One of the biggest success of devolution is the fact that it brought government and its functions closer to the people, this is according to Kisumu Governor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with TV47, Governor Nyong’o reminisced the Majimbo System of governance around the time of independence, with the county boss insisting that devolution is a better version of decentralising power to the 47 counties.
“Devolution has prioritised public participation to precede every policy and decisions made by both county and national government. The only demerit is the resources sent to the counties isn’t enough,” Nyong’o said during the Monday, August 11 night interview.
Governor Nyong’o further faulted those opining that devolution is a bloated system of governance that is expensive to maintain.
“We can’t rate devolution by simply looking at how gov’t costed before devolution….funds coming to counties are accounted for, and let’s not generalize the idea that counties governments are overspending on expenditure.”
He added: “I don’t condone misuse of public resources… but funds brought to counties have in general benefited the normal mwananchi. What devolution has achieved is much more and better than the national government achieved through local governments before devolution.”
Nonetheless, Nyong’o, who is on his second and last term as Kisumu County boss, explained why some counties are spending a lot of money on legal expenses: “A lot of the legal expenses we [counties] received from the defunct municipalities…we inherited litigious cases from the previous municipalities.”
9th Devolution Conference
The 9th Devolution Conference kicks off Tuesday, August 12, with Homa Bay County hosting the week-long event meant to take stock of devolution in the country and chart a way forward.
Thought leaders, policymakers, practitioners, development partners, private sector, academia and mwananchi are expected to engage in meaningful discussions, a significant milestone in Kenya’s devolution journey, with the conference providing a platform for sharing experiences, best practices, and innovations in devolved governance.
