Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has accused President William Ruto of not doing enough to make devolution work for the devolved units.
The Azimio leader on Thursday pointed out five gaps in devolution that need to be addressed to make devolution work as envisaged in the 2010 Constitution.
Among the issues that were identified as teething problems, bedeviling counties, include lack of adequate funding which Raila noted had significantly contributed to the dismal performance in service delivery.
"For instance, funding remains inadequate and its flow is uneven and unpredictable. The Controller of Budget and Central Bank need to re-look at the law. The County Allocation of Revenue Act (CARA) contains a disbursement schedule.
"Therefore, the administrative step of treasury writing a letter to CBK to release funds should not arise. CBK should implement the CARA, full stop," Raila stated.
Raila claimed that inadequate funding of the devolved units is a result of bureaucracy at the office of the Controller of Budget which continues to hold back necessary gains.
He also observed that there is a worrying clash of vision and responsibility between county chief executives and the members of county assemblies, especially on matters of financial management and legislative responsibilities.
Raila noted that weak intergovernmental relations are another reason why seems to stagnate. He explained that there is a lot of mistrust between the national and county governments, which has hindered devolution.
He, therefore, called on President Ruto to strengthen intergovernmental relations if he truly means business with devolution.
"I am aware that even today, as you try to imagine and dream how best devolution can deliver more for our people, as you try to test and stretch the limits of devolution, you face skepticism and fears that you may be wrong and that it might destroy your political careers.
"My advice is that you dream on and soldier on. And I encourage you to remember the words of President Franklin Roosevelt- “The only limit to our realization of tomorrow will be our doubts of today. Let us move forward with strong and active faith," Raila implored.
He explained that ten years into devolution, a tag of war between the counties and national government needs to come to an end.
Further, he acknowledged that, in this tag of war, the Commission for Revenue Allocation continues to be ignored, making revenue sharing between national and county governments and among counties uneven and more political than professional.
Raila also identified poor revenue collection systems as a factor in impending growth and development in counties. He noted that the devolved units have not been able to collect enough revenue from local businesses, which has also hampered their development.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Party Leader asked President Ruto to implement a broader revenue collection system that will spread to counties, especially those in rural areas.
"The problems and responsibilities the people and the counties face today demand that we reevaluate and strengthen our commitment to preserve the place of the county government and bestow it with the power, the authority, the responsibilities, and the revenues necessary to discharge those roles and meet expectations.
"In times like these, a county government may be tempted to do what the national government is doing; which is to increase charges for services they provide to generate more revenue," Raila claimed.
Raila claimed that many projects at the county level have not been implemented effectively, which has denied Kenyans the benefits of devolution.
As such, Raila promised to ensure that projects at the county level are implemented effectively, noting that he will not relent until the national government acts accordingly.
"While the national politicians may be getting all the attention, the action of translating policies into the improvement of livelihoods is actually being determined by Governors, county assemblies and county governments.
"I see immense possibilities for county-driven growth and leadership in our country. I see the potential for a county-driven quantum leap in our country. This hidden reality is not limited to one sector or region," Raila warned.
