution — Internalise and act on the fact that the present trajectory of the Kenyan economy will be unable to produce the employment and income opportunities that can come close to the expectations of young Kenyans. We need a fundamental change of course in how we manage the economy to be able to achieve ‘escape velocity’ and create a high-employment, high-productivity, value-creation, and exporting economy. The following measures deserve thoughtful consideration:

A 50-year plan — We need to think big and long term if we are to build an economy that meets the needs of the current and future generations. Start with a 50-year plan that is more political than it is technocratic, for it to last past any one electoral cycle. It should have as its aim Kenya joining the world’s most prosperous, shared and sustainable economies. This is eminently doable.
Promote, encourage and incentivise local investment and by the Kenyan Diaspora. A key part of this is ensuring that domestic national savings are high if Kenyans are going to be able to invest in Kenya.
Embrace economic coordination (not State ownership) to achieve labour-intensive manufacturing export to the East African region, raise national savings rates beyond 25% of GDP, and exponentially grow the number of entrepreneurs while ensuring that the ease of doing business for start-ups and small businesses is dramatically increased.
Build markets as if they are public goods — The State should be in the business of continuous market creation in aggressively opening markets for labour-intensive manufactured Kenyan goods in neighbouring countries through deeper integration.
Lending to priority sectors — the Government should provide legal and regulatory guidelines for banks to lend a part of their portfolio to priority sectors such as micro, small and medium businesses, export credit, manufacturing, housing, education, health, renewable energy, sanitation and waste management, and agriculture (including livestock and fishing). The banks, if lacking enough specialisation, will be enabled to shift the float to a specially designated development bank with the relevant capabilities.
Industrialisation needs to be a leading Government aim and narrative — Only industrialisation is going to truly harness Kenyan talent and ambition to drive sustained national prosperity. It is crucial for Kenyans and their Government to resist the growing narrative that Kenya and African countries cannot industrialise because of the pace of technological change for instance in areas such as robotics. Regional integration offers us many opportunities to sharply raise manufacturing and industrialisation. Government should prioritise the coordination of measures that drive Kenya’s industrialisation and develop this into a strong narrative promoted to all citizens. Active incentives and coordination should back this effort to achieve lower-technology labour intensive industrialisation; entrepreneurship-led industrialisation; and uplifting service and innovation sectors with manufacturing characteristics.
Secure Kenyan inventions, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and cultural expressions as forms of property protected by the law and policy — The future of the global economy is in innovation and invention using intellectual property, genetics, and the living bodies of knowledge developed by our communities over many generations. Kenyan laws must be fashioned to protect these resources fiercely, and the Government must work to guarantee compliance throughout the world. This should be accompanied by frameworks for use that maximise the ability of Kenyans to build upon these properties.
Savings are investment — Undertake a major effort to increase national domestic savings to at least 25% of GDP if Kenya is going to develop the ability to drive investment in multiple sectors, including labour-intensive manufacturing base to produce enough jobs for Kenyans. There should be tax and regulation incentives and schemes for educational and retirement savings, and other major guaranteed Harambee items Kenyans know they will need to pay for — from funerals to weddings, and even housing.
Diaspora remittances — Go beyond attracting remittances to offering incentives, protections and processes to allow the Kenyan Diaspora to hold more of its savings in Kenya.
Employment conferences — Hold a major employment conferences in every County, with senior representation from relevant National Government actors, to determine the steps in regulation and economic management needed to immediately and sharply raise the number of jobs available to young Kenyans.
Spend on development and not just bureaucracy — Increase spending on development as a proportion of Government revenue to make more public goods and services available to Kenyans. Target a ratio or ceiling, written into law, of at least 70:30 for development versus recurrent expenditure. Developmental expenditure, for instance in paying for the salaries of agriculture and livestock extension officers or their public health counterparts, should be moved into the development basket.
Fairness — National spending should be fair and seen to be fair. Planning should respond to a published and updated index that assesses the needs and opportunities in every part of the country and criteria identified by the Constitution that contribute to shared prosperity.
Taxes — The tax base needs to be broadened, but it is crucial that overall taxation in Kenya be low relative to competitor economies regionally and globally. Consider innovative approaches to simplify taxation, including a consideration of a flat tax for every income category above a living wage. The flat tax would lower tax fraud, encourage compliance and cut down on corruption in the assessment of taxes.
Punish not just tax evasion but also those who facilitate such evasion in the private sector and in Government.
Properly regulate loan apps which are driving up indebtedness of poor Kenyans to destructive effect with their shylock-level interest rates and borrowing from multiple platforms.
Build the economy from the grassroots — Reforms to economic planning and policy should prioritise the simplest manufacturing opportunities in labour-intensive sectors such as agriculture, livestock, and fishing, and seek to grow their technological capabilities through time. The same should apply for government at the National and County levels promoting cottage industries, with their formation as a key metric in policymaking.
Expand agricultural and livestock extension and advisory services and ensure that they include advice on clear standards and market linkages.
Improve market linkages for farmers that enable them to gain a greater share of the retail price through information. Provide the proper incentives to the private sector and cooperatives, and the necessary coordination, to build a cold chain system throughout the country.
Treat corruption in those implementing agriculture- and livestock-impacting projects as a priority in anti-corruption efforts.
Invest in and promote research that enhances Kenyan productivity and competitiveness, particularly in the agricultural and livestock sector.

2. Entrenching Article 43 on economic and social rights —

The National Government should develop policy and standards to guide the conscious implementation of the Constitution Article 43 on economic and social rights.
Each County Government should also develop policy and standards to guide the conscious implementation of Article 43 economic and social rights in respect to devolved functions.
Party manifestos — all elective leaders and the election manifestos of their political parties should consciously implement Article 43 on Economic and Social Rights. This would invite requiring all Political Parties to formulate a vision and policies for the implementation of the Bill of Rights (which includes Economic and Social Rights) as part of their election campaign manifestos.
An index to measure progress — The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics should employ a national Human Development Index that domesticates the UN version and expands it to include Article 43 on economic and social rights. It should also include assessment of the progress in County initiatives in devolved functions. The report should be published annually and made accessible online.

3. Beware corruption undermining efforts to promote shared prosperity — Beware the risks of corruption, cartel creation, and abuse of economic power in import substitution schemes that can lead to lower-quality and unsafe products. Kenya has been here before. Instead, seek to adopt the approach of the Asian Tigers in having a stronger focus and investment in export promotion, which will need firms and products to be more internationally competitive and therefore more productive.

4. Secure future generations from unsustainable debt and environmental destruction—

Do not burden our children’s economic futures by taking on unsustainable debt. Every generation of Kenyans must live within their means, and not eat our children’s future by taking on debt that is used for unproductive consumption and does not lead to clear gains in national prosperity.
Utilise genuine and transparent public participation — through the proposed Office of the Public Participation Rapporteur — to balance the need for greater economic growth with the need to protect our environment and biodiversity for future generations.
The private betting industry is leading to hopelessness and greater poverty. The taskforce recommends that the private betting industry be replaced with a Government-run national lottery whose proceeds, as is the case in other countries, are used for activities that uplift the youth, sports, culture and other social activities beneficial to citizens.

5. Use scarce public resources for development not bureaucracy —

Increase spending on development as a proportion of Government revenue to increase public goods and services to Kenyans. Target a ratio, written into law, of at least 70:30 for development versus recurrent expenditure.
There should be a clarification of the legal and administrative powers of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to ensure that it oversees all salary reviews and changes.
Enforce the powers of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to rationalise all public sector salaries in the country and address the large discrepancies in income.
Pooling of facilities in the Public Service and use of technology to take note of dormant facilities (especially conferencing facilities before there is any hiring of a hotel).
Elimination of wasteful expenditure in National and County Government by bringing established laws and regulations to bear that ensure that items such as new cars or office refurbishments for incoming senior officials follow proper procedure in planning, budgeting and procurement.
Eliminate all sitting allowances for Public Officers on salary.

6. Nurture and open opportunities for children and youth to show their initiative, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

Increase employment and livelihoods by making it easier for small businesses to compete and grow at low cost and with minimal constraints.
Develop and launch a national ease of doing business index for small Kenyan businesses rather than relying on foreign indexes that are designed for global comparison. This should be a comparative annual assessment by KNBS that is disaggregated by geography — Counties, cities, and towns — and is publicised.
Minimise taxation of new and small businesses by giving them a tax holiday of at least 7 years as a support to youth entrepreneurship and job creation.
Aggressively promote entrepreneurship skills from an early age.
Creativity and sports — Make serious efforts to coordinate, incentivise and drive the growth of the creative industries and sports, among other sectors in which young Kenyans show enormous potential and interest.
Identify and invest in special talent and special needs at the Early Childhood Development stage.
Encourage the private sector to form a national, non-profit foundation, chaired by the President, that provides mentoring, training, and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18-35. It should match the young entrepreneurs with a business development adviser and a nationwide network of volunteer mentors. All Corporate Social Responsibility programmes should be encouraged to include this component. Link the foundation’s entrepreneurs with Government youth funds. The foundation should also provide work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy training — using classroom volunteers — in schools starting from the age of 12 until graduation.
To help young people form businesses, open an advice desk in every Huduma Centre manned by a business development expert.
Self-employment and technical education — Give all Kenyans equal access to a minimum level of quality education that leads to employment or entrepreneurial opportunity. It is critical that we get rid of the idea that technical work is for those who have failed in academics by creating two equal paths between academic and technical training.

7. Government development actions should be undertaken in every County —

No one area should lose out because of Government development initiatives in another area — Coordinate National and County planning on development and ensure that as national projects are implemented, the areas that are adversely affected should benefit from remedial development policies. Strengthen inter-governmental consultation in the planning of national projects.
Development for every County — In its actions to coordinate, incentivise, and invest in economic development, the National Government should make sure that it leverages unique strengths and opportunities in every County.
No Kenyan Left Out — The ‘Kubadili Plan’: As part of ensuring that all Kenyans have access to quality services which are foundational to putting people onto the path of shared prosperity, the Taskforce proposes a Kubadili Plan to bring marginalised wards to the level generally enjoyed by the rest of the country. The plan will be to identify the wards which are most marginalised, at present and historically. Implementation should start with the wards ranked last. Develop a plan to build schools, health facilities, roads, water, electricity, and police stations, in a way that the people of the whole ward have access to them; and ensure that the facilities are built in all the wards within a period of three years.
Not just business plans: focus on product development — Every County should establish Product Development Parks that allow young entrepreneurial Kenyans to have the benefit of expert advice on how to make the journey from promising idea to the development of a marketable product.

Chapter 8: Corruption

The growing public perception of Kenya having a rigged system that rewards cronyism and corruption, as opposed to the productive and hardworking, is the greatest risk to Kenya’s cohesion and security. Tackling corruption is the single most important mission Kenya has now.
So ubiquitous is the abuse of public trust that the thieves are often praised and put on podiums while the honest are called fools for refusing to partake of graft. So common is the corruption in our transactions that we compromise our birth rights, safety, and security, our dignity, our relationships, our responsibilities, and even all our other rights. It has led to many of our children believing that honesty is a devalued principle, and so with every passing generation honour recedes even further from our shores. We are all responsible, but leaders at every level, and in every sector, bear special responsibility. Their abuse of office is the leading driver of our dishonest society.
Since the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, attempts to enact legislation to give effect to the broad constitutional principles against corruption have been largely ineffective. This is due to the vested interests in the political and business class that seek self-enrichment through manipulating the budgeting and spending of public resources. Among the public, there is almost total consensus that this area of the Constitution requires urgent attention. At one level there is concern that the current institutional architecture, which should ensure integrity in the Public Service, is either inadequate or misconceived. At another level, institution after institution set up to enforce public integrity and fight corruption has come up short.
Many Kenyans told the Taskforce that it is the lure of illicit financial gain through the holding of elected or appointed positions that drives much of the aggressive and negative ethnicization and even militarisation of political competition. The majority would agree that the stability and success of Kenya’s constitutional order depends a great deal on the integrity and transparency of Kenyan leadership at every level and branch of Government. It is therefore imperative for this provision in the constitution to have enough teeth to shape the membership and behaviour of the leadership class.
Corruption, defined here simply as the abuse of entrusted power for private gain, is common at all levels of Kenyan society. It had led to extremely low trust by citizens towards public institutions, deeply undermined service delivery, and contributes to national and human insecurity. Participating in corruption comes at relatively low cost; there are no real barriers to entry for the unethical and unqualified. It is a threat to national prosperity, continuity, and morale.
Adoption and implementation of Chapter Six of the Constitution has proven inadequate, despite the substantial amounts of legislation, policy, and political pronouncement on this challenge of corruption and lack of integrity by those entrusted with public office. At core, the profound concern is that the challenge is beyond legislation and lies in the fact that political, executive, legislative and judicial cultures not supporting integrity initiatives.
H.E. President Uhuru Kenyatta has issued firm directives that would have gone a long way to preventing, deterring and punishing corruption in Kenya. Unfortunately, several of them have not been implemented while others have been frustrated by corruption fighting back. The Taskforce believes that all further recommendations must begin with a call for the full implementation of the directives that the President has issued in the last few years.
Cartels are one of the greatest obstacles to the achievement of honest government that wins the trust of citizens, investors, and all fair-minded stakeholders in Kenya’s political and economic system. These cartels have been born out of a system of governance and public service that allows individuals and groups to block, redirect, or distort service provision, policymaking, policy implementation, and political and technical oversight. This rent-seeking and gatekeeping in the Public Service has led to corruption and the growth of a hidden layer of power and influence — what Kenyans popularly term ‘cartels’ — that seeks to shape public policy for its own benefit. No matter what reforms are undertaken in the political system, the inability to eliminate the hold of cartels on Kenya’s systems of budgeting, regulation, procurement, and the shaping of markets will mean that our national desire for an inclusive Kenya will come to nothing. The Taskforce strongly recommends that far-reaching initiatives to eliminate rent-seeking and gatekeeping be applied with determination. Key to them is reform of Government decision-making processes to ensure the mapping and elimination of perverse incentives.
Prevention is better than cure — Rather than chase after the corrupt and fraudulent after they have committed their crimes, we should prioritise prevention and ensure we are hiring managers with a record of effective and accountable management. Foremost should be building systems that facilitate, promote and enable ethical conduct and responsibility in public resource management. Practically, that means that ethics training and assessment should be regular features at every level of the Public Service. Deterrence can be assisted using spot checks and sting operations. Incentives for promotion will emerge from performance assessment frameworks for mid to senior level officers that incorporate ethics and anti-corruption. For instance, promotions of managers in a position to have known about corruption scandals or investigations at departments and agencies should be frozen. to incorporate their support in the anti-corruption fight.
As a common-sense proposal, it should be a noted that the privatisation of Government owned entities undertaking business functions can reduce corruption and add to efficiency and cost effectiveness. Even those who believe in the greater role of the State in the economy can acknowledge that the Public Sector needs to prove that it has corruption under control before being entrusted with the trust to run services better than the private sector. Until such a State is in place, Kenyans’ public resources are better protected by shrinking the footprint of the state and allowing greater competition in the provision of services. Therefore, at a minimum, there should be a clearer and tougher rethink on what functions in government can be better delivered by a competitive private sector.
At a minimum we should undertake the following major recommendations, including those in longer list contained in Annex 1.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Free Kenya from cartel capture — The perception of a rigged economy is one of the greatest risks to a secure, stable and united Kenya. It serves as a major incentive for the utilisation of divisive ethnic politics.

Undertake a rigorous intelligence-led review of the hold of cartels in crucial aspects of the economy and the public systems of budgeting, procurement, regulation and the rigging of markets.
Banks and banking executives that are found to be laundering money and enabling corruption should be sentenced to heavy fines and jail terms. In cases of repeated offences, the Central Bank should endeavour to withdraw licenses and levy other heavy penalties.
Utilise anti-corruption sting campaign that targets lawyers, judges and legislators especially in cases that are difficult to prosecute due to the evidential component.
Punish facilitators of tax evasion and money laundering in the private sector.
Carry out a thorough audit of negative legal, policy, and administrative incentives in the public service that undermine value for money, fairness in service delivery, and effectiveness. Turn the findings into policy initiatives and implement them.
In addition to any custodial sentence of those found guilty of economic crimes, include punitive fines with the proceeds being used to assist vulnerable Kenyans.
Incentives for whistleblowing— Provide material incentives for information that leads to successful asset seizure and/or prosecution for corruption-related crimes. Consider offering a 5% share of proceeds recovered from anti-corruption prosecutions or actions to the whistleblower whose information is necessary to the success of the asset seizure or successful prosecution. This should be done with due regard for the privacy and safety of the whistleblower.

2. Use prevention and deterrence by ensuring widespread ethics awareness, rewarding whistleblowing and assessments of performance –

Incorporate ethics and performance assessment training in every Public Service course required for promotion or transfer.
Raise ethical workers by requiring that educational curricula from the earliest to the most advanced levels should specifically include ethics and civics components as a major prerequisite for graduation.
Review the Cabinet Secretaries’ and Principal Secretaries’ performance assessment framework to incorporate their support for the anti-corruption fight.
Establish a whistleblowing mechanism (including protection) for whistleblowers working in the Public Service.
All contracts for senior appointees should have clear and practical performance benchmarks with rules for layoffs on failure to perform. Also, review all senior officers on contract biannually and lay off appointees who have not performed or whose MDAs have been implicated in corruption.
Prevent the use of legal intimidation by Public Officers against whistleblowers and the media reporting on corruption and fraud. Amend the Defamation Act to deny all Public Officers a course of action where allegations are made against them, in their official capacity, regarding matters of ethics and corruption.

3. Public Officers should not be in business with the Government —

Address conflicts of interest by reducing Public Officer involvement in business with the Government.

No Public Officer can do business with the Government.
The spouse of a Public Officer shall not do business with the Government but can engage in the private sector.
To engage in business outside Government, outside of his/her regular working hours, a State Officer and senior Public Officer shall obtain prior approval from the Reporting Officer of his/her State body. This approval shall need to document that the work or business is not prohibited by separate legislation and does not constitute a conflict of interest or an obstacle to orderly performance of regular tasks and does not impinge upon the reputation of the Public Service.
A Public Officer shall be obliged to submit a written report to the ethics and integrity commission (new) any financial or other interest in which he/she, his/her spouse or common-law partner, child or parent may have in the decisions of the MDA in which he/she is employed or the Government.
The spouse or common-law partner, child or parent of a Public Officer shall be obliged to submit a written report to the proposed Ethics Commission of any financial or other interest in which he/she, his/her may have in the decisions of the MDA that employs the public servant.
A Public Officer shall be obliged to submit written notification to his/her immediate superior of ownership of shares and bonds or financial and other interest in companies with which the State body in which he/she is employed is performing administrative operations, and which may constitute a conflict of interest.
Senior Public Officers who represent the Government on the boards of private companies should clearly indicate any personal conflicts of interests in matters under deliberation.
A Public Officer shall not make decisions nor participate in decision-making which effects the financial or other interests of his/her spouse or common-law partner, child or parent; individuals or legal persons with whom he/she has had formal or business contacts within the past five years; individuals or legal persons who have financed his/her election campaign within the past five years.

4. Wealth declaration forms should be made public — The leadership and senior management of National and County Government Executives, elected and senior Judicial Officers should adhere to public personal wealth and financial disclosure that includes a written narrative of how wealth above Kshs 50 million was acquired. This includes the President, the Cabinet, Governors, Principal Secretaries, CEOs and Chairpersons of Parastatals and Companies with GOK shareholding. The declaration should be filed and made available on the websites of their respective service commissions, and should include shareholdings, remunerated employment, family and business trusts, real estate, government contracts, registered directorships, partnerships, liabilities, bonds, investments, savings/investment accounts, any asset worth over Kshs. 10 million, any other substantial sources of income, gifts over Kshs 50,000 in the course of duty, sponsored travel by non-government entities, and membership of any organisations that may present a conflict of interest.

5. Resignation — Leaders should take political responsibility for negligent or poor-quality Government actions that lead to disasters by resigning to allow Kenyans to see that a new direction in management is possible. Leaders and managers should understand that resignation is not only appropriate where direct responsibility is established: it helps start with a new slate so the changes that the institution requires can be undertaken. It shows an honourable regard for the Kenyan people, and bravely assumes responsibility.

6. Digitisation — Make Kenya a 100% e-services nation by digitising all Government services, processes, payment systems, and record keeping and ensure they are secured from criminal tampering.

7. Cut down on wastage and moral jeopardy of Government Owned Entities being careless managers in expectation of Government bailouts —

Strengthen the capacity of the Controller of Budget to be able to detect and respond in a timely manner to misappropriation, wastage, and illegal processes.
As H.E. the President directed in November 2015, streamline parastatals through a renewed focus on core business and cutting down on wastage by enacting the Parastatal Reforms Bill, and not building up the moral jeopardy of some depending on infusions of public resources to stay in business.
Rationalise all government owned enterprises and enact GOE Bill to bring all GOEs expenditures under control with common user benchmarks, independent valuations of projects and value for money audits on completed projects.

8. Increase public confidence in the Judiciary — Increase public confidence in the Judiciary recognising that the core constitutional principles in Kenya are the separation of powers, between arms of Government, and accountability to the people of Kenya. The independence of the Judiciary must be protected as a fundamental principle, but it should also be accountable to the people of Kenya.

Create the position of Special Magistrates and Judges to deal with the most grievous cases of drug trafficking, corruption, terrorism, and other serious criminal offences and make special security arrangements for these magistrates and judges to be provided for by the State.
The powers of the Judicial Service Commission to discipline judges should be expanded so that the Commission can legally deal with lesser disciplinary offences by judges that affect the value of justice delivered without resulting to the Constitutional measure of removal from office.
To strengthen the process of responding to complaints in the judiciary, the Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman needs to be revamped to be accessible and responsive to the public.
Advertise to Kenyans that they have a choice to take their complaints about members of the judiciary to the Judiciary Ombudsman or the Commission on Administrative Justice.

Chapter 9: Devolution

The 2010 Constitution created a devolved system of government whose aim was to decentralise power and increase access to services across the country. In terms of creating a major departure in the governance of the country and the management of public resources, devolution has largely been a success.
However, devolution is still frustrated by serious challenges that, if left unaddressed, will raise questions about its political and economic sustainability.
Kenyans overwhelmingly told the Taskforce that they wanted their counties to remain as they are but with services further decentralised to the ward level. They want far better service delivery and for development projects to receive enough oversight to prevent wastage and corruption. Kenyans want the means to report projects that are being shoddily developed, and to see this information acted on by the relevant institutions. They also wanted the duplication of roles by County and National Public Officers eradicated, and most of their tax funds allocated to development projects. A majority of those speaking to the Taskforce want funds to County Governments increased with suggested average percentages ranging from 35% to 50% of national revenues with more functions being devolved. Kenyans want to be consulted, through the public participation process, on planning and budgeting.
Though devolution has improved inclusion and service delivery, a sizeable number of the challenges we experienced prior to 2010 still trouble us. Some of the institutional reforms that should have been carried out to align governance with the new constitutional imperatives are yet to take place. Treating Kenyans as if they have no right and power in policies, laws, budgeting and development projects is the order of the day. Counties are suffering from corruption, nepotism, delays in decision-making, development of projects not relevant to the needs of a locality, and inefficient and ineffective delivery of services.
The two levels of government have also faced corruption, ethnic antagonism, a bloated workforce, divisive elections, duplication of roles, citizens’ lack of capacity to hold leaders accountable, inequality, exclusion and marginalisation, lack of integrity, State capture, a deficit in safety and security, and skewed resource allocation.
Most of the views on devolution given by Kenyans to the Taskforce revolved around the following issues: (a) the revenue share between National and County Governments; (b) how to resolve exclusivity and marginalisation in the Counties; (c) how the Counties can more effectively carry out their mandates; and (d) how to enhance the economic growth in Counties, and their ability to raise revenue without discouraging economic dynamism due to red tape. The overriding concern for Kenyans is to identify and deal effectively with these challenges facing devolution.
The Constitution set the aggregate minimum transfer to Counties at a minimum of 15 per cent of centrally collected revenues based on the latest audited national revenue receipts. The Constitution also mandates additional transfers depending on functions delegated to counties.
There is much to be said for the greater devolution of resources, particularly financial ones, but this should be guided by effective implementation and accountability. These should be central criteria to the entrusting of monies from the central public purse. Increased revenue flows to Counties should also follow functions. Most of the submissions given to the Taskforce advocated for more resources to be given to Counties but also that they should be more accountable and more inclusive in their programming. Kenyans called for increased and more effective oversight and auditing, specifically focused on the need to tame corruption; monitor County spending; reduce recurrent expenditure; increase citizen participation in spending decisions; do away with the tendency of politicians to reward cronies and family with employment; and reduce the wage bill.
The same calls for inclusion that were made by Kenyans regarding the National Government Executive were made for the Counties. The ‘winner-take-all’ phenomenon in Counties, following elections, is said by many Kenyans to lead to discrimination, inequality and inequity in resource distribution. Ethnic minorities not perceived to be part of a winning coalition, or who, for some reason, are not political supporters of the County regime in place, are often excluded. The cruel irony is that Article 174(e) of the Constitution provides that one of the objectives of devolution in Kenya is ‘to protect and promote the interests and rights of minorities and under-served or discriminated-against communities.’ It is for this reason that the Taskforce strongly feels that measures leading to greater inclusion, equality, equity, and basic fairness at the National level should be mirrored in the Counties, both in law, policy and administration.
One of the challenges identified that compromises County service delivery is the arbitrary, nepotistic or crony recruitment of human resources that ignores merit and inclusivity. There remain strong concerns that despite the existence of the County Service Boards, hiring is still deeply unfair. To solve this, it was proposed that the independence of the Public Service Commission should be replicated at the County level. Such a function would be responsible for the recruitment of the County staff, setting reimbursement levels that are in harmony with the National Government, ensuring inclusivity, and raising the skills and capabilities of those employed. There is ample scope for County Government to also embrace performance management with clear metrics to enhance staff effectiveness. Steps should also be taken to strengthen the ability of the Members of County Assemblies in providing proper oversight on the County Government.
To enhance economic growth in the Counties is crucial otherwise the devolution experiment will stall and even reverse. What is crucial is for Counties to be guided by a greater focus on being competitive in attracting their residents to be more entrepreneurial, and for investment from other parts of the country, and abroad, to flow into the County. At the core of this is for the County Government’s regulation and revenue collection to not crush incentives for investment and innovation. It cannot be exaggerated how important it is for every County to establish and publicise an Entrepreneurship and Investment Code that it implements in predictable and effective manner. Even as the Counties raise local revenue, they must keep red tape to a minimum while being aware that they are in competition not only with other Counties but with other countries and their internal regions. We are in a global economic race and must equip ourselves to prosper.
There is a nationwide lament that corruption has permeated both the Executive and legislative arms of County Governments. This impedes service delivery and development and may generate disaffection with the system of devolved government. County governments were blamed for excesses, corruption, and failure to improve service delivery. It was also noted that political interests tend to override public service delivery. There was a strong perception that the procurement of goods and services was undertaken in disregard of procurement laws and best practices, and that the process was characterised by patronage and nepotism, misallocation of funds, and other governance ills. Local leaders were also accused of outright impunity and perpetual pursuit of selfish interests. If corruption in Counties is not brought to heel, it will eventually lead to the failure of devolution, as citizens seek different governance and management models. Of great concern, as well, has been the inability of the Counties to mobilise their own domestic resources and to properly account for those that they receive.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Retain the 47 Counties and support the voluntary process of Counties forming regional economic blocs — By and large, Kenyans are happy with devolution and would like for the existing 47 counties to remain in existence. However, there was a strong enough sentiment that needs further consultation with Kenyans. It noted that while Kenyans are strong supporters of devolution and their counties, they also want better value for money and more money to be used for development as opposed to high recurrent and administrative costs. Perhaps there is a way that the 47 Counties can be maintained as the focus of development implementation and the provision of services, while representation and legislation are undertaken in larger regional blocs
Increase the resources to the Counties between 35 and 50% of the last audited accounts. Money follows functions. We urgently, and comprehensively, need to complete the costing of National and County functions. Money for devolved functions should be for service delivery to Kenyans, meaning that the CRA, in its allocation formula, should focus on the distance from the centre of the County to its furthest area as opposed to the general size of the County. It should also target key areas such as agriculture, health and the rapid urbanisation occurring in all.

In accordance with the Fourth Schedule to the Constitution, complete the transfer of functions from the national to County Government, cost the transferred functions, and ensure that money follows function. In the case of concurrent functions, avoid duplication and wastage.
Parastatals carrying out County functions should be either wound up or restructured. This should be synchronised with the implementation of the already completed parastatal reforms policy.
The allocation process should be simple for all citizens to understand, and should be guided by equality, equity, and special needs, in that order.
Consider how Ward representatives can have oversight of funds intended for bursaries only, while ensuring that CDF funds do not clash with the development imperatives of Counties.
The increase of monies to the Counties must be guided by a revenue allocation formula that is informed by population; devolved and urgent needs such as health; agriculture, which accounts for the majority of livelihoods and includes livestock and fishing; education (ECD); and the provision of a basic share for all Counties to share equally. It must be focused on service delivery to settled and serviced areas, meaning services from the centre to the furthest point in the County rather than land mass. In addition to the formula, areas that have hitherto been marginalised should be uplifted through the Equalisation Fund for a set period.
Make monies generated by Counties more transparent and better managed. And create an incentive for the transparent generation of resources by Counties by providing more money from the national kitty linked to this.
The Commission on Revenue Allocation should assess what Counties should be collecting and factor it into the annual allocation.
County Integrated Development Plan should be linked to a transparent assessment of the development needs of each ward.
Cut taxes in relation to Auditor General audits — It is better that money remains in Kenyans’ pockets until there is more accountability and governance on its use at the National and County levels. Then taxes can be increased with improvement.

3. Changes to the County executive —

The running mate of every candidate for the position of Governor should be of the opposite gender.
Filling vacancies — Where a vacancy, for any given reason, occurs in the Deputy Governor’s office, and the Governor fails to appoint a replacement within 90 days, the Speaker of the County Assembly, with the approval of the Assembly, shall nominate a Deputy Governor.
Limit arbitrary, nepotistic or crony recruitment of human resources that ignores merit and inclusivity. It is proposed that the independence of the Public Service Commission should be replicated at the County level. Such a function would be responsible for the recruitment of the County staff, setting reimbursement levels that are in harmony with National Government, ensuring inclusivity, and raising the skills and capabilities of those employed.

4. The healthcare function — Kenyans need far better healthcare if this country is to be productive and prosperous. Paying for healthcare eats into family savings and prompts rash sales of land, which sometimes lead to future conflict. To this end, the following should be undertaken:

Health Service Commission – Even as we retain health as a devolved function, the human resourcing element should be transferred to a Health Service Commission.
Health function should remain with the Counties and funds should follow functions.
We need a far stronger focus on preventive and primary care.
NHIF administrative costs should be cut down sharply through using technology, cutting down on corruption and increasing productivity. These administrative costs should be at 5–10%.
Kenyans need a Patients’ Bill of Rights to tackle the following issues: Billing is filled with corruption and inflation when Kenyans are at their most vulnerable. No hospital should hold people forcefully. There should be consequences for misdiagnosis. All facilities must be obliged to stabilise emergency cases. All patients are owed polite and considerate service.

5. County Government spending — Supervision of County Spending, investment and employment is failing at multiple levels which is leading to copious amounts of waste and corruption that compromise Devolution which is otherwise very popular with Kenyans. The response should be much stronger oversight by the responsible bodies, actions to cut wasteful costs, and assign a greater proportion of County finances being assigned to development.

Financing the development of each Ward to at least 30% of the County development budget within the five-year term.
The ratio between development spending and recurrent expenditure in the counties should match the national one at 70:30.
Strengthen the oversight independence of County Assemblies by ensuring that the transmission and management of County Assembly budgets are insulated from arbitrary or politically-motivated interference by County Executives; these processes should also be subjected to rigorous public finance management processes.
Limit the number of people that may be employed in the County Government by providing a set, nationwide, ratio, as a ceiling, between County population and number of employees. Also fix the maximum number of Ministries that a Governor may establish.
There are significant savings in eliminating duplication of functions and jobs between National and County Government. Also, rationalise jobs within the County Governments, particularly where there is over-staffing or duplication.
To stop the abandonment of incomplete projects with each change of administration, the Treasury should not release monies to the new Governor before obtaining a list of incomplete projects and a plan for their completion. In cases where the incoming Governor does not want to complete a project, there should be a detailed explanation of the legitimate cause for it being halted.
Projects initiated in the final year of an electoral cycle should receive extra scrutiny from the Controller of Budget, the County Assembly, the Senate, and all oversight authorities.
Strengthen the office of the Auditor General, which should be devolved to oversee Counties’ accounts and to report them in an accessible and straightforward way.
The Controller of Budget should assess, verify, and confirm that monies released has been applied to the stated objectives before the release of the next tranche.
Counties to budget more development money to respond to specific needs in the Wards rather than granting a lump sum to Counties or constituencies.
Commission on Revenue Allocation to change its revenue allocation formula — particularly in allocating funds for the marginalised — to target wards in the County budgets.
Bureau of Statistics to provide an objective and localised measure of the wellbeing and human security, including environmental sustainability, of Kenyans to measure national, County, and Ward performance.
Conditional grants can be used to encourage collaboration between Counties, and the formation of blocs that improve development planning and delivery.

6. Counties also must grow the economic pie — Counties should be guided by a greater focus on being competitive in attracting their residents to be more entrepreneurial, and for investment from other parts of the country, and abroad, to flow into the County.

At the core of this is for the County Government’s regulation and revenue collection to not crush incentives for investment and innovation.
Biashara mashinani — There should be high-priority efforts by every County to support local groups to develop businesses through partnerships. The County Government should ensure that small and emerging businesses are easy to start, and that they find it easy to navigate regulations and bureaucracy and to get their goods to market in a timely way.
Every County to establish and publicise an Entrepreneurship and Investment Code that it implements in predictable and effective manner.
Even as the Counties raise local revenue, they must keep red tape to a minimum while being aware that they are in competition not only with other Counties but also with other countries and their internal regions.

7. No double taxation and double regulation at the National and County level — The inter-governmental mechanisms should be developed and clarified to ensure that this aim is consistently met.

8. More cohesive Counties — Strengthen dialogue and integration of communities in the Counties, especially those that are multi-ethnic, with a focus on ensuring minorities are heard and respected.

More transparent and well-structured public participation can be assisted by the Public Rapporteur office that the Taskforce is recommending. In addition, Governors should hold one-day open forums to update citizens on the state of delivery and governance in the Counties.
Utilise Elders to strengthen cohesion and mediate conflicts.
More cultural awareness and respect programming by County Governments.
Integration of schools in the County.
More shared development and dialogue projects by communities that have had histories of conflict.

Chapter 10: Safety and security

Kenyans told the Taskforce that they do not feel sufficiently safe and secure. From those who represented victims of terrorism, to others victimised by domestic terrorism, mistreatment at the hands of security personnel, and a lack of trust in policing, millions of Kenyans do not feel as secure as they should. The same was the view of the security experts who presented their views to the Taskforce. As a result, the Taskforce observes, with great concern, that we will struggle to become a truly united and prosperous country if we do not have a security system that is responsive to the needs and rights of citizens, and that is trusted and embraced by them.
It is therefore crucial that all Kenyans — and not just the security officials — have a deeper understanding of the trends and dynamics driving insecurity in Kenya, the region, and the world.
We live in a tough neighbourhood — We are building a constitutional democracy in a region beset by authoritarianism, failed states, and terrorism driven by global terrorist organisations, and, nearby, the volatile and fragile Middle Eastern states are projecting their rivalries to the Horn of Africa. We are also deepening our democracy and increasing our civil liberties at the very moment there is a global spread of ideologies of hatred, division and subjugation.
Non-conventional threats — Most security threats that the Kenyan state and people face are non-conventional: from irregular war to politically instigated civil strife and violence, violent extremism, organised crime, and secessionism, conventional threats are in the minority. However, even conventional threats in the form of the long-term risk of our territory being claimed by other states with an irredentist or expansionist agenda must be prepared for and deterred robustly.
The scale of the terrorist threat, especially when its capabilities are escalated by hostile states, is evident in its causing of state collapse in the Middle East and in large swathes of the Sahel and West Africa. An unholy alliance of transnational criminal networks and state sponsors is adding to the potency of the threat. This is not a passing phenomenon, as the last 20 years of yet-to-succeed global campaigns to eradicate major terrorist have shown. This is a generational challenge, and any democratic polity in a neighbourhood like the Horn of Africa will need to harden itself against this form of militant-ideological activity.
Our territorial integrity — There is also a growing sense that some countries could in time attempt to compromise the territorial integrity of Kenya. We cannot ever let that happen. It is crucial that there be strong measures to deter such attempts, and that Kenya, in line with our Constitution and international law, be ready to preempt any attempts to breach our sovereignty and national security.
Safety from enemy propaganda — In dealing with non-state threats to Kenya and Kenyans, emanating from terrorist or militant organisations, we must take strong measures to ensure that their attacks and propaganda do not undermine our social and religious cohesion. Fighting terrorism effectively is therefore ultimately about safeguarding the constitutional order itself from a global enemy implacably opposed to the Constitution, secular government, freedom of religion, and democracy.
Corruption and security — Corruption has cost Kenyan lives by enabling our enemies’ planning and operations. There have been entrenched cartels and corrupt special interests in the security sector for decades. Some deny our front-line security personnel the proper equipment, allowances and support that they need to be able to protect us properly. Others so vastly inflate procurement costs, while providing wrong equipment to our disciplined services, that it leads to lost lives, and weaker-than-required capabilities.
Ethnicity and insecurity — A trend with critical implications for our security is the persistence of ethnicity as an organising principle of political competition. It has unfortunately turned our elections into tense affairs that require an extra-ordinary national security effort. That should not be the case. Organised crime and corruption cartels take advantage of this ethnic game to try and control procurement, regulation and law enforcement. All to the detriment of our security, the hopes of our people and their trust in Government.
Conflicts between groups that sometimes accord to County boundaries are leading to significant levels of violence in various parts of the country. Each boundary dispute should receive specific and consistent attention.
Severe weather events — In Kenya and the region, severe weather events are increasingly having a very negative impact on the energy, water, pasture, and food nexus. This is leading to conflict and communal wars over territory and boundaries. Droughts are also undermining food security leading to conflict-driving population movements that in turn drive conflict. Losses of pasture and livestock lead to violent restocking that is now linked to organised crime.
Poor disaster preparedness and response — Kenyans have become used to news of disasters that claim many lives that could have been saved if we had prompt, well-equipped, and well-structured disaster response. Many of these are entirely predictable: for instance, we know that annually there will be floods that endanger lives and yet year after year, Kenyans are drowned.
Urbanisation and insecurity — Our towns and cities are growing fast. Africa has by far the fastest rate of urbanisation in recorded history. Yet most of this urbanisation lacks industrialization. Combined with the ‘youth bulge’, this leads to a jobless, despairing youth population that is accommodating to terrorist recruitment, militant politics, and criminality.
A secure Kenya is not going to be won only by security personnel and institutions. Every arm of Government, all Ministries and County Governments, as well as citizens, civil society, and the private sector have important roles to play.

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Every life in Kenya has equal value — The value of life impacted by violence, insecurity and poor safety standards should be the same across Kenya. We must put a stop to the fact that there are different consequences in various parts of the country. A life lost to murder in the poverty-stricken Loima and Mathare should receive equal prevention, investigation, and prosecutorial attention as one in a wealthy Nairobi suburb. Making this change requires the equal distribution of policing resources, prosecutions and prevention efforts.
A people-owned National Security Strategy — Recognising that security belongs to citizens, we need a human-security approach reflected in a comprehensive National Security and Safety Strategy (every two years and by every incoming President within three months of taking office) that is owned by the people and the whole of Government. It should be pro-active, preventive, and pre-emptive.
Lower vulnerability to resource conflicts, disasters, emergencies and food insecurity— Ensure Kenyans are less vulnerable to natural and man-made disasters and emergencies by taking the following measures:

Operationalise a comprehensive National Emergency, Disaster and Crisis Management Strategy rooted in law that is linked to County, sub-County and Ward level disaster response plans that are renewed periodically.
Link the National Disaster Risk system to the Contingencies Fund (Article 208) in the Act establishing it.
Put in place preemptive and prompt response strategies to common major disasters such as flooding and drought.
As part of the National Strategy, clarify the various levels and types of emergencies whose response is led by National Government and Counties. These should be linked to the separate National and County Contingencies Funds.
Prevent communal resource conflicts by ensuring that County boundaries are drawn to maximise sharing of water and pasture, among other resources.
Safe food — Protect consumers of food and medicine from dangerously procured, grown, or developed products that harm their health and wellbeing.

4. Terrorism is a continuing risk to Kenyans that needs multiple tools to address it, not just security — Counter terrorism will only succeed if it is powerfully linked to political, social and cultural defences that reduce the pool of recruits, and delegitimise the aims of our enemies.

Mainstream and coordinate the prevention of radicalisation and violent extremism initiatives in the Ministries responsible for health, education, youth, culture and heritage, as well as other relevant governmental bodies.
Defend Kenya against terrorists by implementing regulated protective security standards for all sectors, and particularly highly trafficked properties owned by the private sector.
Invest in innovation and coordination to strengthen every part of the counter-terrorism system with a focus on making Kenyan terrorism prevention (also referred to as countering violent extremism) world-class in its tools and policies.
As the Victim Protection Trust Fund is operationalised, it should pay special attention to the victims of terrorism whose victimisation is directly intended to intimidate all Kenyans and our political, social and religious choices.
Cybersecurity — At a minimum, we must fundamentally strengthen our national cybersecurity capabilities, particularly because our economy is increasingly digital and online. Our ambition to remain a regional financial centre and for our people to find work in and through technology demands the continuous strengthening of national cybersecurity skills, processes, laws, and institutions.
Foreign affairs — Review diplomatic relations with state sponsors of terrorism, religious extremism, and expansionism or irredentism. Ensure diplomacy is shaped and resourced to deal with the emerging threats before they demand a hard security response. It is particularly important that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in terms of budget allocation, be in the same cluster as the Department of Defence, the National Intelligence Service, and other security organs.
Private security — Professionalise and better regulate private security companies and guards to deliver better service that is more integrated with State security and adheres to higher standards.

5. Police performance, and mental health and wellness — Strengthen the performance and service orientation of the National Police Service and support the mental health and wellness of officers.

Clarify Key Performance Indicators for police commanders from the level of IG downward linked to publicly reported national crime and insecurity statistics (annual crime and security report from the Ministry of Interior that is disaggregated based on counties, gender, and citizen perceptions). Link these to promotions and incentives.
Eliminate corruption in recruitment by instituting heavy penalties for corrupting the process.
Create a transparent human resources system that is digital and with clear guidelines and processes for promotion and transfer. The standards of promotion into leadership and management must reflect measurable past performance, including internal courses and exams as well as citizen complaints of abuse and corruption.
Support integrity and effectiveness in the NPS by recognising and rewarding excellence, dedication and sacrifice by officers and citizens.
As a matter of priority, put in place accessible and resourced mental health and wellness counselling and treatment for police officers. Particular attention should be paid to those in frontline roles that expose them to extreme trauma. All measures should also be taken to keep families together.

6. Secure citizens from personal threats —

Redress boundary conflicts that threaten national and societal security — Establish a commission(s) to address current boundary conflicts until they are solved. Among the areas with current boundary conflicts are Meru with Isiolo; Meru with Tharaka Nithi; Baringo – Turkana; Garissa with Tana River; Kisumu with Vihiga; Kisumu with Nandi; Laikipia with Samburu; Turkana with West Pokot; West Pokot with TransNzoia; Nyandarua with Laikipia; Kitui with Meru; Elgeyo - Marakwet with West Pokot; Makueni – Machakos - Kajiado.
Protect whistleblowers — Enable court procedures that guarantee the protection of the safety and security of informants, whistleblowers and witnesses, particularly regarding terrorism, serious transnational crimes, and corruption.
Care for pedestrians and cyclists — Every new road in an urban area should be legally required to also have a sidewalk for pedestrians and specified lanes for cyclists. Signage should be clear.
Citizen conflict resolution — Increase citizen skills in conflict resolution and mediation throughout a Kenyan’s educational life. Achieve this by including conflict resolution, negotiation and counselling skills in the curriculum at all levels of primary and secondary education.
Prioritise combatting gender and sexual violence by focusing and resourcing specific policing and prevention measures against sexual and gender-based violence.

Chapter 11: Commissions and Cross-Cutting Issues

NAIROBI – Nairobi, by virtue of being the national capital and an extra-territorial seat of the United Nations, is dissimilar to other counties. The Kenyan people look to the capital as the seat of all arms of Government and as a critical location for their civic participation in national life. This means that the Commission of Revenue Allocation formula would struggle to take into consideration this special status of Nairobi and the demands for services that come with it. Further to this consideration as capital city, the 26 March 1975 agreement between the Republic of Kenya and the United Nations regarding the headquarters of the UN Environment Programme in Nairobi agrees actions by the National Government that touch on the environment, infrastructure, amenities, public services, and accessibility of the headquarters. To demonstrate the far-reaching implications of the agreement, consider its agreement that ‘the headquarters seat shall be supplied with the necessary services including without limitation by reason of this enumeration, electricity, water, sewerage, gas, post, telephone, telegraph, local transportation, drainage, collection of refuse and fire protection…’ It also holds that ‘in case of any threatened interruption of such services, the appropriate Kenyan authorities shall consider the needs of UNEP as being of equal importance with those of essential agencies of the Government…’ These actions are agreed with the National Government and not the County Government. The status of Nairobi as host of a global UN headquarters is a big reason why it has become a diplomatic hub with dozens of countries establishing missions that will allow them representation at UNEP and other UN bodies governed from Nairobi. These missions in turn demand a minimum level of services and facilitation from the National Government. The Taskforce recommends that Nairobi be accorded a special status as capital city that allows the National Government the means to provide the services and facilitation necessary to maintaining it as a capital city and as a diplomatic hub. At the same time, such a special status should not impede the rights of the people of Nairobi to representation at the ward and parliamentary levels.
Separate the obligation to conduct criminal investigations from the obligation to promote and enforce ethics in public service. The work of reporting on, promoting and enforcing ethical conduct will go to the proposed Ethics Commission recommended in the chapter on national ethos.
Every independent commission must have internal accountability systems that clearly and transparently separate the power of appointment and promotion from that of interdiction and censure.
Rigorous audits that inquire into value for money and upholding sound principles of public finance management should apply to every arm of government and every public institution.
Strengthen the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to complement the independence of the criminal-justice system, which includes the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary.
Significantly, increase the amount of resources to the Director of Public Prosecutions to enable effective prosecutions.
Rationalise the mandates of regulatory bodies to ensure lack of duplication, and to ease transparency, affordability and prompt service to enable higher levels of regulatory compliance.
Strengthen the Government Chemist to increase its effectiveness in carrying out its mandate.
Create a unified and assertive food safety and regulation regulatory body.
Senate and National Assembly — The Taskforce has made substantial recommendations to change the Executive branch. There is therefore need to review the checks and balances system in the legislature to ensure that the National Assembly and the Senate are fit for purpose.
Harmony in running Commissions — In order to redress the power struggles that have characterised Chapter 15 Commissions, make the Chairpersons also be the Chief Executive Officers. This recommendation shall not apply retrospectively.
Picking Commissioners for IEBC — A meeting of Party Leaders of Parliamentary Political Parties shall nominate by consensus the persons to be appointed by the President as IEBC commissioners. The candidates should meet the criteria spelt out in the Constitution and the law and they should be non-partisan, with a record of integrity and accomplishment, and who are not known members of a political party and have no record of taking public positions in support of a party.
Part-time commissioners — Half of the Commissioners in Chapter 15 Commissions, except for the IEBC, should serve on a part-time basis.
Article 249(3) has been violated and this has compromised the ability of Chapter 15 Commissions and independent offices to adequately and independently carry out their mandates. At the same time, the Commissions and independent offices should also be subjected to stringent reviews by relevant bodies to ensure that they carry out their duties as mandated.
Consolidate administrative tribunals — Presently, virtually every statute setting up some regulatory authority or other also sets up some appeal tribunal to resolve matters arising from the regulators exercise of its statutory authority. The relationship between the regulator and the tribunal has largely defeated the very essence of impartial adjudication of disputes. In addition, the sheer number of tribunals set up in this manner makes them a huge and unnecessary drain on national resources. It is proposed to create one National Administrative Appeals Tribunal under which separate thematic appeals tribunals may be managed (for example, power and energy, sports, and environment).
Reduce the number of regulatory bodies by undertaking a major effort to simplify harmonise and their mandates. The focus should be on fewer and better implemented regulations, with a premium against corruption in this process.

Chapter 12: Conclusion

Kenya is at cross-roads. On the present trajectory, we will risk our continuity as a democracy and a safe and secure country as our political culture and economic model destroy the fragile bonds between us. Kenya has the unusual genius of being open to change. This means that our mistakes, for instance in the post-election violence of 2007-2008, as terrible as they were, have been followed by a pragmatic readiness to change. However, our narrow personal and sectarian interests, particularly in the political class, have frustrated genuine transformative actions. We cannot go on in that way, not now. The risks to our country are too great, and the 2017 election season demonstrated very clearly that we cannot afford to repeat these cycles. This report, with all its imperfections, is a genuine step to a new Kenya that should be embraced by all Kenyans and people of goodwill. That it was born from the Handshake between Kenya’s leading political leaders suggests that there is the necessary political will to see it implemented. This is a major turning point in our history and resolute steps by Kenya’s leaders will be a major legacy that will be remembered for generations to come.
The Taskforce urges these leaders, and their counterparts in other parties, to form a large umbrella movement to rally support for these critical recommendations. There should also be effective Technical Committees to turn the report’s recommendations into the legal, policy and administrative measures required for implementation. An implementation team in the Presidency, reporting directly to the President, should then be formed to quickly put these measures into effect in the next 18 months. If we are determined in taking these actions, Kenya will rise as the first African nation in generations to scale the global heights of peace, shared prosperity and strong cohesion. We have it in us to achieve these heights, and the courage to face this moment is all it takes.

Annexes

ANNEX 1: Detailed recommendations

National Ethos

SOLUTION	ACTION REQUIRED
Kenyans need to think big and long-term. Elections will come and go with different administrations in place, but Kenya will endure. We need a vision of the Kenya we want to exist in 3 generations or 100 years: a country that makes a special contribution to humanity, perhaps by being the spark for a resurgence of vibrant, prosperous, and confident African civilisations throughout the continent.	We must undertake a major consultation, in the form of an inclusive national conversation culminating in a major conference with the single aim of producing a vision of a unique Kenyan civilisation 100 years from today.
Kenyans as a people must be transformed into individuals with a respect for others and involvement in service that reflects integrity. Seen this way, Kenya is today suffering a leadership deficit at multiple levels and sectors, including Government, civil society, and the religious sector. As a country, we must strengthen leadership across all branches of Government by building mechanisms that weed out the undeserving, promote relevant experience, success, and integrity, and offer transparent and fair paths to positions of leadership. Rather than a top-down process, we should build the national ethos from the existing cultural ethos of Kenyan communities which have clear processes of developing leadership, service, and legitimacy. These should be linked to the nation from the bottom up, respecting diversity. The aim is to grow leadership in Kenya as a form of service and integrity to others.	Families, parenting, and mentorship: There must be a renewed focus on teaching morality, including sacred truths whose importance stretches beyond the individual. Religious groups, including churches, mosques, and temples should play a strong role in strengthening the national ethos by rooting it in their activities. Media: Kenya needs media that uplift us through investing in quality local content. The media should build programming based on Kenyan histories to show us what is unique about ourselves. Schools: Kenyans should learn service from the earliest age. In schools, and particularly boarding schools, students should be given work and responsibilities that demand their effort and service to the community. All students should be involved in structured volunteer initiatives that serve the poor and needy beyond the school gates. These initiatives should reflect values of compassion, empathy, cooperation, and responsibility. Form a National Volunteers Network that identifies needs for volunteers and provides certification for the work done. This should use technology to identify needs for volunteers and then link organisations to willing groups in schools, homes, and workplaces. In schools, volunteers and mentors should engage with students. School holidays can be used for volunteering work, in environments that are different from where children live or go to school. There should be a compulsory curriculum — throughout a Kenyan’s formal education — instilling in the learner, at an early age, a sense of national ethos rooted in ethics, morals, and integrity. You should not be able to graduate without having completed these courses. Workplaces should embrace Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives that include activities to build the national ethos. Elders and cultural leaders should commit to strengthening the moral and service ethos passed to the young and including a civic component in traditional and communal rituals for passage into adulthood, for example in circumcision ceremonies. This way, traditional and communal processes, rituals, and philosophies of service and integrity will be linked to the nation. There should be a specific effort to insert the call to service and integrity, as citizens, in all ceremonies of passage into adulthood of Kenya’s cultural and religious communities.
Develop and implement enforcement mechanisms for the Leadership and Integrity Act that capture and act on breaches. We have lost track of the enforcement of Chapter 6 on National Values and have few working mechanisms. The present focus on financial impropriety, as important as it is, disregards other important breaches of our national values such as bullying, misleading the public, discrimination, and demeaning public office, among others, that may not amount to criminal behaviour but are clearly breaches of the Constitution.	Strengthen the Act to ensure it properly implements Chapter 6, and, if necessary, replace it with a new Bill. Enforcement mechanisms should be present in all public entities and particularly for service commissions such as the PSC, JSC, and PSC, and Article 235 bodies. All Service commissions should live up to the implementation of Chapter 6 and the Leadership and Integrity Act — especially in terms of disciplinary processes, contracting, responding to complaints, renewal of contracts, and promotions reflecting impartial assessments of compliance.
Strengthen the capability of national leadership at the Cabinet level by selecting individuals who enjoy public and professional respect.	All Cabinet Ministers should have a demonstrable track record of integrity that allows them public respect and the high regard of public officers who will serve under them. All Presidents will issue a Ministerial Code that binds those Ministers appointed into Cabinet and that reflects national values and ethos.
Link the cultural values and norms of Kenyans reflected in rites of passage to constitutional values and principles and the rights and responsibilities of citizenship.	Ministry of Culture and Heritage to encourage all Councils of Elders or community leaders nationwide to formalise rites of passage to include both genders, and to incorporate into them national values and citizen rights and responsibilities.
There should also be a harmonisation between our diverse cultures and modern Kenyan identity so that we are a people who are not at odds internally.	Strengthen the Ministry of Culture and Heritage. A people who care about their national ethos will ensure that this is one of the most important Government bodies. Replace Boxing Day on 26 December with a National Culture Day for celebrating culture and learning about other Kenyans’ cultures (this could also be done on 1 January). The elders should be linked to each other, and with public bodies, through a large annual conference that deliberates on how culture will inform policy initiatives and regional engagement. National of elders should be enabled to participate in regional, continental, and international engagement with their counterparts on issues such as ethical leadership; responsible parenting; using traditional rites of passage to strengthen citizenship; inter-communal respect and dialogue; conflict prevention, mediation, and resolution; protection of heritage and history; and ethics and integrity. This should be done through the linkages provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Tourism, the Copyright Board, Kenya Wildlife Service, and other relevant parts of the Government. Link elders to formal mediation processes recognised by the legal system through training and certification opportunities and connect them with judicial and Government institutions nationwide. Ministry of Culture and Heritage should use public participation and expert input to codify an official pantheon of Kenyan heroes who reflect Kenya’s values and ethos, our fight for democracy and freedom, our aspirations, and our outstanding achievements. These heroes should be included in museum displays, curriculums and showcases. The officially recognised living national heroes should receive modest public support if they are vulnerable or destitute. Each County should implement the Protection of Traditional Knowledge and Cultural Expressions Act 2016 by offering cultural activities and centres that celebrate all cultures in the County and others nationally.
We have it in us to build the foundations of a vibrant Kenyan civilisation by giving ourselves the gift of knowing, respecting, and engaging with our diverse histories. A major part of Africa’s malaise and present demoralisation arises from our histories being articulated by parties and groups who have dominated us and sought to benefit from our ignorance, division, and low morale. As is recognised worldwide, a people who do not know and cannot articulate their own story cannot ever rise to their full greatness. We therefore recommend that Kenyans give themselves a definitive and inclusive official history.	The Kenya National Archives and Documentation Service should be renamed the Official Historian and National Archives Service. The re-energised body should have its mandate broadened to be a central point in collaborative and professional efforts by libraries, universities, museums, and individual historians to research, analyse, and present a thorough and definitive Kenyan history to Kenyans and the world. The institution should be led by an established and highly regarded scholar of African history or a world-class expert on library science or curating. It should have a board with representation from the Ministries of Heritage and Education; domestic and foreign universities; domestic and foreign museums of history and heritage; curators; artists; and elders. President Uhuru Kenyatta should commission an official history of Kenya whose production will be led by an Office of the Historian resident in the National Archives. This history should go back 1000 years and provide an accurate and definitive account of the settlement of Kenya by the present inhabitants; the political, economic, and cultural heritage of all ethnic groups in Kenya; the role of women throughout history; an account of the international slave trade and colonialism; the anti-colonial struggles; the post-colonial history of every part of the country; and contemporary histories including those of urban areas and newly formed communities in Kenya. Inside the Official Historian and National Archives Service should be a working staff of professional historians, librarians, curators, and professionals from other relevant fields of expertise such as philosophy, linguistics, anthropology, theology, economic historians, politics, and the sciences. The work should be connected to the mission of the National Museums, publicly funded cultural centres, the Ministry of Education, and all public bodies undertaking curriculum development, training, and education of Kenyans. Its work should be shaped in such a way that it can be understood by all Kenyans, and particularly students and young people. Liaise and partner with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in shaping this effort.
We must make work a reflection of character and skill, and a path to self-worth and respect, even as we work to increase the total number of jobs and to raise income levels.	Technical education and TIVET should be rebranded to communicate the value of craftsmanship as being more than a job and income — it is a reflection of expertise and character. Offer transparent, fair, and accessible paths for recognition of craftsmanship and a hierarchy of expertise. Map all Counties for unique craft expertise; promote it, up-skill it, and connect to markets. Map the unique cottage and handmade industries in each County and broaden opportunities by encouraging better linkage to markets, strengthening the skills of the young, and linking it to high standards.
The happiness of Kenyans, and their wellness and mental health, should be supported.	Ministry of Health should have a Department of Happiness, Wellness, and Mental Health dedicated to working on policies and standards in this area. They should be promoted to Counties that have the health mandate. This should also be linked to the Ministry of Culture to ensure that the programmes and approaches are informed by Kenya’s cultural institutions and their approaches to wellness and mental health. As part of the work on the Human Development Index, Kenya should produce a disaggregated Happiness Index.

Responsibilities and Rights

SOLUTIONS	ACTION REQUIRED
Kenyans have God-given rights that must now stand alongside a Kenyan Charter of Responsibilities.	Inspired by the national anthem and the national values, create a Charter of Citizen Responsibilities that includes a Patriot’s Pledge to the Nation and the Constitution of Kenya (for schools, workplaces, and official national and public events). The Charter should not be based on single words but should articulate who the ideal Kenyan is and what he or she does in relating to others.
Educated parenting is important to raise healthy and responsible children in an increasingly complex and fast-changing Kenya.	Many churches insist that couples attend classes before their wedding, to ensure that they know how to uphold marriage; there should be similar efforts to strengthen parenting. An inter-ministerial Taskforce should be formed to develop a generic and simple parenting curriculum and make it available to religious and cultural institutions, health centres, and sub-chiefs and chiefs for the widest possible dissemination.
Part of choosing to be a Cabinet member or to be a PS, and their equivalent in the Counties, is to be ready to have ‘skin in the game’ in using the services that you develop and manage on behalf of all Kenyans. If it is good enough for Kenyans, it should be good enough for you.	The Ministerial Code should include Ministers in charge of services making use of those services for their own personal and family needs. For instance, the children of the Minister of Education should make use of public schools; the health minister should use public healthcare; and so forth. All Ministers should use public facilities and services. These principles should be reflected in the Counties with the County Executives.
A major part of responsibility is to children. Their abuse or mistreatment by parents, or any other adults, should be heavily punished by law and community shaming. It is also a national responsibility that no child should be abandoned or homeless.	The penalties of child abandonment should be stiff and implemented. Strengthen the mechanisms of child protection and support of the abandoned.
There is an urgent need for continuous and widespread civic education on rights and responsibilities.	Civic education should be prioritised in Government policies and initiatives, nationally and in Counties. This includes a specific ongoing civic education campaign that is continuous and is based on innovative approaches that do not utilise the typical workshopping model; for instance, the use of Barazas. Citizenship education should be provided at all levels up to undergraduate.
Entrench ethics awareness, training, and accountability in the workplace.	Every public institution, non-governmental organisation, and company should develop an integrity and ethics strategy that includes training and safe ways to report infractions and include it in the evaluation of departments and managers.
Develop a responsibility and execution culture in all young Kenyans. (There is a national deficit in execution and the acceptance of individual responsibility. A culture of responsibility and effective implementation is not intuitive: it must be deliberately grown in people from their upbringing, our communal and national ethos, and in their training and education.)	Kenyan schools should draw all students into chores and responsibilities that uplift and provide for the school and the broader community. This will inculcate a culture of responsibility, and getting tasks done. Schools, at every level, should actively encourage and enable student volunteering for those in need in the communities or institutions close to the school.
All Kenyans should give six months of their lives to national service between the ages of 18 and 26.	Government departments should draw up Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives linked to this. Encourage Volunteer Clubs in all schools. Plans should be devised for involving those not in school. There should be a national volunteer network that allows efforts that need volunteers to sign on and be connected to those who want to serve; this network should also offer certification of completed volunteering stints. Incentives, including by making this a requirement of applying for Public Service jobs, should be considered
The citizen’s rights and responsibilities should be incorporated in the cultural, religious, and communal processes of initiation and religious and cultural education (on the basis of all religions having expectations of engaged citizenship).	The Ministry of Culture and Heritage should ensure that all cultural and religious initiation or passage ceremonies feature a common module or portion on a Kenyan citizen’s rights and responsibilities.
Mental health is key to a healthy nation of engaged citizens.	A special taskforce should be formed to find solutions on making mental health care accessible, lowering the stigma against those suffering, and support for home carers.

Ethnic Antagonism and Competition

SOLUTIONS	ACTION REQUIRED
Do away with the winner-take-all model in the national Executive.	Ensure that the Executive reflects the Face of Kenya and inclusively executes the political will of Kenyans rather than merely making appointments on the basis of ethnicity.
Support the role of the President as a symbol of national unity.	Develop a Council of Advisors made up of individuals who have had eminent and clearly honourable careers in the public service, in the private sector, academia, the arts and sports, the religious sector, and eminent elders. It will provide private advice on upholding national unity to the Head of State on a non-salaried basis.
Ensure that political parties are ethnically inclusive in terms of Set enforcement mechanisms in the Political Parties Act. membership and paths to leadership, and that they are continually regulated to ensure that they do not become vehicles of ethnic exclusion.	Set enforcement mechanism in the Political Parties Act.
Respond proactively and preventively to potential violent conflicts over pasture and water that divide communities and feed into broader ethnic antagonism.	Insert and operationalise the National Steering Committee for Peacebuilding’s early warning and early response mechanism on resource-based conflicts in the National Emergency, Disaster, and Crisis Management system. Strengthen cross-border early warning and response mechanisms and coordinate how multiple ministries plan and implement their programmes in ASAL areas. Strengthen the connection of early warning and response to elders and Peace Committees to reduce the time that elapses before action to prevent conflict. Also allow for Peace Committee members to provide confidential and protected information.
Increase respect for ethnic and religious diversity, while entrenching pluralism.	Curriculums throughout schooling should feature compulsory components on history; cultural diversity; knowledge of the major religions including traditional ones; and the relationship between the Constitution and our cultures/religions. Ensure that secondary boarding schools that are publicly funded have representation from different Counties amounting to at least 50% of the student body. Align the National Museums of Kenya to this mission. Promote and support inclusive cultural centres in every County.
Increase the interaction and knowledge of difference among Kenyans — especially among students — to allow us to be more inclusive.	To this end, the Ministry of Education should deliberately and transparently ensure that public boarding schools and universities have students from different parts of the country. There should be special efforts to integrate schools to include communities that have been known to fight over resources such as water and pasture.
Utilise Alternative Dispute Mechanisms that reduce conflict and division.	Offer elders training and official registration as mediators recognised by the legal system. Encourage the judiciary to set aside room in courts around the country to mediators drawn from the elders
Change our ethnic political calculus by aggressively driving the East African Community integration process.	As a way to reunite our cross-border communities, and change our present ethnic political calculus, while building a more prosperous economy, accelerate the process of East African Community Confederation as a step towards political federation.
Mainstream the mission to strengthen cultural integration and pluralism into the Cabinet to enable it to have a bigger implementation platform.	Transfer the integration responsibilities of the NCIC to the Ministry of Culture/Heritage, the Ministry of Education, and MDAs and commissions charged with civic education.
Ensure that the Face of Kenya is reflected in employment in the public sector, in terms of both seniority and numbers, in accordance with the Constitution.	Where there is no candidate with the right qualifications, the PSC should be empowered to undertake professional search and development for minority candidates to increase their chances of qualifying for the positions.
Support the Registrar of Political Parties to be an assertive, independent, and independent-minded office.	Strengthen the Registrar of Political Parties by: Ceasing the practice of appointing Acting Registrars to head the office. Recruit a substantive Registrar. Strengthen the capabilities of the Office of the Registrar to monitor and punish hate speech and ethnic profiling by politicians and political parties. Remove the legal enforcement power against hate speech from the NCIC to the Registrar of Political Parties and to DCI when it comes to criminal infringement.

Divisive Elections

SOLUTIONS	ACTION REQUIRED
Make the Executive structure more inclusive.	Running for and winning the Presidency — The President shall be elected through universal suffrage. For a candidate to be declared the winner of the Presidential election, he or she must win 50% + 1 of the Presidential votes and at least 25% of the votes cast in each of more than half of the Counties, as is now the case. An Executive President — The President will remain the Head of State and Government and the Commander-in-Chief. He or she shall be the central symbol of National Unity. The President will chair the Cabinet, which compromises the Deputy President, the Prime Minister, and Cabinet Ministers. The Executive, under the authority of the President, shall have the power to determine the policy of the Government in general, while the Ministers under the leadership of the Prime Minister, shall be collectively responsible in the National Assembly for the execution of the affairs of the Government. Term limit — Retain the present two-term limit for the position of President. Deputy President — The Deputy President is the running mate to the President. The Deputy President shall deputise the President.
The President shall appoint a Prime Minister.	Within a set number of days following the summoning of Parliament after an election, the President shall appoint as Prime Minister, an elected Member of the National Assembly from a political party having a majority of Members in the National Assembly or, if no political party has a majority, one who appears to have the support of a majority of MPs. Approval by Parliament — The nominee for Prime Minister shall not assume office until his or her appointment is first confirmed by a resolution of the National Assembly supported by an absolute majority vote of MPs. If the Prime Minister nominee is not confirmed, the President shall have another set number of days to make another appointment. This process shall continue until there is a successful nomination for Prime Minister. A measure to ensure that this process is not indefinite, and that governance is continuous should be considered. The Taskforce would also like to point out that some members of the public expressed concern that the use of simple majorities may find it a challenge to guarantee inclusivity in Kenyan politics. There were proposals made for raising the bar and requiring higher majorities. The Taskforce members felt that this is a matter for a larger national conversation. Dismissal — The Prime Minister may be dismissed by the President or through a vote of no confidence in the National Assembly that wins an absolute majority.
Role of the Prime Minister.	The Prime Minister shall have authority over the control, supervision and execution of the day-to-day functions and affairs of the Government. The Prime Minister shall be the Leader of Government Business in the National Assembly. On the President’s tasking, the Prime Minister will chair Cabinet sub-committees. In the exercise of his authority, the Prime Minister shall perform or cause to be performed any matter or matters which the President directs to be done. The Prime Minister will continue to earn his or her salary as a Member of Parliament with no additional salary for the prime ministerial role. The Permanent/Principal Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister will chair the Technical Implementation Committee of Principal/Permanent Secretaries. To avoid the politicisation of the Public Service, the Permanent or Principal Secretaries will not be subject to Parliamentary approval. Their accountability will be strictly administrative and technical.
Mixed Cabinet.	The cabinet is a crucial part of the Executive arm of Government. There is discontent with the current system, judging from what Kenyans told the Taskforce. The Taskforce proposes that the Cabinet be structured as follows: The President will appoint Cabinet Ministers after consultation with the Prime Minister. The Ministers shall be responsible for the offices that the President establishes in line with the Constitution. The Cabinet shall be drawn from both parliamentarians and technocrats with the latter being made ex-officio Members of Parliament upon successful Parliamentary approval. The Taskforce is also recommending that the Cabinet Secretary be renamed Cabinet Minister. To ensure more effective political direction and Parliamentary accountability, there shall be a position of Minister of State that will be appointed from members of the National Assembly and taking direction in their ministerial duties from Cabinet Ministers. These Ministers of State will continue to earn their salary as MP with no additional salary for their ministerial role. Eliminate the post of Chief Administrative Secretary.
Raise the status of the Opposition and enable it to be more effective to increase the accountability of the Government.	Leader of the Official Opposition — The runner-up of the Presidential election becomes an ex-officio Member of Parliament and the Leader of the Official Opposition if his or her party is not represented in the Government, or of a coalition of Parliamentary parties not represented in the Government. Need for a strong opposition — The party or coalition of parties that is not in Government shall be the Official Opposition. Shadow Cabinet — The Leader of the Official Opposition shall be enabled to have a Shadow Cabinet to challenge the Government’s positions in Parliament. This will include the ability to have adequate provision of quality research on the policy and legislative agenda of the Government. The Opposition party will play a key role in Prime Ministerial and Ministerial Question Time sessions in Parliament. Question Time is an opportunity for MPs to question Government Ministers about matters for which they are responsible.
Reform the IEBC.	A mechanism be devised that gives leaders of parliamentary political parties a role in the recruitment of Commissioners of IEBC. In nominating candidates to be Commissioners, the political party leaders should nominate individuals who are non-partisan, with a record of accomplishment and integrity, and who are not known political supporters or activists of the party. From the views received from Kenyans by the Taskforce, faith in the IEBC remains low. The Taskforce therefore recommends that we go to the next election with a clean slate to strengthen faith in the institution. All IEBC staff should be employed on a three-year contract, renewable only once, if their performance is good. Otherwise, it will be terminated. This will prevent the continuation of errors by enabling each Commission at one time in its term to make appointments. Returning officers should be hired through a process like that used for commissioners, with the involvement of public participation. At the end of the process of recruiting returning officers, IEBC should receive reports on what their decision is and the basis on which they made the decision. This should be available to the public. Returning officers should be contracted on a part-time basis and should not oversee more than one general election. Any person with at least fifteen (15) years management experience at senior level should qualify to apply for Chairmanship of IEBC. It should not be the preserve of lawyers. However, one of the Commissioners should be a lawyer. All current senior officers of IEBC should be vetted. Separate the duties of Secretary and Chief Executive Officer; make the Chairman of the Commission the Chief Executive Officer. The composition of the Commission must reflect the Face of Kenya on all levels. Explore ways to enact provisions that reduce the disproportionately high costs of our elections. The party list system is one. Reform present electoral system to ensure it is simple, accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent as mandated by Article 86 of the Constitution.
REPRESENTATION – Equalise representation and equality of citizenship by ensuring that each Kenyan vote has the same status and power, and that no practice negates the principle of ‘one man, one vote’. Use one of the solutions in the neighbouring column. It is crucial that whatever form reforms to representation take, that they accord to the following principles if Kenyans are to be fairly and equally represented.	That the people’s choice, as reflected in the election of their representatives, including in Party primaries and nominations, shall be upheld through fair, free and transparent elections. Individuals included in any Party lists shall initially have undergone a process that uses transparent public participation in the Counties even before any other vetting procedure is used. That there shall be the equalisation of representation and equality of citizenship, as much as possible, by ensuring that each Kenyan vote has the same status and power, as envisaged in the Constitution. Parties will be compelled through the Political Parties Act to be consistent with the Constitution to meet the Gender Rule and other Constitutional measures of inclusion through their party lists. This will equalise both genders in political terms, rather than creating a parallel system that creates a sense of tokenism. Party lists for Members of County Assemblies shall follow the same principles and processes of public participation, elections and vetting as the National Assembly. This will ensure that the people and parties can ensure that there is accountability in a direct manner. All the existing 290 constituencies will be saved, including the protected seats because they have become key for representation of sparsely populated areas. Devolve political parties to have strong County based party branches that will allow the people to have the political forums and avenues to hold their elected leaders accountable throughout a term and not just during elections. The nomination lists through parties should be completed in a transparent process governed by the political parties overseen by the Registrar of Political Parties and the IEBC.
Kenya is suffering a leadership deficit. It can be closed by raising the quality of leadership integrity and credibility by those running for office and appointed to senior offices.	Utilise rigorous public financial disclosure. No role in elected or appointed leadership for those who have been convicted on criminal charges or disbarred by a legally recognised professional association. Enforcement mechanisms for Constitutional values and standards that provide for a high bar on behaviour.

Inclusivity

SOLUTIONS	ACTION REQUIRED
All Public Service should be inclusive of the Face of Kenya made up of the different regions, ethnic groups, and religions.	Employment in government (all branches and levels) should be by merit and should reflect the proportions of ethnic groups in the country. Where there is no candidate with the right qualifications, the PSC and County Governments (Article 235) should be empowered to undertake professional search and development for minority candidates to increase their chances of qualifying for the positions. In regard to the disciplined services and forces, consider utilising a consortium of private sector recruitment companies with internationally reputable brands (with a reputable brand to protect) to help in filling the recruitment pool for the disciplined services in a way that reflects merit and the Face of Kenya. PSC should be enabled to publicise its annual report on diversity in the Public Service.
The equal power of the vote, or ‘one man, one vote’ is the fundamental basis of electoral democracy	To guarantee equality of representation, which is fundamental to inclusion, every Kenyan vote should as much as possible have equal power at the ballot box.
Utilise party lists and proportional representation to apply the Gender Rule to National and County Government leadership, both elected and appointed and to ensure the visible representation of women in positions of leadership.	Where a gubernatorial candidate is male, his running mate shall be female, and vice versa. See other relevant recommendations under ‘Divisive Elections’.
Strengthen the legislative framework to support the enforcement and sanctioning for non-compliance with Constitutional values and principles in the Public Service.	Legislative review to empower the PSC and any other relevant bodies on enforcement, avenues of complaint by the public, and disciplinary measures for non-compliance with national values and principles.
The different cultures and heritages of Kenyan communities should be visibly respected and promoted by the State.	Invest in promoting and building trust in indigenous knowledge, cultural technologies embedded in traditions and practices, foods, and medicines. Ministry of Culture and Heritage should enable research, curating, and display of Kenya’s diverse cultures in a way that leads to greater understanding and respect for them. National Museums of Kenya should undertake extensive documentation and display of Kenya’s diverse cultural heritage, and also contemporary cultural developments that are hybrids or mixtures of cultures and ways of living. Counties should be encouraged to have cultural museums and culture days that include the diversity of the people. The official pantheon of heroes should be used in educational institutions and civic education. Legalise and regulate traditional alcohol.
End inadequate and manipulated public participation processes and ensure that they are adequate in reflecting the views and insights of Kenyans and are cost-effective.	Constitutionally establish an Office of the Public Participation Rapporteur mandated to conduct all public participation on behalf of Government entities at the national and devolved units. In addition to the role of strengthening the transparency and effectiveness of public participation, add to the office a mandate that enables public interest litigation in a way that is insulated from supplier/vendor influence. An example of how this can work in a democracy is available in India model.
Linked to protecting public participation, minimise the disproportionate role of unelected networks and individuals that utilise economic power and even corruption to shape governance and policymaking in their own interests.	Register all lobbying groups and regulate their engagement of public agencies and legislative processes with the Office of the Public Participation Rapporteur.
Increase physical access for people with disabilities into buildings, particularly public ones, and transport.	Provide clear benchmarks in implementation of the relevant laws as part of the performance contracts of ministries, departments and agencies. Strengthen the Commissions and bodies established by the legislation relating to people with disabilities.
Increase the interaction and knowledge of difference among Kenyans — especially among students — to allow us to be more inclusive.	Ministry of Education should deliberately and transparently ensure that public boarding schools and universities have students from different parts of the country. Special efforts should be made to integrate schools to include communities that have been known to fight over resources such as water and pasture — especially in the northern part of the country.
Increase inclusivity in County Government.	All measures to increase inclusivity at the national level should be reflected in the Counties.

Shared Prosperity

SOLUTIONS	ACTION REQUIRED
We need a total shift in economic paradigm to produce sufficient jobs for our young people and to make an economic pie large enough to generate sufficient revenues to meet the service delivery and welfare needs of Kenyans.	Embrace economic coordination (not state ownership) and labour-intensive manufacturing for export to the region. Undertake all efforts to raise national savings rates beyond 25% of GDP, and exponentially grow the number of entrepreneurs by ensuring that the ease of doing business for start-ups and small businesses is dramatically increased.
A 50-year plan to build an economy that meets the needs of the current and future generations.	A 50-year plan that is more political than it is technocratic that has as its aim Kenya joining the world’s most prosperous, shared and sustainable economies.
Accelerate regional integration to gain access to markets and resources, by linking the region to the world as a fulcrum, which will lead to strong growth in manufacturing and jobs.	The Government needs to accelerate the process of confederation as a step toward political federation as agreed in the East African Community.
Adopt a bottom-up focus that starts with the agriculture and livestock sectors, village-level ‘simple’ firms, not a top-down focus, and have the focus and ambition to dismantle corrupt cartels, to allow Kenya to achieve ‘escape velocity’ and become an economy that is competitive enough to produce sufficient jobs and raise incomes in multiple sectors.	The state should be in the business of continuous market creation in aggressively opening up markets for Kenyan goods in neighbouring countries; and providing information to Kenyan producers on what sections of global value chains where we are competitive. Offer entrepreneurs access to product realisation hubs that give advice on requirements for products and services; design; purchasing; and process control. Build the economy from the grassroots — reforms to economic planning and policy should prioritise the simplest manufacturing opportunities in labour-intensive sectors such as agriculture, livestock, and fishing, and grow their technological capabilities through time. Measure the number of village-level firms in agriculture, and their output, and invest in increasing their numbers and expanding existing ones. This should be a key metric of effective economic management and coordination. Expand agricultural and livestock extension and advisory services and ensure that they include advice on standards and market linkage. They should lead to production in farms rising exponentially. Enable irrigation schemes and treat corruption in those implementing water projects as the top priority in serious anti-corruption efforts. Promote rural industries despite their primitive technologies so that Kenya can use the sale of simple value-added goods to exchange for more sophisticated machinery for use in higher levels of manufacturing. Measure number of agricultural and livestock workers and incomes being generated in the sectors and provide incentives for increases. Continue expanding tarmac and murram roads to ensure all Kenyan producers have access to markets. Ensure the cost of electricity is low enough and the supply reliable enough to allow businesses, and particularly manufacturers to compete internationally. Invest in and promote research that enhances Kenyan productivity and competitiveness, particularly in the agricultural and livestock sector
Savings are investment.	Undertake a major effort to increase national domestic savings to at least 25% of GDP if Kenya is going to develop the ability to drive investment in multiple sectors, including labour-intensive manufacturing base to produce sufficient jobs for Kenyans. There should be tax and regulation incentives and schemes for educational and retirement savings, and other major guaranteed Harambee items Kenyans know they will need to pay for — from funerals to weddings, and even housing. Diaspora remittances — Go beyond attracting remittances to offering incentives, protections and processes to allow the Kenyan Diaspora to hold more of its savings in Kenya.
Public sector salaries	The Salaries and Remuneration Commission should rationalise all public sector salaries in the country to address the huge discrepancies in income.
Lending to priority sectors	The Government should deliver a policy that provides legal and regulatory guidelines for banks to lend a part of their portfolio to priority sectors such as micro, small and medium businesses, export credit, manufacturing, housing, education, health, renewable energy, sanitation and waste management, and agriculture (including livestock and fishing) . The banks, if lacking sufficient specialisation, will be enabled to shift the float to a specially designated development bank with the said capabilities.
Strengthen consumer protection, particularly for borrowers	Properly regulate loan apps which are driving up indebtedness of poor Kenyans to destructive effect with their shylock-level interest rates and borrowing from multiple platforms.
Industrialisation needs to be a leading Government aim and narrative	Only industrialisation is going to truly harness Kenyan talent and ambition to drive sustained national prosperity. It is crucial for Kenyans and Government to resist the growing narrative that Kenya and African countries cannot industrialise because of the pace of technological change for instance in areas such as robotics. Regional integration offers us ample opportunity to sharply raise manufacturing and industrialisation. Government should make a top aim to coordinate the measures that drive Kenya’s industrialisation and make this into a strong narrative promoted to all citizens. The effort should be backed by active incentives and coordination to achieve lower-technology labour intensive industrialisation; entrepreneurship-led industrialisation; and uplifting service and innovation sectors with manufacturing characteristics.
Secure Kenyan inventions, genetic resources, traditional knowledge and expressions as forms of property protected by the law and policy	The future of the global economy is in innovation and invention using intellectual property, genetics, and the living bodies of knowledge developed by generation after generation of our communities. Kenyan laws must be fashioned to protect these resources fiercely, and the Government structured to project compliance throughout the world. This should be accompanied by frameworks for use that maximise the ability of Kenyans to build upon these properties.
Beware the risks of corruption, cartel creation, and abuse of economic power in import substitution schemes that can lead to worse products at higher prices.	Have a stronger focus and investment in export-promotion, which will need firms and products to be more internationally competitive and therefore more productive.
Article 43 on Economic and Social Rights should be progressively and consciously implemented by all elective leaders and the election manifestos of their political parties.	The National and County Governments should develop policy and standards to guide the conscious implementation of Article 43 Economic and Social Rights. Article 43 on Economic and Social Rights should be progressively and consciously implemented by all elective leaders and the election manifestos of their political parties. This would require all political parties to formulate a vision and policies for the implementation of the Bill of Rights (which includes Economic and Social Rights) as part of their election campaign manifestos.
Every generation of Kenyans must live within their means, and not take on debt that is used for unproductive consumption and does not lead to clear gains in national prosperity.	There should be a strong legal limit on debt that recognises its danger to economic stability and the prosperity of future generations. BBI recommends that the Government’s budget deficit shall not exceed 3% of GDP and that the national debt cannot surpass 45% of GDP. Establish a Sovereign Fund that allows for savings in case of emergencies or extraordinary circumstances in the future. In the annual State of the Nation Address, the President should outline the level of indebtedness in terms of its relationship to Government revenues, GDP, and the trends in debt acquisition or payment for the following year. He/she should also outline the measures being taken to balance the budget through management of expenditure and the reforms being undertaken to move any loss-making parastatal to profitability.
Increase spending on development as a proportion of government revenue to increase public goods and services to Kenyans.	Sharply reduce recurrent expenses — particularly salaries, travel and leisure, and allowances — in favour of development spending. There should be a clarification of the legal and administrative powers of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission to ensure that it oversees all salary reviews and changes. Pooling of facilities in the Public Service and use of technology to take note of dormant facilities (especially conferencing facilities before there is any hiring of a hotel). Elimination of wasteful expenditure — for instance, no new cars or office refurbishments for incoming Ministers or PSs without oversight. Eliminate all sitting allowances for Public Officers on salary. Target a ratio, written into law, of 70:30 for development versus recurrent expenditure. Eliminate wasteful expenditure in National and County Government by bringing established laws and regulations to bear that ensure that items such as new cars or office refurbishments for incoming senior officials follow proper procedure in planning, budgeting and procurement.
Deliver constitutionally mandated initiatives and government programmes aimed at the poorest and most vulnerable to wards that meet the criteria and not to Counties, so that all those who have been left behind can be supported by national resources.	CRA to change its revenue allocation formula — particularly in allocating funds for the marginalised — to target wards in the County budgets. No Kenyan Left Out — The ‘Kubadili Plan’ to bring marginalised wards to the level generally enjoyed by the rest of the country. Identify the wards which are most marginalized, at present and historically. Implementation should start with the wards ranked last. Develop a plan to build schools, health facilities, roads, water, electricity, and police stations; and ensure that the facilities are built in all the wards within a period of three years.
Subsidies should be justified and not permanent.	With the exception of sectors or assets that specifically impact the security of the Kenyan people, national cohesion, and the continuity of the State, the Government should not give subsidies when resources for development are so scarce. Where subsidies are given, there should be a reasonable expectation, reflected in an official planning document, that the sector or enterprise is working to be competitive enough to not need the subsidies.
The private betting industry is leading to hopelessness and greater poverty.	Replace the private betting industry with a Government-run national lottery whose proceeds, as is the case in other countries, are used for activities that uplift the youth, sports, culture and other social activities beneficial to citizens.
Role of professionals.	Professional associations’ processes for mediation and professional censure should be revitalised as a matter of law and brought into the Chapter 6 universe.
Lifetime ethics education and awareness.	Educational curricula from the earliest to the most advanced educational levels should specifically include ethics and civics components as a major prerequisite for examination and graduation.
Provide an objective and localised measure of the wellbeing and human security of Kenyans as a way to measure national, county, and ward performance.	The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics should devise a national Human Development Index that domesticates the UN version and expands it to include Article 43 on Economic and Social Rights. The report should be published annually.
Minimise Government taking on debt to fund soaring recurrent expenditure.	With the exception of states of national emergency or war — that are formally declared — Government debt should strictly be for (Cabinet-approved and budgeted) development projects. There should be penalties and sanctions for those who breach this condition.
Increase the capability of the educational system to identify and respond to special needs.	Identify and invest in special talent and special needs at the Early Childhood Development stage.
Balance the need for greater economic growth with the need to protect our environment and biodiversity for future generations. Also, avoid the oil and mineral resource curse, as well as resource nationalism, as we increase national, County, and local wealth from our national resources.	Coordinate and harmonise environmental law and its counterparts in mining and petroleum. Include initiatives in conservancy, agriculture and all areas subject to foreign investment for profit and non-profit. Simplify and clarify community and citizen engagement by investors, including utilisation of the Office of the Public Rapporteur.
Transition from subsistence farming into developing more commercial farms and ranches, by bringing in a new generation of farmers.	Incentivise, encourage, and up-skill young people to take up farming and modern livestock rearing as an entrepreneurial activity. Encourage irrigation and dryer-climate farming. More comprehensive training of farmers on dealing with weather cycles.
Bailouts to agricultural sectors should be accompanied by strong support to farmers to transition to more profitable and sustainable crops.	Farmers should be assisted to be more competitive and productive. In particular, agricultural sectors and crops that need frequent infusions of public resources should have plans for transition to other more profitable crops or to more productivity.
End monopolies and cartels in the farming sector that are illicitly enforced on behalf of the middlemen against the interest of producers and consumers.	Develop and launch a commodities market for agricultural products. Halt restraint of trade in agricultural commodities such as the Coffee Auction
Undertake all measures to reduce the price of food for the average Kenyan by encouraging higher production by all parties.	Encourage large-scale commercial agriculture for the international market while requiring a percentage to be sold in the domestic market. Reduce food wastage by incentivising private sector driven nationwide cold chain.
Support farmers and farm production by encouraging and pushing for cash/voucher transfers instead of direct food transfers. This has been found to improve nutrition and support farming and is cheaper to implement.	MPesa enables cash and voucher transfers in every part of the country. Encourage bilateral and multilateral food aid partners to utilise cash and voucher transfers; we can start by adopting this as a component of the Strategic Food Reserves.
Utilise national food safety standards to make our agricultural products broadly more attractive to international markets, thus leading to increased employment.	Harmonise the regulation of the food production chains to deliver safety and transparency. Return the agricultural extension officer to wide use.
Increase access to land for commercial investment by young people and entrepreneurs by formulating a legal regime that enables investment through a clear and implementable agreement between landowners, workers, and financiers.	Ensure simple, clear, and affordable legal safeguards for the landowner, the entrepreneur, and the investor. Complete the digitisation of land ownership and give public access to the database. Map and publicise Government-owned land open for commercial leasing under simple and enforceable terms.
Increase employment and livelihoods by making it easier for small businesses to compete and grow.	Develop and launch a measure of ease of doing business for small Kenyan businesses and not just foreign investors. This should be a comparative annual assessment by KNBS that is disaggregated by geography — Counties, cities, and towns — and is publicised. Minimise taxation of new and small businesses by giving them a tax holiday of at least seven years as a support to youth entrepreneurship and job creation.
Promote youth entrepreneurship and skills from a young age that goes beyond the provision of funding at start-up.	Compel the private sector to form a national, non-profit foundation, chaired by the President, that provides mentoring, training, and support tools to aspiring business owners aged 18–35. It should match the young entrepreneurs with a business development adviser and a nationwide network of volunteer mentors. Seek experienced ‘product realisation’ hubs abroad that are willing to set up outlets in Kenya that can allow entrepreneurs to have more knowledge and advice on developing competitive, market-responsive products for the domestic and foreign markets. Link the foundation’s entrepreneurs with government youth funds. The foundation should provide work readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy training — using classroom volunteers — in schools from the age of 12 until graduation. All Corporate Social Responsibility programmes should be encouraged to include this component.
Give all Kenyans equal access to a minimum level of education that leads to employment or entrepreneurial opportunity. It is critical that we abandon the idea that technical work is for those who have failed academically by creating two equal paths through high school, academic and technical.	Ensure that educational investment and regulation is delivered according to population numbers and geographical access. Bring parents back to school governance through reforms to the Basic Education Act. Promote technical schools — in teenage years — as a real alternative to the more academic route. Shared prosperity requires proper nutrition and stimulation of children soon after birth.
Coordinate National and County planning on development and ensure that as national projects are implemented, the areas that are adversely affected should benefit from remedial development policies.	Strengthen the inter -governmental consultation in the planning of national projects.
Share household prosperity with stay-at-home parents by recognising spousal housekeeping as a legitimate contribution of labour and value that should be reflected in any separation or divorce proceedings.	Clarify this in law so there is standardisation of court decisions with regard to contribution, the duration of marriage, and other such factors (see ILO standard and Matrimonial Property Act), with due regard to the Kadhi system.
Protect children born out of wedlock.	Implement the relevant laws and regulations as a matter of priority.
Increase charitable giving and volunteering by providing incentives.	Government (KRA) should use the tax code to incentivise charitable giving and Corporate Social Responsibility.
Keep the tax burden low to allow Kenyans (relative to competitor economies regionally and globally) to better choose when and how to use their earnings, rather than Government, which is subject to high levels of wastage and misallocation.	Take strong steps to consider new approaches to simplify taxation, including a careful consideration of the flat tax for every income category above a Living Wage/Income of Kshs 30,000, and its different versions. The new approach should lower tax fraud, encourage compliance, and cut down on corruption in the assessment of taxes. Reduce tax evasion by businesses to ensure that revenues are sufficient while overall taxes are lowered. Punish not just tax evasion but also those who facilitate such evasion in the private sector and in government.
Link top salaries to the lowest in the Public Service and decrease the inequality.	Limit pay increases for public sector workers earning over Kshs 200,000/month.

Devolution

SOLUTIONS	ACTION REQUIRED
By and large, Kenyans are happy with devolution and would like the 47 counties to remain in existence.	Retain the status quo. Depending on further consultation with Kenyans, consider that while Kenyans are strong supporters of devolution and their counties, they also want better value for money and more money to be used for development as opposed to high recurrent and administrative costs. Perhaps there is a way that the 47 Counties can be maintained as the focus of development implementation and the provision of services, while representation and legislation are undertaken in larger regional blocs.
Gendered Governorship	Running for the position of Governor and Deputy Governor should be gendered with the result that where a Governor is a man, the Deputy shall be a woman or vice versa.
Filling a vacancy in the Deputy Governor’s office	The running mate of every candidate for the position of Governor should be of the opposite gender. Where a vacancy, for any given reason, occurs in the Deputy Governor’s office, and the Governor fails to appoint a replacement within 90 days, the Speaker of the County Assembly, with the approval of the Assembly, shall nominate a Deputy Governor.
Supervision of County spending, investment, and employment is not succeeding at multiple levels, which is leading to large amounts of waste and corruption that compromise devolution, which is otherwise very popular with Kenyans. The response should be much stronger oversight by the responsible bodies, actions to cut wasteful costs, and assign a greater proportion of County finances to development.	The ratio between recurrent and development spending should match the national one at 70:30. Limit the number of persons that may be employed in the County Government by providing a set, nationwide ratio, as a ceiling, between County population and number of employees. Strengthen the oversight independence of County Assemblies by ensuring that the transmission and management of County Assembly budgets are insulated from arbitrary or politically-motivated interference by County Executives; these processes should also be subjected to rigorous public finance management processes. There are significant savings in eliminating duplication of functions and jobs between National and County Government. Rationalise jobs within the County Governments: many are overstaffed. To stop the abandonment of incomplete projects with each change of administration, the Treasury should not release monies to the new Governor before obtaining a list of incomplete projects and a plan for their completion. In cases where the incoming Governor does not want to complete a project, there should be a detailed explanation of the legitimate cause for it being halted. Oversight of projects initiated in the final year of an electoral cycle should receive extra scrutiny from the Controller of Budget, the County Assembly, the Senate, and all oversight authorities. Strengthen financial systems in the County Governments with expenditures and budgets available online. Strengthen the office of the Auditor General, which should be devolved to oversee Counties’ accounts and to report them in an accessible and simple way. Monies should be released by Controller of Budget after assessment, verification and confirmation that the previous tranche has been used as intended. Every development project should have visible signage on the nature of the project, the contractor, and contacts for Kenyans to report deficiency or illegality in implementation.
Make employment in County Governments more inclusive, merit-based and performance focused.	The independence of the PSC should be replicated at the County level. Such a function would be responsible for the recruitment of the County staff, setting reimbursement levels that are in harmony with National Government, ensuring inclusivity, and raising the skills and capabilities of those employed.
Focus more development money to be budgeted in the County budgets to respond to specific needs in the Wards rather than a lump sum to counties or constituencies.	Formulate and pass a law on the formation of County blocs, conditional grants, and foreign donor funding and investment. Consider how Ward representatives can have oversight of funds intended for bursaries only, while ensuring that CDF funds do not clash with the development imperatives of Counties. CRA to change its revenue allocation formula — particularly in allocating funds for the marginalised — to target wards in the County budgets. Bureau of Statistics to provide an objective and localised measure of the wellbeing and human security, including environmental sustainability, of Kenyans as a way to measure national, county, and ward performance. Conditional grants can be used to encourage collaboration between counties, and the formation of blocs that improve development planning and delivery.
Enhance the policies and procedures that enable Counties to grow their economies.	At the core of this is for the County Government’s regulation and revenue collection to not crush incentives for investment and innovation. Every County to establish and publicise an Entrepreneurship and Investment Code that it implements in a predictable and effective manner. Biashara mashinani – Counties should enable local areas and groups to develop businesses through collaboration and should ensure ease of starting and running the businesses, training and linkage with markets and inputs. Digitise all County revenue collection to curb pilferage. Keep red tape to a minimum by being aware that they are in competition not only with other Counties but also with other countries and their internal regions. No double taxation and double regulation at the National and County level: the inter-governmental mechanisms should be developed and clarified to ensure that this aim is consistently met.
Compel environmentally sustainable mining and oil exploitation that is predictable, legally sound and commercially viable to increase prosperity in counties.	Concessional agreements, policies and regulations in mining and oil should be made public in an accessible manner, including clear accounting for the public participation and environmental impact assessments made.
Clarify, cost and transfer funds in accordance to National and County functions. There is a strong desire in the country for an increase of national revenues allocated to counties to be between 35% and 50%. This increase will need to be strongly informed by population; health, which is urgently needed by all Kenyans; agriculture, including farming, livestock and fishing; and service delivery, not land mass, and then by past and ongoing marginalisation. There should also be a commensurate series of actions to ensure that the cost burden of replication in employment and functions is eliminated.	We must urgently finalise transfer of functions from the national to County government; this needs to be done once and for all. Once functions are fully transferred from the National Government to County government, the parastatals which are currently performing County functions should be restructured Money follows functions. We urgently, and comprehensively, need to complete the costing of National and County functions. On that basis, there is likely to be an increase of allocation to counties. Experts and citizens who spoke to the Taskforce, and research reflecting practices elsewhere, suggest that Counties will need to receive between 35% and 50% of national revenues. The allocation process should be simple for all citizens to understand, and should be guided by the constitutional principles, by order of importance of equality, equity, and special needs. The increase of monies to the Counties must be guided by a revenue allocation formula that is informed by population; health, which is urgently needed by all Kenyans; agriculture, including farming, livestock and fishing; and service delivery, not land mass, and then by past and ongoing marginalisation (wards within Counties, not Counties as a whole). Each ward should benefit with at least 30% of the development fund in each five-year term. Make monies generated by Counties more transparent and better managed. Create an incentive for the transparent generation of resources by Counties by providing more money from the national kitty linked to this. CRA to assess what Counties should be collecting and figure it into the annual allocation. County Integrated Development Plans should be linked to a transparent assessment of the development needs of each ward. Cut taxes in relation to Auditor General audits — it is better that money remains in Kenyans’ pockets until there is more accountability and governance on its use at the National and County levels. Then taxes can be increased with improvement.
Strengthen dialogue and integration of communities in the Counties, especially those that are multi-ethnic, with a focus on ensuring minorities are heard and respected.	More cultural awareness and respect programming by County Governments. Take measures to ensure that schools in the County are ethnically and religiously integrated. More shared development and dialogue projects by communities that have had histories of conflict.
Kenyans need far better healthcare if the country is to be productive and prosperous. Paying for healthcare eats into family savings and even prompts rash sales of land, which sometimes lead to future conflict.	The Constitutional guarantees of health are not being effectively implemented. Health function should remain with the Counties and funds should follow functions. We need a far stronger focus on preventive and primary care. Kenyans need a Patients’ Bill of Rights to tackle the following issues: Billing is filled with corruption and inflation when Kenyans are at their most vulnerable. No hospital should hold people forcefully. There should be consequences for misdiagnosis. All facilities must be obliged to stabilise emergency cases. All patients are owed polite and considerate service.
We will not succeed in affording decent healthcare if health administrative costs are so high and the amount of seepage through corruption also remains high.	National Hospital Insurance Fund administrative costs should be cut down sharply through using technology, cutting down on corruption and increasing productivity. These administrative costs should be at 5%-10%.

Corruption

SOLUTIONS	ACTION REQUIRED
Recover the reputation of the Public Service for integrity by attacking conflicts of interest by reducing involvement in business and increasing transparency and implementing performance benchmarks.	Incorporate ethics and performance assessment training in every Public Service course required for promotion or transfer. Establish a whistleblowing mechanism (including protection) for whistleblowers working in the Public Service. All contracts for senior appointees should have clear and practical performance benchmarks with rules for layoffs on failure to perform. Also, review all senior officers on contract biannually and lay off appointees who have not performed or whose MDAs have been implicated in corruption. No Public Officer can do business with the Government. The spouse of a Public Officer shall not do business with the Government but can engage in the private sector. To engage in business outside Government, outside of his/her regular working hours, a State Officer and senior public servant shall obtain prior approval from the Reporting Officer of his/her State body. This approval shall need to document that the work or business is not prohibited by separate legislation and does not constitute a conflict of interest or an obstacle to orderly performance of regular tasks and does not impinge upon the reputation of the Public Service. A Public Officer shall be obliged to submit a written report to the new Ethics and Integrity Commission on any financial or other interest in which he/she, his/her spouse or common-law partner, child, or parent may have in the decisions of the MDA in which he/she is employed or the Government. The spouse or common-law partner, child, or parent of a Public Officer shall be obliged to submit a written report to the Ethics and Integrity Commission of any financial or other interest he/she may have in the decisions of the MDA that employs the Public Officer. A Public Officer shall be obliged to submit written notification to his/her immediate superior of ownership of shares and bonds or financial and other interest in companies with which the State body in which he/she is employed is performing administrative operations, and which may constitute a conflict of interest. Senior Public Officers who represent the Government on the boards of private companies should clearly indicate any personal conflicts of interests in matters under deliberation. A public servant shall not make decisions nor participate in decision-making that affects the financial or other interests of: his/her spouse or common-law partner, child, or parent; individuals or legal persons with whom he/she has had formal or business contacts within the past five years; individuals or legal persons who have financed his/her election campaign within the past five years; companies or institutions in which the Public Officer intends to seek employment; or an individual or legal person with whom the Public Officer, his/her spouse, child, or parent is involved in lawsuits or to whom they are indebted.
Responsibility through resignation.	Leaders should take political responsibility for negligent or poor-quality Government actions that lead to disasters by resigning to allow Kenyans to see that a new direction in management is possible. Leaders and managers should understand that resignation is not only appropriate where direct responsibility is established: it helps start with a new slate so the changes that the institution requires can be undertaken. It shows an honourable regard for the Kenyan people, and bravely assumes responsibility.
‘Skin in the game’ and responsibility of leadership	Part of choosing to be a Cabinet member or to be a Principal Secretary, and their equivalent in the Counties, is to be ready to have 'skin in the game’ in using the services that you develop and manage on behalf of all Kenyans. If it is good enough for Kenyans, it should be good enough for you. The Ministerial Code should include Ministers making use of services for their own personal and family needs. For instance, the children of the Education Minister should make use of public schools; the Health Minister should use public healthcare; and so forth. All Ministers should use public facilities and services. These principles should be reflected in the Counties with the County Executives.
Stronger investigations and prosecutions	Continuously strengthen the offices of the DPP and the DCI. The Asset Recovery Agency should be transferred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for more efficient management of asset recovery from criminal suspects.
There should be measures to ensure more efficient management of asset recovery from criminal suspects.	The Asset Recovery Agency should be transferred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Banks aiding corruption should be held to account.	A bank involved in corrupt transactions should be made to repay all the money laundered through it, with interest. All those involved — offender, handlers of the transaction, and protectors — should be prosecuted and penalised, paying for whole or part of the assets laundered through their bank, plus a fine which should be a percentage of the laundered monies. The CEO of the bank should also be penalised, paying for whole or part of the assets laundered through their bank, plus a fine (which should be a percentage of the laundered monies), plus jail, without an option of a fine in place of jail. Banks that are repeatedly involved in laundering funds shall have their licences withdrawn.
Public monies used for bailouts or subsidies should be accompanied by consequences for wastage and corruption, and there should be clear and dated plans for the enterprises returning to profitability.	Emergency bailouts of private sector entities with Government shareholding, using public resources, should be accompanied by visibly tough reforms that include a forensic audit, an audit of past executive compensation, a lifestyle audit, restructuring of management, and a dated plan for the recovery of the public monies. As H.E. the President directed in November 2015, streamline parastatals through a renewed focus on core business and cutting down on wastage, and not building up the moral jeopardy of some depending on infusions of public resources to stay in business. Expedite privatisation of Government shareholding in assets not delivering value to the public and undertake parastatal reforms. Where subsidies are given, there should be a reasonable expectation, reflected in an official planning document, that the sector or enterprise is working to be competitive enough to not need the subsidies.
Code of Conduct for leaders.	Ensure leaders in the Public Service have high integrity barriers to entry by instituting a strict legal and public code of conduct that includes financial disclosure. All Cabinet Ministers, PSs, and gubernatorial candidates will be subject to a Code of Conduct (including wealth disclosure), published financial disclosure processes, and Parliamentary pre-appointment hearings.
Provide material incentives for information that leads to successful asset seizure and/or prosecution for corruption-related crimes.	Offer a 5% share of proceeds recovered from anti-corruption prosecutions or actions to the whistleblower whose information is necessary to the success of the asset seizure or successful prosecution. This should be done with due regard for the privacy and safety of the whistleblower.
The leadership and senior management of National and County Government Executives should adhere to public financial disclosure. This includes the President, the Cabinet, Governors, Principal Secretaries, and CEOs and chairpersons of parastatals and companies with GOK shareholding.	Publicly accessible declaration of shareholdings, remunerated employment, family and business trusts, real estate, government contracts, registered directorships, partnerships, liabilities, bonds, investments, savings/investment accounts, any asset worth over Kshs. 10 million, any other substantial sources of income, gifts over Kshs 50,000 in the course of duty, sponsored travel by non- government entities, and membership of any organisations that may present a conflict of interest.
Prevent the use of legal intimidation by Public Officers against whistleblowers and the media reporting on corruption and fraud.	Amend the Defamation Act to deny all Public Officers a course of action where allegations are made against them, in their official capacity, regarding matters of ethics and corruption.
Increase confidence in Judiciary.	Increase public confidence in the Judiciary recognising that the core constitutional principles in Kenya are the separation of powers, between arms of Government, and accountability to the people of Kenya. The independence of the Judiciary must be protected as a fundamental principle, but it should also be accountable to the people of Kenya. Create the position of Special Magistrates and Judges to deal with the most grievous cases of terrorism, drug trafficking, corruption and other serious criminal offences and make special security arrangements for these magistrates and judges to be provided for by the State. The powers of the Judicial Service Commission to discipline judges should be expanded so that the Commission can legally deal with lesser disciplinary offences by judges that affect the value of justice delivered without resulting to the Constitutional measure of removal from office. The confidence of the people in the judiciary requires that the people have confidence in the way complaints against judicial officers are handled. To strengthen the process of responding to complaints in the Judiciary, the Office of the Judiciary Ombudsman needs to be revamped to be accessible and responsive to the public. Advertise to Kenyans that they have a choice to take their complaints about members of the judiciary to the Judiciary Ombudsman or the Commission on Administrative Justice.
Steps should be taken to prevent the abuse of court processes to delay and frustrate justice, especially in regard to highly resourced individuals being prosecuted for corruption.	Limit the time given to the completion of economic and corruption-related cases.
Enforce independent and rigorous audits of public spending to ensure that it captures value for money.	The audit process should be purposeful, with the Auditor General providing Parliament with the following kinds of audit: Financial audit of the accounts of all central Government bodies with two forms of opinion being provided on the accounts. The first is on whether the accounts provide a true and fair view; that is, whether they show that the entity has captured all relevant economic events and applied the accounting standards correctly. The second is an opinion on regularity; was the spending undertaken by the department reflected in the accounts within the department’s authority, and consistent with the intentions of Parliament. The other type of audit should show value for money by assessing the economy, efficiency, and effectiveness with which public resources have been deployed in specific areas. It should determine whether the spending had the effect of increasing wastage in Government through the unnecessary purchase of equipment, and replication.
Increase the access to counties by the Office of the Auditor General.	Devolve the Office of the Auditor General to the Counties.
Strengthen public finance management by adding to the capacity of the Office of the Auditor General.	Improve oversight on public procurement and expenditure. Improve pre-expenditure audit.
Increase scrutiny of the public procurement system and personnel and ensure frequent audits.	No procurement officer should be at post for more than two years.
Strengthen the capacity of the Controller of Budget to be able to detect and respond in a timely manner to misappropriation, wastage, and illegal processes.	Measures that employ technology and faster processes should be put in place to monitor and respond quickly to stop public funds being disbursed illegally or in a wasteful manner. Automate all Government payment systems.
Make Kenya a 100% e-services nation by digitising all Government services, processes, payment systems, and record-keeping.	This should include the ability to offer Kenyans digital identities, and e-health records and prescriptions. Kenyans should be able to vote digitally.
As H.E. the President directed in November 2015, streamline Parastatals through a renewed focus on core business and cutting down on wastage, and not building up the moral jeopardy of some depending on infusions of public resources to stay in business.	Draft and enact the Parastatal Reform Bill and review existing laws to ensure alignment.
Educational curricula from the earliest to the most advanced levels should specifically include ethics and civics components as a major prerequisite for examination and graduation.	This should be structured by the Ministry of Education, and every other institution, private or public, that offers any form of long-term instruction to students, young and mature.
Senior officials should not use public monies to work in personal luxury.	Office remodelling budgets, by all branches of Government, should only be submitted to Parliament once every three years at most.
Minimise the wastage so visible to the public that sees Government vehicles and equipment left unused.	All budgets for a purchase should include a maintenance component. Improve oversight over the disposal of Government assets, and form an ad -hoc, temporary committee to dispose of present assets that need disposing.
As H.E. the President directed in November 2015, align the Government’s price references to the market price.	The Public Procurement Oversight Authority should widely publish an annual price reference list for goods and services.
Punish not just tax evasion but also those who facilitate such evasion in the private sector and in Government.	Accounting and legal firms, KRA, and other Government entities, and their personnel, should be subject to harsh penalties for facilitating tax evasion by individuals and businesses.
Detect and minimise negative incentives in public service that increase corruption, gate-keeping, and rent-seeking. Remove the incentive to finish budgets wastefully before the end of the financial year by giving an incentive to saving money while delivering on the plans. Remove the travel incentive.	Carry out a thorough audit of negative legal, policy, and administrative incentives in the public service that undermine value for money, fairness in service delivery, and effectiveness. Turn the findings into policy initiatives and implement them.
Beyond the punitive approach of jailing the corrupt, seek the proceeds of corruption, while ensuring those who have defrauded or stolen from Kenyans have no place in leadership, the Public Service, or doing business with the Government.	Public declaration of recovered stolen assets; name and shame those prosecuted and convicted of corruption. Those convicted should be struck from public service and barred from ever undertaking business with the government.
Avoid too-big-to-fail businesses that would need to be bailed out with public resources.	Where such companies exist for a period of time, they should be subject to very strict corporate governance measures.
Ensure that there are no private sector entities so large and enjoying a monopoly whose failure or collapse would lead to national catastrophe.	Strengthen the capacity and independence of the Competition Authority to minimise the growth into too-big-to-fail.
A clear national plan, with public buy-in, that delivers public sector reform and a streamlined County system. This would require a bespoke plan with a clear communications and political strategy.	Eliminate replication of job functions at National and County level, resulting in a lower wage bill. Harmonise pay of the County and National Governments. Utilise ‘natural wastage’ and a recruitment freeze to lower the size of the Public Service.
Ensure leaders in the public service have high integrity barriers to entry by instituting a strict, clear, and public code of conduct that includes financial disclosure.	All Cabinet Ministers, PSs, and Governor candidates will be subject to a code of conduct (including financial disclosure), published financial disclosure processes, and Parliamentary pre-appointment hearings.
Link cultural and social systems that award or withdraw individual and family honour to the war against corruption.	Ensure that all the elders, nationwide, who will be guiding young men and women through initiation ceremonies incorporate a demand that they embrace integrity — that they protect Kenya daily by embracing other Kenyans and rejecting the corrupt. Organise a conference of association leaderships on a framework for integrity in terms of accepting new members. It should demand that associations that require applications for membership reject those who are publicly associated with the abuse of office and corruption.
The religious space should be protected from corruption and fraud.	AG to organise a major conference for churches, mosques, temples, and other religious orders, and stakeholders, to discuss and agree on a regulatory framework, rooted in law, that will secure the religious space from corruption and fraud, while improving governance. Ensure that there is a Minister who is substantively charged with religious matters
Professional associations’ processes for mediation and professional censure should be revitalised as a matter of law and brought into the Chapter 6 universe.	Professional bodies should have legally backed transparent and publicly responsive disciplinary processes for members who undermine professional standards and the law.
Lower the urgency to seek money from corruption to provide for retired life. Officers transitioning from the Public Service to private life should have more support to them to effectively find opportunities and employment.	The private sector should consider developing a voluntary association that seeks to provide decent employment to former Public Officers who have served with integrity and effectiveness. Every human resource office, the PSC, and the Department of Public Service should ensure that there are effective exit processes that feature career and personal counselling and even placement services. Pensions should be paid promptly.
Monitor and publicly report on the ethical state of public life throughout the country while providing widespread and accessible ethics and public leadership training.	The EACC should be focused on stopping economic crimes, and given constitutional protection as a Chapter 15 Commission, while the ethics mandate should be redirected to the BBI-recommended Ethics Commission. The re-mandated body on ethics should advise the President on ethical standards across the whole of public life in Kenya. It should monitor and report to the public on the standards of conduct of all public office holders. Undertake annual integrity, ethics, and efficiency surveys of all Government entities, and the perceptions of Kenyans, and then publicise the results.
Direct tough anti-corruption and digitisation efforts at the land buying and selling sector to offer relief and predictability to the majority of Kenyans who make a living off land.	Rigorously fight corruption in Community and Trust land sales, at Land Boards, Land Registries, County Councils, and elsewhere. Appeal to the President to direct his anti-corruption actions at the land buying and sales sector, and rigorously enforce the law.
Minimise conflict of interest in the Public Service and in the non-taxpaying NGO.	Finalise and enact legislation on conflict of interest in the Public Service and non-taxable NGOs.
Kenyans told the Taskforce, ‘The NGO sector claims support for creating employment. And because we are struggling with jobs, we struggle to even criticise an NGO that is doing the wrong thing. There are some that are good, and some that are bad.’ ‘The suffering of Kenyans is being exploited by so many for their own interests. The problems are never ended because there is an incentive for the problem to be sustained.’	NGO and bilateral and multilateral donor initiatives should be subject to the same public participation requirements as all other projects and should be mindful of the existing laws and policy mandates in carrying out their planning and implementation. Register all NGO and donor projects countrywide in an accessible register that is also online. It should feature information on the project, its aims, areas of work, amounts of money involved, donors, and contact information.
Protection, empowerment and honouring of whistleblowers.	National awards and support for whistleblowers.

Safety and Security

SOLUTIONS	ACTION REQUIRED
Equalising the value of a Kenyan life in every part of the country.	We must bring an end to the situation where there are different consequences in different parts of the country. Making this change requires the equal distribution of policing resources, prosecutions, and prevention efforts.
Develop a national security apparatus that is human-centred, owned by the people and able to deal with conventional and unconventional threats to Kenya and Kenyans.	Develop and implement a National Security Strategy (every two years and by every incoming President within three months of taking office) with clear statistical benchmarks and that adopts an all-of-government and all-of -society approach coordinated by the Ministry of Interior and the National Government Administration Officers, to deliver the following components: Deterring and responding to conventional threats; securing Kenya’s international borders. Strategic Communications for security and countering enemy propaganda. Stopping poaching and community resource clashes. Integrity, whistleblowing and countering corruption in security. Deterring and dealing with gender-based and family violence. Effective counter insurgency and counter terrorism; countering transnational crime and money laundering. Eliminating vacuums in security provision and making sure that Kenyan policing meets a ratio per citizen that meets or exceeds a regional average. Conflict early warning and response initiatives for resource and cross-border conflicts (and cross-boundary conflicts between communities). Environmental protection, and anti-poaching. National cybersecurity.
Link counter-terrorism to political, social, and cultural defences that reduce the pool of recruits, delegitimise the aims of our enemies, and prevent them taking control of the minds of any part of our population.	Strengthen the prevention of terrorism framework as articulated in the national strategy to counter violent extremism by mainstreaming it in all relevant Ministries, Departments, and Agencies. Give administrative, coordinating and material support to the County Action Plans to Prevent and Counter Violent Extremism.
Treat counter terrorism as a long-term response and build it with that in mind	Harden Kenya against terrorist by implementing regulated protective security standards for all sectors, and particularly highly trafficked properties owned by the private sector.
Divide security from response to national emergencies and disasters.	Create separate Principal Secretary positions for National Security and National Emergencies and Disasters. Given the recommended position of Prime Minister, the Constitutional position of Secretary to the National Security Council should be utilised to chair the National Security Advisory Committee, to be responsible for the coordinating in producing the National Security Strategy, and to offer the President advice on measures that require multiple state and civil agencies to respond to emerging threats in a coordinated manner.
Strengthen Parliamentary oversight of security while protecting national security information and processes.	Ensure that the members of Parliamentary Defence, Security, and Foreign Relations Committees are successfully vetted by the National Intelligence Service and that they are sworn to the Secrets Act.
Strengthen national security leadership	Appoint individuals with a clear track record of delivery, knowledge of security or administration, and strong leadership.
Review diplomatic relations with state sponsors of terrorism, religious extremism, and expansionism or irredentism. Ensure diplomacy is shaped and resourced to deal with the emerging threats before they demand a hard security response.	It is particularly important that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in terms of budget allocation, be located in the same cluster as the Department of Defence, the National Intelligence Service, and other security organs.
Prioritise combatting gender and sexual violence	Focus and resource specific policing and prevention measures against sexual and gender-based violence.
Ensure Kenyans are less vulnerable to natural and human-made disasters and hazards.	Operationalise a comprehensive National Emergency, Disaster, and Crisis Management Strategy rooted in law that is linked to County, sub-county, and ward-level disaster response plans that are renewed periodically. Link the National Disaster Risk system to the Contingencies Fund (Article 208) in the Act establishing it. Put in place pre-emptive and early response strategies to common major disasters such as flooding and drought. As part of the national strategy, clarify the different levels and types of emergencies whose response is led by National Government and Counties — these should be linked to the separate National and County contingencies funds.
Create a body to address the current perennial boundary conflicts.	Form a commission(s) to address current boundary conflicts until they are solved. Among the areas with current boundary conflicts are Meru with Isiolo; Meru with Tharaka Nithi; Baringo – Turkana; Garissa with Tana River; Kisumu with Vihiga; Kisumu with Nandi; Laikipia with Samburu; Turkana with West Pokot; West Pokot with TransNzoia; Nyandarua with Laikipia; Kitui with Meru; Elgeyo - Marakwet with West Pokot; Makueni – Machakos - Kajiado. Prevent resource conflicts by ensuring that County boundaries are drawn to maximise sharing of water and pasture, among other resources.
Increase confidence and security of citizens reporting crimes and causes of insecurity.	Whistleblowing and reporting system that has the technical means to protect identities, privacy, and security of the reporting citizen or witness.
Enable court procedures that guarantee the protection of the safety and security of informants, whistleblowers, and witnesses.	Create rules in courts that allow for the presentation of confidential testimony from whistleblowers, informants, and witnesses, particularly in regard to terrorism, serious transnational crimes, and corruption.
Strengthen our national cybersecurity capabilities.	Coordinating at the highest levels, including in the National Security Council and the National Security Advisory Committee, undertake the continuous strengthening of national cybersecurity skills, processes, laws, and institutions.
Close gaps or under-secured spaces in the presence and response of security in every part of Kenya.	Re-map national policing personnel and resources in line with population and security needs and adopt staffing measures to prevent officers from being compromised by organised criminal groups.
Professionalise and better regulate private security companies and guards to deliver better service that is more integrated with state security and adheres to higher standards.	Private Security Regulatory Authority to pass through state-mandated Protective Security Standards to all private security companies. Private Security Regulatory Authority should deliver a common curriculum guided by state-provided Protective Security Standards to the companies and ensure that it is effectively implemented. Private Security Regulatory Authority to ensure standards of supervisors and consider having them be officers retired honourably from the disciplined services. Private security companies should be forced to have at least 50% of their supervisors be officers who have retired or resigned from the disciplined and security services with honour. This will improve the companies’ effectiveness and inter-operability with state security agencies. Use technology to link the data and information from private security companies to the National Police Service operations centres. Link private CCTV of hotels, shopping centres, and other highly trafficked sites to National Police Service CCTV monitoring and analysis system (CS-Interior to undertake gazetted regulations to allow the technological linkage of CCTV to create broader nationwide coverage that will deter terrorism and crime.)
Protect Kenyans who live next to borders from foreign states or raiders and bandits who use violence to suppress or rob our citizens.	Properly demarcate all Kenyan borders, deter foreign security services from making any incursions into Kenya, provide adequate infrastructure, and strengthen border security and management in a way that is responsive to the security of Kenyans living in the areas.
Strengthen performance and service orientation of the National Police Service, plus support the mental health and wellness of officers.	Clarify Key Performance Indicators for police commanders from the level of IG downward linked to publicly reported national crime and insecurity statistics (annual crime and security report from the CS, Interior that is disaggregated on the basis of Counties, gender, and citizen perceptions). Link these to promotions and incentives. Eliminate corruption in recruitment by instituting heavy penalties for corrupting the process. Create a transparent human resources system that is digital and with clear guidelines and processes for promotion and transfer. The standards of promotion into leadership and management must reflect measurable past performance, including internal courses and exams, and citizen complaints of abuse and corruption. Support integrity and effectiveness in the NPS by recognising and rewarding excellence, dedication, and sacrifice by officers and citizens. As a matter of priority, put in place accessible and resourced mental health and wellness counselling and treatment for police officers. Particular attention should be paid to those in frontline roles that expose them to extreme trauma. All measures should also be taken to keep families together.
Increase citizen skills in conflict resolution and mediation throughout a Kenyan’s educational life.	Insert conflict resolution, negotiation, and counselling skills in the curriculum in all levels of primary and secondary education.
Protect consumers of food and medicine from dangerously procured, grown, or developed products that harm their health and wellbeing.	Add food safety to food security. Harmonise and combine the overlapping mandates for regulating food and drug safety into a single actor and provide transparency, and clear standards and rights of the consumer. Ensure public health officers are doing their jobs and are accountable to clear standards and performance indicators so that there is a stronger preventive approach to public health. Harmonise the multiple, conflicting, and overlapping food safety controls through a single Act of Parliament that should also establish a National Food and Drugs Safety Authority.
Strengthen the strategic food reserve system and add to it animal fodder while linking it to government off-taker schemes.	Strengthen the strategic food reserve system, make it honest and transparent, and add to it reserves of fodder/animal feed for livestock.

Commissions and Cross-Cutting Issues

SOLUTIONS	ACTIONS REQUIRED
Nairobi County -- Nairobi, by virtue of being the national capital and an extra-territorial seat of the United Nations, which has Nairobi as its third global headquarters, is dissimilar to other counties. The Kenyan people look to the capital as the seat of all arms of Government and as a critical location for their civic participation in national life. This means that the Commission of Revenue Allocation formula would struggle to take into consideration this special status of Nairobi and the demands for services that come with it.	The Taskforce recommends that Nairobi be accorded a special status as capital city that allows the National Government the means to provide the services and facilitation necessary to maintaining it as a capital city and as a diplomatic hub. At the same time, such a special status should not impede the rights of the people of Nairobi to representation at the ward and parliamentary levels.
Senate and National Assembly functions should take account of the substantial recommendations to change the Executive branch made by the Taskforce.	Review the checks and balances system in the legislature to ensure that the National Assembly and the Senate roles and functions accord to the proposed Executive structure and other relevant recommendations.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission.	Separate the obligation to conduct criminal investigations from the obligation to promote and enforce ethics in public service. The work of reporting on, promoting, and enforcing ethical conduct will go to the proposed Ethics Commission recommended in the chapter on national ethos.
Commissions should be more accountable to the people of Kenya.	Every independent commission must have internal accountability systems that clearly and transparently separate the power of appointment and promotion from that of interdiction and censure. In addition, rigorous audits that inquire into value for money and upholding sound principles of public finance management should apply to every arm of government and every public institution.
Strengthen DCI to complement the independence of the criminal-justice system, which includes the Director of Public Prosecutions and the judiciary.	Strengthen the capabilities of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to effectively work with the Director of Public Prosecutions.
Harmony in governing Commissions.	In order to redress the power struggles that have characterised Chapter 15 Commissions, make the Chairpersons also be the Chief Executive Officers. This recommendation shall not apply retrospectively.
Resourcing of Chapter 15 entities.	Implement administratively as provided for in the Constitution that half of the Commissioners in Chapter 15 Commissions, with the exception of the IEBC, should serve on a part-time basis. This should be done prospectively. Article 249(3) has been violated and this has compromised the ability of Chapter 15 Commissions and independent offices to adequately and independently. The Commissions and independent offices should also be subjected to stringent reviews by relevant bodies to ensure that they carry out their duties as mandated.
Make recruitment and vetting into Chapter 15 commissions to comply with qualifying requirements and more responsive reports from relevant Government agencies.	Amend the procedures that make up recruitment and vetting process to be made responsive to adverse information from State organs and demanding of all qualifying requirements to have been met.
Picking Commissioners for the IEBC.	Leaders of political parties to agree on how to generate names of potential candidates. The candidates to be forwarded to the party leaders should meet the criteria spelt out in the Constitution and they should not be party loyalists/activists. Subsequently, the party leaders sit together and agree on a list of candidates to be interviewed. After the interviews, nine names of people who meet the constitutional and legal requirements shall be forwarded to the President for submission to the Senate.
Kenyan food must become safe.	Create a unified and assertive food safety and regulation regulatory body.
Simplify and clarify regulation.	Rationalise the mandates of regulatory bodies to ensure lack of duplication, and to ease transparency, affordability, and prompt service to enable higher levels of regulatory compliance.
Improve Government testing for harmful substances	Strengthen the National Chemist Laboratory to increase its effectiveness in carrying out its mandate.
Consolidate administrative tribunals. Presently, virtually every statute setting up a regulatory authority also sets up an appeal tribunal to resolve matters arising from the regulator’s exercise of its statutory authority. The relationship between the regulator and the tribunal has largely defeated the very essence of impartial adjudication of disputes. In addition, the sheer number of tribunals set up in this manner makes them a huge and unnecessary drain on national resources.	It is proposed to create one National Administrative Appeals Tribunal under which separate thematic appeals tribunals may be managed (e.g. power and energy, sports, environment).

ANNEX 2: Joint communiqué: building bridges

ANNEX 3: Participation

The Taskforce visited every of the 47 Counties. Due care was taken to ensure that the Face of Kenya was captured in this process: The Taskforce consulted more than 7000 citizens from all ethnic groups, genders, cultural and religious practices and different social and economic sectors. The Taskforce engaged deeply and widely as shown by the 400+ Elected leaders, present and past, prominent local voices from the community and youth who added their voice to citizens in the Counties; 123 individuals representing major institutions, including constitutional bodies and major stakeholders in the civil and private sector spaces; the 261 individuals and organisations who (e)mailed memoranda; and the 755 handwritten submissions during public forums in the Counties.

The Taskforce would like to apologise for any individuals names whose names are left out in the lists below. All participants were highly appreciated, particularly the thousands of citizens whose views were penetrating and constructive. The report in its recommendations ensured that the voices and wishes of those who spoke to the Taskforce were treated as equal.

Elected leaders, present and past, prominent local voices from the community and young leaders who added their voice to that of citizens in the Counties.

The Building Bridges Report, 2019

Building Bridges

to a United Kenya:

from a nation of blood ties

to a nation of ideals

Contents

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Executive Summary

Representation

“Naomba tu nikisema ya kwamba let it be a collective social responsibility tujue ya kwamba nyumba mzuri inaanzia kutoka kwa msingi”. A resident of Meru County.

A nation is founded on a national ethos

A history of responsibilities and rights in Kenya

Winner-take-all-system

Delivering a system that addresses our unique needs

MAJOR RECOMMENDATIONS

Our challenge is building an economy that can generate jobs

A new economic paradigm for jobs and prosperity

Annexes

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