NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 12 – The seventh Annual Devolution Conference slated to take place from 23rd to 26th August will proceed as planned, the Council of Governors said on Thursday.
The conference will be held at Makueni Boys High School and the theme is centered on multi-level governance for climate action.
The Council of Governors’ affirmation allayed earlier speculations that the conference would be postponed over COVID-19 fears, after the government imposed a ban on all gatherings.
Already, pre-conference activities have been initiated including planting of 1,999,999 trees in the counties of Makueni, Machakos, Kitui, Embu and Kajiado.
President Uhuru Kenyatta is expected to plant the 2 millionth tree, to signify unity, strength and prosperity of devolution.
“The 7th and final Annual Devolution Conference will be held from 23rd and 26th August, 2021 in Makueni County,” stated CoG.
As part of measures to ensure safety during the conference, the Council’s Vice Chairperson James Ongwae and Devolution Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, in a joint statement, said that the Ministry of Health is working towards ensuring strict adherence of the COVID-19 containment protocols.
They also announced that all the all the 1,000 devolution conference delegates have been vaccinated, as part of measures to contain the virus.
The Council said a mass vaccination exercise had also been rolled out in Makueni County, alongside a vaccination drive at the Council’s offices to ensure that all registered delegates are fully vaccinated.
“Strict protocols will be adhered to including screening of the COVID-19 certificates at the conference. In line with this, there will be no onsite registration. Further, the online registration will be closed on 17 th August 2021,” the statement read.
Makueni County government is expected to enhance its emergency support by increasing their ICU and HDU bed capacity.
“We want to assure Kenyans that we have taken all necessary precautions to ensure that we deliver a safe and secure World Class Conference that will address the issues on climate change,” the organizers affirmed in a joint statement .
