Governors have lamented that the national government is excluding them from the projects it is initiating in their regions, and urged President William Ruto to prioritise county-level implementation of the programmes.
Speaking at the Kenya Devolution Support Programme II (KDSP) in Naivasha on Tuesday, May 27, Council of Governors (CoG) vice-chairperson Mutahi Kahiga stated the importance of county-level implementation of the projects, which he said is more effective.
Kahiga said the counties have structures, and with the help of the CoG, they can collaborate to handle the projects.
He, however, asked the government to have funding segments for CoG, which will help in the implementation of specific programmes like the subsidised fertiliser scheme.
"The counties have structures and within that, we can be able to move, but at the top, we have CoG, which will be able to work together with us."
"Therefore, I make a plea as the Vice Chair and on behalf of the CoG and the chair that for every programme let us have funding segments for the CoG to help implement the specific programme,” Kahiga said.
They are advocating for development partners to collaborate directly with counties through the Council of Governors (CoG), blaming the national government for causing delays in development projects.
According to the CoG, direct collaboration will expedite development projects and ensure more effective use of funds.
“National Government will tell you so many things because they are the sovereign, and they are the people that they must do collaterals with and what a view, but the implementation of every programme, no matter what you call it, be it a fertiliser programme or whatever programme, can only be implemented in the counties," Kahiga said.
Members of Parliament and the Council of Governors (CoG) have had a long-standing feud over the control of the Roads Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF) after Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong’o raised concern, accusing President William Ruto of 'sabotaging devolution' on April 22.
He said this when Ruto insisted that the management of the RMLF should be moved from the county government to the national government's control.
Nyong'o dismissed President Ruto's justification for the continued operation of national roads agencies like the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERA), saying they undermine the spirit of devolution.
"The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) and the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KERA) need not exist if the national government is prepared to fully implement devolution,” Nyong’o said.
