Kenya Devolution On Right Track

H.E. Andreas Peschke

Devolution is at the core of Kenya’s transition and reform agenda towards a prosperous nation and one of the most significant political reforms since independence. It is an important part of the implementation of the constitution and crucial for achieving the objectives of Kenya's Vision 2030. It brings participation and service delivery closer to the people and will contribute to fostering growth, prosperity and equity.

As development partners, we would like to again congratulate Kenya for embarking on such a broad and ambitious structural change process and for making rapid progress. If we look around the country, devolution is progressing and succeeding.  New county governments have been established, functions have been devolved, significant financial resources have been transferred and public services have been provided in all 47 counties.

However, expectations remain very high, and we all know that the road ahead of devolution will continue to be challenging and long. Some challenges need the attention of all of us in order to make devolution a success story, especially the need to:

*strengthen intergovernmental relations and coordination through, for example, a clearer definition of the roles and functions of the various institutions,

*improve public financial management and the oversight mechanisms at county level,

*strengthen the capacity of all county institutions, so as to ensure transparency, good governance and an efficient delivery of services to the citizen,

*ensure that County Governments establish appropriate fora and mechanisms for active participation – and consultation – with key stakeholders at county level, including civil society and private sector.

The pre-Development Partnership Forum (DPF) that took place on the 5th of February chaired by the principal secretary of the National Treasury, Dr. Kamau Thugge, identified some key recommendations for the DPF. Capacity development for devolution, fiscal decentralization and the coordination between the Government of Kenya, the Council of Governors and development partners have been at the center of the discussion. Development partners hope that we can agree today to the identified key recommendations and commitments for follow-up.

Let me also take this opportunity to emphasize the strong commitment of development partners to actively supporting Kenya in the implementation of devolution. Development partners are currently providing funding for devolution support programs of over USD 100 million in addition to their ongoing sector programs. Unfortunately, too much of this funding is often delayed due to institutional and procedural delays or inefficient communication. So, let us also agree today that we will prioritize and accelerate the implementation of these programs.