Senate proposals to change the law will strengthen devolution

Recent opinion polls have revealed that Kenyans overwhelmingly support devolution. Despite the negative reports from counties on governance, Kenyans see devolution as the antidote to centralised planning and political patronage that shaped skewed resource allocation in the country. Development projects started by county governments in hitherto sleepy towns dot the countryside. Although service delivery in health sector continues to be a challenge in several counties, Kenyans would rather we keep the devolution course for the foreseeable future.

To advance this trajectory, Senate recently set about to re-examine the Constitution to explore how devolution can be strengthened through alignment and empowering of institutional frameworks that serve devolved governments. A nine-member committee led by Senator Kipchumba Murkomen tasked with that mandate this week tabled a report in the House that has major proposals to amend the Constitution on areas touching on devolution. The changes are in line with similar proposals sought by the Council of Governors, and may be welcomed by most players in devolved governments.