NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 16 – National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has called on the Governors to closely work with the bicameral Houses of Parliament to accelerate the development agenda in the Counties.
In a speech read by his deputy at the Governors Conference in Diani, Muturi says that a lack of a smooth working relationship between the county government and the National government has hampered development, urging the county bosses to put their egos aside.
“There is need to foster and strengthen the channels of engagement between the county governments and the National Assembly,” he said.
Muturi says a closer working relationship in the two levels of government will ensure that there is no delay in revenue allocation to counties.
“Failure by both the national and county governments to meet their revenue targets is a threat to the sustainability of resourcing county governments. Both governments should agree on a proper modality that will enable a symmetric costing and transfer of all devolved functions which should be commensurate with transfer of resources,” said Muturi.
Muturi has further said effective and equitable distribution of financial resources is vital to stability as the county bosses have seen an outcry from the public.
“If well-implemented, devolution will greatly improve development outcomes of this country, particularly service delivery, human livelihoods, and governance in addition to the other objectives of devolution,” said Muturi.
Muturi further challenged the Governors to utilize the limited resources allocated to their counties in accordance with the principles of public finance to turn the aspirations of devolution into reality.