- Council of Governors chairperson Anne Waiguru highlighted a number of incidences county bosses deem as detrimental to the advancement of devolution.
- She called on the National Government and other Devolution stakeholders to embrace consultation to enable governors to serve the public effectively.
Image: CoG/X
Governors have enumerated some of their key achievements over the past year as they ushered in a new team of leadership but pointed an accusing finger at Parliament and the government for attempting to claw back on devolution.
In a statement on Monday, Council of Governors chairperson Anne Waiguru highlighted a number of incidences county bosses deem as detrimental to the advancement of devolution.
"We note that there have been continuous attempts to claw back Devolution through retrogressive legislation and creation of unconstitutional bodies to undertake devolved functions," Waiguru said.
"The recent gazettement of additional Water Works Development Authority, the enactment of Community Groups Bill and the overnight passage of the Facility Improvement Funds Act and other laws do not embrace the spirit and letter of our Constitution," she added.
The Kirinyaga Governor released the statement soon after she was re-elected for a second term as CoG chair.
The Community Groups Registration Bill, 2021, for instance, provides a framework for the mobilization, registration, coordination and regulation of the groups in a bid to formalise and make them viable.
According to the Bill, community groups will no longer undertake any community projects if they are not registered by the government.
It has been argued that the Bill violates the freedom of association since a group qualifies for registration if it is comprised of at least 10 adults or at least five persons in the case of a special interest group who have one purpose.
Waiguru called on the National Government and other Devolution stakeholders to embrace consultation, cooperation and collaboration to enable governors to serve the public effectively.
She said despite the attempts to reverse the gains of devolution, the council made some notable strides over the last year that the Executive and Technical Committee has been in office.
This includes pushing for the release of an equitable share of funds within the stipulated time through consultative processes both publicly and behind the scenes.
The second-term governor also cited the recent Biennial Devolution Conference that was held in Uasin Gishu County as the other success story of the council this past year.
"We are working in collaboration with the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee to ensure the unbundling of functions is finalised," she added while acknowledging that they will appear before the National Dialogue Committee Monday afternoon to present their issues.
"Some of the issues to be presented include funding and periodic costing of national and county functions," Waiguru said.
She said governors will also seek to have the equitable share of the revenue for the county Governments to be increased to 45 per cent and for the establishment of a borrowing framework by the counties and delimitation of boundaries for the counties.
Waiguru said county governments are committed to delivering on their mandate in a focused and coordinated manner to ensure the continued delivery of effective and efficient services to Kenyans.