Governors and Senators will now be meeting once annually following a new proposal by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi.
The inaugural high-level joint Summit, according Kingi, is scheduled to be held in Naivasha from June 15-18, 2023.
In his communication to the House on Thursday, Kingi acknowledged that there was a myriad of challenges still facing the counties over 10 years since the advent of devolution hence the proposal to have the summit.
"In the spirit of nurturing collegiality between the Senate and the Council of Governors, it is proposed that annual high-level joint session of the COG and the Senate be established,” Kingi said in his communication to the House.
The meeting, Speaker Kingi said, will provide an opportunity for the leaders to strengthen their relations and find ways of addressing challenges.
Senators Ali Roba, Abas Mohammed and Moses Kajwang will represent Senate while Fernandes Barasa (Kakamega), Stephen Sang (Nandi) and Mutula Kilonzo (Makueni) have been picked by CoG.
The objectives of the session, Kingi stated, are to share county experiences in all aspects to foster collegiality between CoG and the Senate and the respective counties as well as explore actionable solutions in addressing funding challenges.
"The meeting will identify gaps in policy legislation and institutional mechanisms impeding intergovernmental relations, oversight and service delivery within the devolved units and explore opportunities for smart solutions for accelerated services,” he said.
It is also aimed at recognising the contributions of the counties on development and to accelerate and devise ways of fostering inter-governmental relations between the two levels.
Following the promulgation of the Constitution of Kenya 2010, it is now ten years into the existence of the county governments.
Devolution has highlighted the existence of unique opportunities for socio-economic growth.
