Kenyan Counties lack capacity to draft laws, lawyers say

KWALE: Counties still lack capacity to make their own laws and draft policy documents, lawyers working with devolved units have said.

They disclosed this yesterday during the Third Counties Attorney Forum in Kwale County.

The two-day forum brought together lawyers for county executives, assemblies and Council of Governors.

Addressing the meeting, Makueni Governor Kivutha Kibwana said there should be fully fledged legal departments in the counties, just like in the national government.

“The legal department in counties is very critical but it has not been established as in the national level where we have the Attorney General, Solicitor General’s office and fully fledged departments even with branches at county levels,” said Prof Kibwana who is also the Legal and Human Rights Committee chairperson in the Council of Governors.

He added that every function of the county should have policy and legislative backing.

“We wish that in whatever we do we create these policies and laws to actualise them in the same way we hope to discuss how to have robust legal departments which are well resourced and with good personnel,” he said.

HELPING COUNTRIES

Kibwana however added that there was light at the end of the tunnel considering the number of law departments in the country that have committed to help the counties.

These include the Law Society of Kenya through their devolution committee and the Attorney General’s office, he said.

“We want to work with all people of goodwill so that we strengthen the policy and legal underpinning within our counties,” he added.

Meto Sylvester, the Chairperson County Attorney Forum, echoed Kibwana’s sentiments, saying county governments’ legal departments have a myriad of challenges, including lack of a county printing press.

This, he said, was an impeding the gazettement of laws in good time.

“We have had challenges with the Government printing press, which is based in Nairobi. Counties should have their own printing press but there is not enough money for that,” said Sylvester.

The purpose of the forum is to take stock of counties’ success and challenges in terms of legal matters and identify opportunities that they have encountered, especially in working with other levels of government.