NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 23 – Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has dismissed any fears of backtracking on country’s devolution journey, declaring that the system is now too deeply entrenched to be reversed.
Speaking during the 27th Ordinary Session of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) held at his official residence in Karen, Kindiki said devolution had become a permanent feature of governance architecture and emphasized that both the national and county governments must work in harmony to improve service delivery.
“Nobody has the capacity to roll back devolution. It is so strong that no one has the ability to claw back the gains already made in its implementation,” he said.
The Deputy President, who chairs the IBEC, pointed out that the country had made significant progress in ensuring timely disbursement of funds to the counties.
He affirmed that the National Treasury was up to date with disbursements, save for June’s allocation, which he assured would be released on time.
“We have done well in disbursement of allocations to the counties. We don’t have any pending allocations apart from June’s, which will be released on time,” Kindiki stated.
The Deputy President emphasized that devolution is not a contest but a partnership insisting that the country’s Constitution envisions one sovereign government operating through two mutually reinforcing levels.
“The Constitution establishes one government but with executive authority to be exercised in two levels: national and county governments. These two levels shouldn’t compete against each other but cooperate and work seamlessly in moving the country forward,” he said.
While acknowledging that tensions and disagreements were inevitable in a devolved system, Kindiki urged for perspective and maturity in resolving disputes between the two levels of government.
He compared the country’s experience to that of more established federal democracies.
“It is normal to have disputes and differences between the two levels. Even countries that have had devolved systems for over 180 years like Australia still have wrangles on allocations of money and push and pull on how much to be shared and what to remain at the centre,” he noted.
The devolved system came into effect with the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, with operational implementation beginning in 2013.
The Deputy President said that while the system is still young, the country has made considerable progress.
“For a 15-year-old system like ours, we have done well, and we will continue to improve, quickly resolve differences for better service delivery to the people,” he stated.
The IBEC session brought together top government officials, including Cabinet Secretaries, governors, and representatives from the Council of Governors, to deliberate on fiscal planning and coordination between the two levels of government.
Governors led by Council of Governors Chairman Ahmed Abdullahi, Cabinet Secretaries; John Mbadi (National Treasury and Economic Planning), Aden Duale (Health) and Mutahi Kagwe (Agriculture) were in attendance.
Principal Secretaries including Micheal Lenasalon (Devolution), Dr. Ouma Oluga (Medical Services), Mary Muthoni (Public Health), and Kipronoh Ronoh (Agriculture) were present.
Also present was Controller of Budget Dr. Margaret Nyakang’o, Mary Wanyonyi (Chairperson, Commission on Revenue Allocation – CRA), Kithinji Kiragu (Chairman, Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee- IGRTC) and Dr. Gabriel Lagat (Head, IBEC) present.
