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What is the
logic behind the numbering of counties?
By MUNGAI KIHANYA
The Sunday Nation
Nairobi,
31 March 2013
The Independent electoral and
Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has designated code numbers to all
electoral units (Wards, Constituencies and Counties). However, these
numbers don’t seem to follow any logical order. The counties, for
example, start with Mombasa
as number 001, followed by Kwale (002), Kilifi (003)… and so on up to
Migori (044), Kisii (045), Nyamira (046), and finally Nairobi City
(047).
This seemingly random sequence is the same used in the Constitution of
Kenya, 2010. Thus the question arises: what is the logic behind this
order?
We get the answer by looking at the (older) map of
Kenya. We find that the counties are
listed in groups corresponding with the old provinces. The provinces are
organised in the following order: Coast, North Eastern, Eastern,
Central, Rift Valley, Western, Nyanza and finally Nairobi Area.
But is there any logic in the order of the provinces? Well; the
Coast
Province boarders the Indian Ocean and that’s a sensible starting point – it is
the “absolute end” of the country. From there, North Eastern is the
immediate neighbour to the north;
Eastern
Province boarders both the
Coast and North Easter. This pattern continues as we move from east to
west. But I can’t explain why
Nairobi
was skipped and listed last.
Even though the provinces are no longer recognised administrative units,
the drafters of the constitution used them as a guide. Thus the list of
counties starts from Mombasa– perhaps because it is the most
populous area in the region. Then it moves to Kwale – the next-door
neighbour to the south.
From Kwale, the list moves northward to Kilifi and Lamu. Then it starts
again at the southern end of the coast at Taita-Taveta and ends with
Tana River.
The same logic of listing from south to north is followed in the former North Eastern
Province starting with
Garissa, then Wajir and Mandera. But things change when we get into the Eastern Province: now the listing moves in
reverse – from north to south – Marsabit, Isiolo… up to Makueni. Central Province is also out of sequence because
it neither starts from north nor from south!
Nevertheless; looking at a map of
Kenya,
one can discern an element of logic in the ordering of the counties in
the constitution. However, I think it would have been easier to arrange
the counties in alphabetical order from Baringo to
West Pokot. That makes it easy to search for names in the
list.
However, for logistic purposes, it is better to follow the order the
counties appear in the map. That is, we must abandon the old provinces
completely. We may then start from the southernmost tip at the coast and
work northwards.
Thus my list would start from Kwale to Mombasa,
Tana River and Lamu. These are the counties bordering the Indian Ocean. It would then continue to Garissa, Wajir and
Mandela (all bordering
Somalia). That does away with the
eastern frontier of the country.
Next I’d move one step westward to Marsabit, then southward to Isiolo,
Kitui and Taita-Taveta. Then west again to Kajiado, and northward to
Makueni, Machakos… all the way up to Turkana… and so on. Perhaps this
can be a good geography project for our school children…
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