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NCIC is tasked with various responsibilities aimed at fostering national cohesion and integration.
- The commission further noted that 33 out of 47 the counties in the country have boundary disputes.
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The National Cohesion and Integration Commission has proposed that counties be renamed saying this will rid devolved units of ethic identities.
In submissions to the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security, NCIC on Tuesday said naming of counties under the First Schedule of the constitution needs to be relooked.
“The naming of counties is a factor that has led to ethnic profiling and balkanisation as it created an impression that the county belonged to certain groups,” acting NCIC secretary/CEO, Harrison Kariuki, said in his report to the committee chaired by Saku MP Dido Raso.
The commission further noted that 33 out of 47 the counties in the country have boundary disputes.
“NCIC recommends that the delimitation of boundaries should be undertaken by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and in such a way that it would not exacerbate the existing boundary disputes or deepen structural inequalities or lead to violent conflicts among communities,” the report said.
NCIC is tasked with various responsibilities aimed at fostering national cohesion and integration.
They include conflict management through conflict resolution and mediation efforts to address and mitigate tensions.
This often involves facilitating dialogue and reconciliation between conflicting parties and promoting peaceful resolutions.
The objective of establishing the NCIC was to have a national institution that could rally Kenyans towards a common national identity through the elimination of ethnic, racial and religious discrimination culminating in national cohesion and integration.
In the report, the commission further said NCIC is not anchored in the constitution despite being independent, which makes it highly dependent on political goodwill for its survival.
The commission said it needs to be anchored in the Constitution of Kenya 2010.
“The commission has engaged stakeholders and submitted memorandums with recommendations on anchoring the NCIC in the constitution. Some of the stakeholders engaged include the Senate and National Assembly committees on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity and the National Dialogue Committee."
The report said it is envisaged that a constitutional anchoring will strengthen the work of the commission and increase transparency and accountability.