MASENO UNIVERSITY

SCHOOL OF DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGIC STUDIES

The Influence of Devolved Units on Kenya’s Foreign Policy, A case Study of Nairobi City
County.

NYULE DAVID MAITHA

DS/00170/015

Research project presented to fulfill the requirement for the Bachelor’s degree in
International Relations and Diplomacy with IT

March 2019

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 Declaration.

I, Nyule David Maitha, declare that this entire project is solely my effort and original work. It

has neither been presented for project in any other university nor to any other supervisor.

.............................................................................................. ..............................................

Name of student Date

This research project has been submitted for review with my approval as the university

supervisor.

............................................................................................... ...........................................

Name of supervisor Date

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 Dedication.
I dedicate this work to my mother, Dorothy Nyule, the love of my life, her endless support and

selfless sacrifice to me has been outstanding and has always given me the push and strength I

needed. May the Almighty God bless her abundantly and grant her more years.

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 Acknowledgement.
I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the following people for their endless help,

support and input.The Almighty God for keeping me in good health, enabling me to get to this

point in my academic life. His mercy and grace has been sufficient to me and His love endures

forever. Thank you Lord.My mother, Dorothy Nyule, the love of my life, for her endless support

and selfless sacrifice to me that have been outstanding. She has always given me the strength and

push I have always needed. Thank you mother.My good friend and mentor, David Jeremiah, for

his endless support and help. His guidance all through this project has been instrumental and

very outstanding. I could never ask for more. Thank you my brother.My colleague and brother,

Bonface Githinji Ngugi, for his endless moral support and push all through this project. Thank

you brother.My supervisor, Mr. Gilbert Kimutai, for his valuable input and tireless guidance all

through this project. Thank you sir. Not forgetting, also, the Nairobi City County government for

the attachment opportunity, the director Public Relations Department and the entire staff for their

selfless support all through the attachment.

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 Abstract.
This study sought to find out and highlight the influence the devolved units have on Kenya’s
foreign policy, taking the case study of Nairobi City County. Given that devolution is fairly a
recent development, nine years old, since the promulgation of the new constitution in 2010, this
study sought to address the question, ‘what influence do the devolved units or counties have on
Kenya’s foreign policy?’. Explicitly extrapolated all through this study are the findings from the
main objective, which was, ‘to investigate the influence of devolved units on Kenya’s foreign
policy’, done by identifying the various arms of the county governments charged with the task of
policy formulation and implementation, the County Assembly and the County Executive, as well
as the committee serving as the link between the county governments and the national
government, which is the Liaison, Parliamentary and County Affairs. By identifying the
functions of the stated arms of county governments and the Liaison, Parliamentary and County
Affairs Committee, the study sought to establish the nexus between the county government and
foreign policy, subsequently the influence of the latter on Kenya’s foreign policy. Most of the
information gathered during my period of attachment at the Office of the Governor, Public
Relations Department of the Nairobi City County Government, is what is reflected all through
this study as well as including examples and case illustrations obtained from various secondary
data sources.The findings of the study indicate that there is a clear nexus between the devolved
units and Kenya’s foreign policy, given the various international and global events organized and
hosted, as well as officiated by the county government. The study concluded that the Nairobi
City County government has put in place immense efforts in a bid to cement its influence on
Kenya’s foreign policy and therefore recommends that the devolved units should no longer be
seen as recipients of the foreign policy decisions of national government but be appreciated and
given the recognition of influential actors with the potentialities of impacting on Kenya’s foreign
policy and the general relations between Kenya and the rest of the world.

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Table of Contents.
Declaration.................................................................................................................................................2
Dedication..................................................................................................................................................3
Acknowledgement.....................................................................................................................................4
Abstract......................................................................................................................................................5
CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................................8
1.0: BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY..................................................................................................8
1.1: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM................................................................................................9
1.2: OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY......................................................................................................9
OVERAL OBJECTIVE............................................................................................................................9
1.2.0: SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES..........................................................................................................9
1.3: RESEARCH QUESTIONS..............................................................................................................10
1.4: LITERATURE REVIEW................................................................................................................11
1.5: Justification.......................................................................................................................................13
1.6: METHODOLOGY...........................................................................................................................14
1.6.1: STUDY AREA...............................................................................................................................14
1.6.2: TARGET POPULATION.............................................................................................................14
1.6.3: DATA.............................................................................................................................................14
1.6.4: METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION......................................................................................14
1.6.5: CHALLENGES FACED IN DATA COLLECTION.................................................................15
1.6.5.1: INTERVIEW..............................................................................................................................15
1.6.2: QUESTIONNAIRES.....................................................................................................................15
1.6.5.3: OBSERVATION........................................................................................................................16
1.6.5.4: READING THE DOCUMENTATIONS AND JOURNALS...................................................16
CHAPTER II: PROFILE OF THE ORGANIZATION.......................................................................17
2.1 PROFILE INFORMATION OF THE INSTITUTION OF ATTACHMENT..............................17
PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT...............................................................................................23
The core functions of Public Relations Department include:.......................................................24
2.2: HOW THE ORGANIZATION INFLUENCED THE STUDY.....................................................27
CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS OF THE STUDY.............................................................................28
3.1: THE INFLUENCE OF THE COUNTY ASSEMBLY ON KENYA’S FOREIGN POLICY.....28
3.2: THE INFLUENCE OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE ON KENYA’S FOREIGN POLICY....30
3.3 THE INFLUENCE OF THE LIAISON, PARLIAMENTARY AND COUNTY AFFAIRS
COMMITTEE ON KENYA’S FOREIGN POLICY............................................................................33

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CHAPTER FOUR: RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION....................................................35
4.1 Conclusion..........................................................................................................................................35
4.2 Recommendations..............................................................................................................................37
References................................................................................................................................................40

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 CHAPTER I: INTRODUCTION.

1.0: BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.

Kenya’s foreign policy was at first documented on November, 2014. The first time since

independence for Kenya to have a written foreign policy. The policy provides a broad framework

on Kenya’s foreign relations and diplomatic engagements within a globalized

environment(Affairs, KENYA FOREIGN POLICY, 2014)

Kenya’s foreign policy under President Uhuru Kenyatta is more vibrant and definitively

outward-like given his relatively young age, unlike his predecessors more so, MzeeJomo

Kenyatta, Daniel ArapMoi and MwaiKibaki, whose idiosyncratic attributes informed a more

conservative and inward foreign policy. Kenya during the reign of the three former presidents

was a unitary form of government and therefore foreign policy decisions were arguably centered

on the presidency and was basically central.

But since the promulgation of the new constitution on August, 2010, Kenya adopted the

devolved form of governance and brought in new actors since now powers and responsibilities

are shared between the national government and the devolved units also known as counties.

Therefore, the influence and contribution of these units, and in this case the Nairobi City County,

as my case area of study, to the shaping and informing the foreign policy of the Republic of

Kenya, is what is sought to be revealed by this study. A contrary view is emerging that the

constituent units of federation should also have an influence so that the country’s foreign policy

may reflect its domestic diversity(Kumar, 2004)

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1.1: STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM.
Devolution is a fairly recent development and very little has been said and written about what

influence these devolved units play in shaping and informing the foreign policy of Kenya. This

study, therefore, sought to find out and highlight the influence of the devolved units on Kenya’s

foreign policy, taking the case study of Nairobi City County. Nairobi City County is central and

a key element on Kenya’s foreign policy housing Nairobi which has since 1963 served as

Kenya’s political capital both in status and function. Kenya adopted the devolved system of

governance and added devolved units in its domestic affairs, which equally have aninfluence that

the foreign policy can reflect the domestic diversity.

1.2: OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY.

OVERAL OBJECTIVE.
The main objective of this study is to investigate the influence of devolved units on Kenya’s

foreign policy.

1.2.0: SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES.

1.2.1: To investigate the influence of the County Assembly on Kenya’s Foreign policy.

1.2.2: To identify the influence of the County Executive on Kenya’s Foreign Policy.

1.2.3: To investigate the influence of the Liaison, Parliamentary and County Affairs Committee

on Kenya’s Foreign Policy.

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1.3: RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
1.3.1: What is the influence of the County Assembly on Kenya’s Foreign Policy?

1.3.2: What is the influence of the County Executive on Kenya’s Foreign Policy?

1.3.3: What is the influence of the Liaison, Parliamentary and County Affairs Committee on

Kenya’s Foreign Policy?

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1.4: LITERATURE REVIEW
Earlier studies have attempted to identify and highlight the influence played by constituent units

of a country in its foreign policy. A paradigm shift is taking place in the debate on what should

be the influence of the constituent units in a federation in the making and implementation of its

foreign policy. Not so long ago, the prevailing was that while a country may adopt the federal

system as a way of preserving its ‘unity in diversity’, it was no less entitled than a unitary

government to speak with a single voice in the international arena and have a single, unified,

national and nation-wide foreign policy for the country as a whole (Kumar, 2004).

Now a contrary view is emerging that the constituent units of federation should also have

aninfluence so that the country’s foreign policy may reflect its domestic diversity (Kumar, 2004).

Federal governments divide the powers of a country between the center and its constituents units.

Mostly the constitutions of federal governments bestow the center with most or all foreign policy

making powers and none or less to the constituent units(Hazarika, 2014). However, recent trends

show that the exclusive grip of the center in this area is slowly being weakened by the activities

of the units or members of the federal union (Hazarika, 2014).

This review, therefore, found that scholars are bringing out the point that such constituent units

of states are no longer to be just recipients of the foreign policy decisions of the central

governments but have continually risen to the capacities of having influences to play in a

country’s foreign policy as actors. There are instances where such constituents units have, in

varying degrees and capacities, indulged in the foreign affairs of other countries. Such influences

of states transverse manifold issues and several trajectories, from influencing neighborhood

policies, attracting foreign investments, to touring foreign locales in search of Memorandum of

Understanding (MoU). The process of constituents units of federal governments playing

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aninfluence in foreign policy making has been variously characterized as perforated sovereignty,

paradiplomacy, constituent diplomacy, foreign policy localization, multilayered diplomacy

among others (Hazarika, 2014).

According to Akhilesh Kumar, emerging studies of the international political system and the

changing notion of the state have continuously questioned the traditional approach to formulating

and conducting foreign policy. This traditional approach is now increasingly questioned by the

transformation of the transformation of the international political system as well as the changing

notion of the state (Kumar, 2004).

In understanding foreign policy, Akhilesh Kumar breaks down a number of definitions by

various scholars doing so in sequence from citing conceptions in the sequence of foreign policy

behavior as connoted by elites linking their states to events and situations abroad. Also, what

comes up from the literatures is the increasing interdependence between the foreign policy and

domestic policy of a country and the fact that the two entrench into each other, and the

constituent units being the chief custodians of the domestic policy.

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1.5: Justification.
For Kenya to competitively engage the outside world, it has to recognize the influence its

devolved units have on its foreign policy. This study comes at a time where the county

governments are actively engaging the outside world, establishing international links and

connections away from the national government as well as setting up policies that directly attract

foreign investors into their economies. These counties have had some benchmarking programs

with other countries which goes on to show the level of influence these counties have on Kenya’s

foreign policy. An example of such benchmarking programs is the benchmarking visit to the

Republic of Rwanda by the Nairobi City County Assembly Committee of Water and Sanitation

in April 2014. As stated by the committee chairman, ‘In conduct of its mandate, the Committee

on Water and Sanitation, in its meeting held on 21 st January 2014, resolved to conduct a

benchmarking visit to the Republic of Rwanda. Being the Nairobi City County Assembly lead

committee on Water and Sanitation sector, the objective of the visit was to enable the committee

learn from the management of water and sanitation services in Kigali city. To achieve this, the

committee conducted the visit from 20th April 2014 to 28th April 2014(Otieno, 2014).

This study will therefore aid the policy makers and individuals charged with the task of crafting

Kenya’s foreign policy in recognizing the influence of the devolved units on Kenya’s foreign

policy and include them as key and influential actors in as far as Kenya’s relations with other

states and the rest of the world is concerned.

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1.6: METHODOLOGY.
This study seeks to find out the influence of devolved units on Kenya’s Foreign Policy. Since

most of the scholarly literature and works talk much about federalism and the influence of

federal units in the foreign policy of federal governments, there is the need to understand the

influence played by the devolved units of the Republic of Kenya.

1.6.1: STUDY AREA.

The study area is Nairobi.

1.6.2: TARGET POPULATION.

The target population of the study are the employees and officials of the Nairobi City County as

well as members of the Parliamentary Liaison and County Affairs Committee.

1.6.3: DATA.
This study relied on both the primary and secondary data. The target population served as the

source primary of data whereas some documentations and journals served as the source of

secondary data.

1.6.4: METHODS OF DATA COLLECTION.

Methods of primary data collection used included interviews, use of questionnaires and

observation, whereas reading documentations and journal was the method of secondary data

collection.

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1.6.5: CHALLENGES FACED IN DATA COLLECTION

1.6.5.1: INTERVIEW.
Expenses. There was the need to travel to specific offices and bureaus to meet the respondents

who the ones to be interviewed and were not found at the same place.

Wasted lots of time. At times the respondents were not available upon request and had to be

waited which consumed a lot of time whereas others were just unwilling to avail themselves on

time.

Inaccurate and inadequate information. Some of the respondents were people with little or no

knowledge at all and their responses were mostly imaginary information or guesses and less

frank which lacked the authenticity for reliable data.

1.6.2: QUESTIONNAIRES.
Inflexibility of the method. This method proved to be duly unreliable due to the fact it required

a specific number of questions and once issued there was no chance to ask for clarification for

the responses given which could have been the very data needed by the study.

Expenses. A lot of money was needed which at some point led to the printing of fewer

questionnaires than the intended which curtailed the obtaining of accurately reliable and

adequate data.

Suffered from fatigue. This was due to the slow nature of this method of data collection, as one

has to wait for the respondents to fill the questions and some respondents were extremely slow at

filling in their responses.

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1.6.5.3: OBSERVATION.
Expenses. We were required to travel to attend the conferences and events, which at times lasted

for an entire day requiring the purchases of food and other refreshments so as to boost

concentration and collect data.

Limited information. Not all data needed was availed at the venue or area where we made the

observation.

1.6.5.4: READING THE DOCUMENTATIONS AND JOURNALS.

Possibility of biased information. Some journals seemed to be based more on hypothetical than

empirical data and were not reliable sources of data to my study.

Inadequate data. Some journals were very narrow in their scope and there was no much data to

inform my study.

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CHAPTER II: PROFILE OF THE ORGANIZATION.

2.1 PROFILE INFORMATION OF THE INSTITUTION OF ATTACHMENT.

The City Council of Nairobi was the local authority governing the city of Nairobi, Kenya. It was

the largest of the 175 local Authorities in the country and was under direction of the Ministry of

Local Government.

The Chief Executive of the City Council was the Town Clerk and was appointed by the Minister

of Local Government. The Mayor headed the Non-executive branch of the Council. The Town

Clerk oversaw the functions of 17 main and 4 sub committees whose members were City

Councilors. Each committee is chaired by one Councilor. The committees meet at scheduled

meetings and adopt proposals by consensus. The proposals then pass through a full Council for

review. The Minister for Local Government having been reviewed by the full Council.1 could

only approve proposals as Council Resolutions

The main offices of the Nairobi City Council were located at City Hall Plaza on City Hall Way.

City Hall was constructed in the 1950s. At that time, it was the tallest building in Nairobi with its

clock tower standing at 165 ft. high. The building was expanded in 1981 with the addition of the

13 storey City Hall Annex.

The Nairobi City County is the creation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 and successor of the

defunct City Council of Nairobi. It operates under the auspices of the Cities and Urban Areas

Act, The Devolved Governments Act and a host of other Acts The Nairobi City County is

charged with the responsibility of providing a variety of services to residents within its area of

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jurisdiction. These include the services that were hitherto provided by the defunct City Council

and the ones that have been transferred from the national government.

The former include Physical Planning, Public Health, Social Services and Housing, Primary

Education Infrastructure, Inspectorate Services, Public Works, Environment Management

while the latter include Agriculture, Livestock Development and Fisheries, Trade,

Industrialization, Corporate Development, Tourism and Wildlife, Public Service Management.

VISION

The City of Choice to invest, work and live in.

MISSION

To provide affordable, accessible and sustainable quality services, enhancing community

participation and creating a secure climate for political, social and economic development

through the commitment of a motivated and dedicated team.

CORE VALUES

Accountability, transparency, excellence, accessibility, integrity, responsiveness, equity and team

work.

The Nairobi City County, in execution of responsibilities and functions bestowed upon it by the

above Acts has been divided into three arms as follows:

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 1. The Executive led by The Governor

2. The Legislative Arm or the County Assembly headed by The Speaker

3. County Public Service Board

EXECUTIVE ARM

Led by The Governor and The Deputy Governor, The Executive arm of the County is charged

with the responsibility of policy formulation. Within this arm, we have the County Public

Service Board, the County Executive Committee, the City Inspectorate, County Investigation and

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Information Analysis departments and a host of advisories.

Governor

Managers of Heads of National Officers from the

Cities and Deputy Governor Government National Police
Municipalities Functions Service

The County
Secretary

The County Chief

Officers

Sub-County
Administrators

Ward
Administrators

Village
Administrators

Village Council

The County Executive Structure.

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THE COUNTY PUBLIC SERVICE BOARD

The County Public Service Board is appointed by the Governor and is responsible for the

determination of the county Human Resource needs recruitment and related Public Service

functions. The board is under the charge of the chairperson supported by various committee

members.

THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The County Executive Committee, appointed by H.E the Governor, comprises ten members and

is the highest policy making organ of the county. Each County Executive Committee Member is

responsible for a sector of County operations namely:

COUNTY ASSEMBLY

It is the legislative arm of the County responsible for formulation of laws that are expected to

regulate the conduct of activities in the county and to provide oversight. The legislature

comprises of 85 elected and 42 nominated members of the county assembly who sit in the

various committees of the county assembly.

Legislation is conducted through committees where bills are presented culminating in the plenary

assembly where the bills are concluded before being signed into law by the Governor.

The Speaker is the head of the legislature and is expected to conduct all sittings of the county

assembly, save for standing committee meetings.

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 The County Assembly

Speaker of the County

The County Service Board
Assembly

Deputy Speaker of the

County Assembly Clerk
County Assembly

Leader of the Majority,

Leader of the Minority Sergent-at-Arms and
Chairpersons of other Staff of the County
Committes and Chief Assembly
Whips

Members of County
Assembly

The County Assembly Structure.

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The Information, Communication Technology and E-Government Sector functions include

the following:

Automation of all County services in order to provide enhanced operational efficiency and

effectiveness in service delivery;

Design and development of an interactive website through which information for public

consumption can be uploaded thus provide a communication channel for exchange of views and

opinions.

Implementation of recommendations contained in the ICT Transformation Roadmap that is

anchored to County Integrated Development Plan;

Ensuring that the departments under the sector are aligned roles and responsibilities with the

priorities and objectives set out in the Nairobi City County’s policies and plans;

Dissemination of public information and Public participation.

Development of county communications capacity and infrastructure.

County branding.

PUBLIC RELATIONS DEPARTMENT

Public Relation is a department within an organization that focuses on building a good image to

both the internal and external publics of Nairobi City County. Nairobi City County considers its

employees as a very important asset for its prosperity and growth.

Employees are very important in the county strategic planning. It’s due to the reason that the

County has a robust Public Relations Department charged with the following responsibilities:

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 Internal and external communication whereby they tend to communicate to the people

working in that organization and those outside about the organization and how it can

benefit them, they tend to provide good services to them.

Advertising and Outreach

Media monitoring whereby they tend to check at what people say about the organization

if it is wrong information they tend to correct that information.

Organizing events and meetings

The County hires external trainers and worker firms to carry out programs, which require

specialized skills.

Promotions are done when vacancy arises a new position is created; the procedures in the County

is to advertise internally all positions for qualified employees to apply whereby the public

relations department tends to create an advertisement for job vacancies. Health and safety of

employees is of at most importance to County, many companies lose many hours through

sickness and accidents, that occur in the offices and which can be avoided. The demands of many

offices today have driven many employees to suffer from depression and other stress related

diseases.

The core functions of Public Relations Department include:

Internal and external communication

Media monitoring

Customer care

Advertising and outreach

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 Events management

Organizing meetings

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 Director of Public
Relations

Deputy Director of
Public Relations

Assitant Director
Assistant Director
Assistant Director External
Customer Care and
Communication Communication
Complaints
and Protocol

Public Relations Public Relations Public Relations

Officer I Officer II Officer III

Senior Senior Senior

Administrative Administrative Administrative
Officer I Officer II Officer III

Administrative Administrative Administrative

Officer I Officer II Officer III

The

Public Relations Department Structure.

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2.2: HOW THE ORGANIZATION INFLUENCED THE STUDY.
Media Monitoring, which was about picking out local newspapers articles with news related to

Nairobi City County so as to prompt responses from the concerned or related departments which

would later communicated to the public via notices and posters that we would create on behalf of

the Nairobi City County Public Relations Department. Media monitoring enabled me to come

across news about events held in Nairobi between foreign dignitaries and representatives, and the

Nairobi City County officials together with officials from the National Government. This

influenced the study in that it showed me the link and cooperation between the devolved units

and the national government, in hosting foreign dignitaries a move to effect Kenya’s foreign

policy.

Attending international day events hosted Nairobi City County in partnership with the national

government and representatives from international organizations also highly influenced my

study. One of the events was the World Environmental Day, celebrated on the 5 th of June every

year and is the United Nation’s principal vehicle for encouraging worldwide awareness and

action the protection of our environment. We attended the World Environment Day of June 5 th

2018, where the officials from the Nairobi City County officials, in particular the Nairobi City

County Executive Council Member for Environment, Water, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr.

Larry Wambua the officials from the national government, from the Ministry of Environment in

particular, to adopt policies that effect the protection of the environment as advocated for by the

United Nations Environmental Program, because as the County they cannot effect such policies

without the backing of the national government. In the national government to adopt such

policies advocated for by the international organizations is showing the influence these devolved

units have on Kenya’s foreign policy.

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 CHAPTER THREE: FINDINGS OF THE STUDY.

3.1: THE INFLUENCE OF THE COUNTY ASSEMBLY ON KENYA’S FOREIGN

POLICY.
The study found that the County Assembly has an immense influence on Kenya’s Foreign

policy, in dispensing its duties as the main legislative arm of the county government, making

laws that are necessary for, or incidental to, the effective performance of the functions and

exercise of the powers of the county government under the fourth schedule, which is, according

to Kenya Law Review Commission, about the distribution of functions between the National and

County governments (KLRC). The County Assembly formulates policies that enhance the

functionality of the county government, and such policies have a bearing or touch on key issues

of international concern. According to Sarah Wanja, some parallel functions within the Sub-State

governments (Counties), for instance trade regulation and development, environment

conservation, drug trafficking and crime prevention have a nexus with issues of international

concern. Through trade and development Sub-State governments have enacted policies to market

themselves internationally and to attract foreign Direct Investment (FDI) into their regions

(Kamande, 2017). Hence the County Assembly, through the formulation of policies and laws,

enhances the complementary role played by the devolved units to the national government,

substantially signifying its influence on Kenya’s Foreign Policy.

The County Assembly also has a significant influence on Kenya’s foreign policy in exercising its

oversight role over the County Executive Committee and other County Executive organs. Just

like the National Assembly which approves bills and policies, the County Assembly has the

powers to approve policies put forward by the County Executive that touch on the relations

between the County government, national and foreign relations and engagements as well. It is

also the sole preserve of the County Assembly to vet and approve appointees of the County

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Executive led by the governor, for example, County representatives to the Liaison, Parliamentary

and County Affairs Committee. In this, the County Assembly ensures in the facilitation of the

official engagements between Parliament and County officials with the visiting foreign officials

and diplomatic corps by the directorate, the needs and desires of the County government are

taken into consideration and made a priority, which significantly highlights the influence the

County assembly has on Kenya’s foreign policy.

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3.2: THE INFLUENCE OF THE COUNTY EXECUTIVE ON KENYA’S FOREIGN
POLICY.
The study established that County Executive has a significant influence on Kenya’s Foreign

policy, in implementing, within the county, national legislation to the extent that legislation so

requires. Especially in effecting national government policies adopted from international treaties

and agreements at the county level by particularly prioritizing such policies. An example is the

resolution adopted by the United Nations aimed at stopping ocean plastic waste. Nations have

agreed that the world needs to completely stop plastic waste from entering the ocean (Harrabin,

2017). The government of Kenya in response issued a gazette notice banning the use,

manufacture and importation of all plastic bags used for commercial and household packaging.

‘IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred under section 3 and 86 of the Environmental

Management and Coordination Act, it is notified to the public that the Cabinet Secretary for

Environment and Natural Resources has with effect 6 months from the date of this notice banned

the use, manufacture and importation of plastic bags used for commercial and household

packaging…’ (Wakhungu, 2017). The Nairobi City County Executive Committee Member for

Environment, Water, Energy and Natural Resources Mr. Larry Wambua, on 5 th June, 2018

expressed the commitment of the Nairobi City County Executive to fully implementing this ban

on the use, manufacture and importation of plastic bags. Speaking during the annual World

Environment Day at Kikuyu area of Nairobi, Mr. Wambua asserted that they will tirelessly work

with relevant authorities in the county as well as from the national government to curb the

circulation and use of plastic paper bags within the city. In saying that, Mr. Wambua vibrantly

resonated with the theme of the World Environment Day of 2018, which was

‘BeatPlasticPollution’ as put forward by United Nations Climate News. ‘…the United Nations

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has launched a global campaign to reduce plastic pollution, and is calling on people all over the

world to participate…’ (Nations, 2018).

The study found that the County Executive has a significant influence on Kenya’s foreign policy

especially in implementing the policies formulated by the County legislative body aimed at

attracting foreign visitors in line with national government of Kenya’s desire to open up to more

foreign presence for economic investments and social integration. It is, also, the responsibility of

the County Executive to design and brand the vision and mission of the County, which are the

basis of expressing what the County stands for or wishes to achieve. This attracts people and

investors alike not only locally but also from the international sphere. In advancing its relations

with other states of the world, the national government of Kenya formulates and designs its

foreign policy objectives from its pillars and aligns them with this vision so as to place them at

better position and increase their prospects of success. Kenya has since the time of attaining

independence crafted her foreign policy towards establishing a good rapport with her neighbors,

the immediate and even distant. According to John J. Okumu, her sophisticated infrastructure

and economy put her in an advantageous position so far as capacity to attract foreign investments

is concerned. Kenya still occupies a strategic position in East Africa. It is Uganda’s gateway to

the sea, and provides similar facilities to landlocked Rwanda and Burundi as well as northern

Tanzania. Such obvious geographical advantages may not be as significant as they are made out

to be, by they do strengthen the negotiating status, even if potentially, of a country which

possesses them (Okumu, 1973). Nairobi City County through its Executive arm of government

attracts people and investors both from Kenya’s immediate neighbors and distant and hosts a

myriad of international intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations as well as

boasting of being the most sort-after business hub in East and Central likewise. Nairobi City

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County continues to carry on from since the inception of the devolved form of government in

Kenya and continues to have an immense influence on Kenya’s foreign policy as it places itself

in the position of being the desired place of hosting global events and international conferences,

like the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) event dubbed

‘Africa eComerce Week’ jointly organized by the African Union and the European Union,

hosted in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi by the government of Kenya and implemented in

collaboration with partners of eTrade for all initiative on 10 th December 2018. Under the theme,

‘Empowering African Economies in the Digital Era’, the Africa eComerce Week, examined

ways to enhance the abilities of African countries to engage in and benefit from e-comerce and

the evolving digital economy (UNCTAD, 2018). The pillar of cultural diplomacy in Kenya’s

foreign policy highly resonates with the vision and mission of Nairobi City County. The vision is

‘the City of Choice to Work, Invest and Live in’ while the mission is ‘to provide affordable,

accessible and sustainable quality services, enhancing community participation and creating a

secure climate for political, social and economic development through the commitment of a

motivated and dedicated team (UoN). This vision and mission highly inform Kenya’s relations

with other states of the world especially the strong democracies that advocate for development

through the principles of democracy of good governance and people participation and a secure

climate for political, social and economic development.

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3.3 THE INFLUENCE OF THE LIAISON, PARLIAMENTARY AND COUNTY
AFFAIRS COMMITTEE ON KENYA’S FOREIGN POLICY.
The study found that the Liaison, Parliamentary and County Affairs Committee, being a

directorate established as a focal point for facilitation of Parliamentary and County affairs in

their official engagements, in fulfillment of the constitutional obligations as outlined under

schedule 4 on capacity building and technical assistance to counties. Some of the activities

carried out include on capacity building in area of foreign policy, protocol and engagement with

international community (Affairs, Liaison, Parliamentary and County Affairs). In facilitation of

official foreign travel for parliament and county officials, where the directorate receives all

requests for official travel, processes and share feedback to parliament and county governments,

the Liaison, Parliamentary and County Affairs Committee opens the way and door for the

devolved units to seek their own individual links away from the national government

arrangements. ‘…devolved governments seek their own individual international links away from

the central government arrangements’ (Kamande, 2017). This goes further to highlight the

influence this committee has on Kenya’s Foreign Policy, as these trips to abroad by the county

government officials bear the capacity to impact on the relations between Kenya and the other

states in the international system as well as the international intergovernmental organizations.

For instance, when the United Nations selected Nairobi City County Governor, His Excellency

Mike Mbuvi Sonko, to lead African cities in the United Nations General Assembly Conference

in New York on February 19, 2019. The theme of this conference was “From Global Issues to

Local Priorities: the role of Cities in Global Agenda, including Cities for Sustainable

Development, Food Security, Nutrition and Climate Change (Digital). The potentiality of that

trip to the United States by the Nairobi City County governor lies in the ability of ties to be made

on behalf of Nairobi City County and Kenya as a whole which shapes how Kenya formulates her

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foreign policy towards the United States as well as the other states that His Excellency Mike

Sonko got to meet.

The Liaison, Parliamentary and County Affairs Committee sensitizes and capacity building for

parliament and counties on foreign policy and Kenya’s international obligations. The directorate

organizes workshops for training parliament and county officials on issues related to foreign

engagements.These workshops serve as the avenues for informing the County officials of the

undocumented roles and influence of the County governments have on Kenya’s foreign policy.

They are sensitized and educated on how to dispense their duties in relation to foreign relations

and engagements so as not to end up antagonizing the national government since the Kenyan

constitution explicitly stipulates that the conduct, formulation and implementation of foreign

policy is an exclusive preserve of the national government. In sensitizing and building the

capacity of the County officials, the directorate cements the influence of the County governments

on Kenya’s foreign policy since they are the chief custodians of domestic policy given the fact

that public participation in policy formulation is the main principle of governance in the County

governments. According to John Howell, it is so much of traditional diplomatic history which is

implicitly, at least characterized by the boundary recognized by few students of foreign policy

between foreign and home affairs. Indeed, it is now widely accepted that, especially for the new

post-colonial states, the process of foreign policy formulation is largely an extension of the

domestic political environment. It has, for example, been claimed that ‘for a new state, foreign

policy is domestic policy pursued by other means,’ it is domestic policy carried beyond the

boundaries of the state’ (Howell, 1968).

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CHAPTER FOUR: RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION.

4.1 Conclusion.
It is evidently clear from the study that the Nairobi City County government has put in place

immense efforts in a bid to cement its influence on Kenya’s foreign policy. It has worked

tirelessly with stakeholders to host international events that have helped place Kenya on the

globe as a desirable country and one that is globally competitive. An example is the United

Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) event dubbed ‘Africa eComerce

Week’ jointly organized by the African Union and the European Union, held in Nairobi on

December 2018 as well as the Fourth United Nations Environment Assembly held in Nairobi

recently in March 2019.

From the functions and roles of both the County Assembly and the County Executive, as well as

the Liaison, Parliamentary and County Affairs Committee, the devolved units are in a vital

position to be influential actors on Kenya’s foreign policy and the general relations Kenya has

with the other countries of the world. In the East African region, Kenya remains an influential

leader due to its relative peaceful and stable political environment, and strong economy. It is also

keen on ensuring that there is good neighborliness between Kenya and her neighbors, for

increased regional integration for maximum socio-economic and political cooperation. The

county government, therefore, in conducting benchmarking visits to various neighboring

countries is a move to advance Kenya’s desire to ensure good neighborliness, since learning

from Kenya’s immediate neighbors and economic partners is a show of good faith and will, as

well as valuing the similarities and friendly ties arising from existing on the same region.

However, a few stumbling blocks remain dominant drawbacks and challenges in the bid of the

county government to have and enjoy the immense influence on Kenya’s foreign policy. The

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laxity and incompetence of the county government officials and employees have led to there

being substandard services in the city that have the potentialities of scaring and putting off

foreigners and make them look for somewhere else to invest. The recent cases of buildings

collapsing yet the county official in charge gave an approval for the construction of such

building, make foreign investors think of other destinations for their investments rather than

invest in a city that cannot guarantee long term quality services. Also, on the same issue of

substandard services, the urban planners failed to come up with concrete ways of dealing with

the city traffic which causes heavy traffic jams consequently delaying the negotiations should

there be a diplomatic meeting between the visiting diplomats and the county government

officials. There have been cases of the city roads being flooded to the point of being impassable

due to the poor drainage systems in Nairobi during rainy seasons. This is a serious undoing to the

efforts of the Nairobi City County to be an all-time desired destination for international

conferences and events as well as investments.

The issue of security is also another factor that has continued to be a threat to the peace of

Nairobi City County. The bombing of high end buildings and conference centers, where high

profile diplomatic meetings are fond of or likely to be held within Nairobi is another serious

drawback. The terror attacks within Nairobi City County lead to travel advisories being issued to

foreigners wishing to travel to Nairobi and warned against the idea. The recent terror attack at

the Dusit business complex as well as the attack at the Westgate Mall are all cases that have the

potentialities of scaring away investors for fear of their lives and business within Nairobi, as all

cases point out to the Kenyan capital as being the target, which therefore shows the extent to

which the Nairobi City County government still has a challenge in ensuring the safety of visiting

diplomats and investors alike.

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4.2 Recommendations.
In the view of the findings of this study, it is advisable that the future policy makers take into

consideration the influence; the devolved units have on Kenya’s foreign policy. According to

finding one, the County Assembly being the main legislative body of the county government has

roles similar to the National Assembly of the national government. The policies and legislations

being passed by the National Assembly should be done in line with consultation with the County

Assembly so as to avoid altercations between the foreign policy and domestic policy, since the

constitution stipulates that the foreign policy is a strict preserve of the state. The engagements

and links with the international community and outside world made by the county governments

is a potential source of conflict. There should be provision for open consultations between the

National Assembly and the County Assembly on policy formulation and not only the facilitation

of engagements of the Parliament and county officials and the visiting foreigners done by the

Liaison, Parliamentary and County Affairs Committee. There is the need, therefore, to recognize

the County Assembly as one of the actors under the umbrella of the county government in

Kenya’s foreign policy.

It is also recommended the devolved units should no longer be seen as recipients of the foreign

policy decisions of national government but be appreciated and given the recognition of

influential actors with the potentialities of impacting on Kenya’s foreign policy and the general

relations between Kenya and the rest of the world. In enhancing public participation in issues of

governance, the government comes up with policies that are originally sourced from the people,

should those policies bee included while crafting Kenya’s foreign policy, such will be resonating

with interests of Kenyans which will go on to enhance integration. This would also call for the

establishment of a complementary commission comprising of the policy makers from the

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national government and county government representatives to be charged with the task of

crafting and maintain an inclusive and comprehensive Kenyan foreign policy.

Also, most departments within the county are headed by novices with little or no training at all in

terms of diplomacy hence poor services delivery and incompetence, inter alia, in handling

diplomatic engagements. These heads of departments are unable, most of the time, to get into

fruitful negotiations with the visiting diplomats and foreign personnel. They are not conversant

with the basic functions of a diplomat and they are highly unlikely to show courtesy as dictated

by diplomacy according to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations of 1961. They are

likely to demand for the opening of the diplomatic bag which is prohibited under article 27

section 3 of the Vienna Convention of Diplomatic Relations(Nations, Vienna Convention on

Diplomatic Relations, 2005), which most of them, should they appointed to diplomatic missions,

chances are that they will be persona non grata in the diplomatic negotiations. There are, also,

cases of appointments to such county departments not strictly based on merit and competence,

mostly kinship ties, political affiliations and tribal preferences are so dominant as the pre-

requisite conditions for appointment to such offices which is a serious drawback to the influence

of the county on Kenya’s foreign policy.

On recommendation, therefore, there is a dire need for these heads of departments to undergo

thorough and vigorous training in diplomacy and the basic codes of conduct of a diplomat. They

should be made to be aware of such things as courtesy and standard international languages of

communication between and among diplomats. These heads of departments of the county should

be made to be conversant with all the provisions of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic

Relations, so as to avoid any altercations that might arise from them being unaware of such

provisions and lower the chances of fruitful diplomatic negotiations. On the same note, there is

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the need of the appointments to be strictly made on merit and competence, and put an end to the

dominance of kinship ties, political affiliations and tribal preferences in the appointment process

to the county departments charged with the task of overseeing the influence of the county

governments in Kenya’s foreign policy. Kinship ties, political affiliations and tribal preferences

are key to the appointment of incompetent and corrupt individuals with scandalous past, which

limits the chances of successful diplomatic negotiations. In a nutshell, it is recommended by this

study also that, there is a need for the county to invest more on the security of diplomats and

embassies which most of them are within the city, so as to attract more foreign representatives.

Also, the county should liaise with the diplomats within Nairobi to mobilize the available

resources to better the position of the county on matters of foreign policy and engagements.

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