Kenya: Governors fault Government over delayed transfer of functions, duplication of roles

NAIROBI: Governors have lashed out at the national government over the delay to transfer pending functions to counties, seven months to the stipulated constitutional deadline.

They warned that failure of the national government to transfer the functions may eventually culminate in a constitutional crisis. The deadline for the devolution of the functions is March 2016.

Council of Governors (CoG) took issue with the retention of management of county roads, cultural activities, public entertainment and public amenities including libraries at the national level, and demanded their immediate transfer.

"These functions are yet to been transferred and they are contained in a draft gazette notice that is yet to be published by the Attorney General's Office, "CoG Chairman Peter Munya (Meru) expressed said.

He added: "County governments have to take over all their functions as soon as possible. The council notes that the timeline that had been allocated for the complete transfer of all functions assigned to counties lapses in March 2016."

WASTE FUNDS

Munya also stressed that a county government can only assume a function after the Transition Authority gazettes its transfer. "Functions must be properly transferred through the recognised legal framework if they are to be effectively implemented," he said.

Munya also expressed concern over duplication of roles, which he said results in wastage of public funds.

"The national government agencies cannot continue to perform county functions. The report of the Taskforce on Parastatal Reforms recommended for discussions between the national government and county governments regarding the future of the State agencies which perform functions that have been devolved," he noted.

He called for a road map for the phasing out of State corporations and regional development authorities that continue to undertake county functions."