Assessment Of The Implementation Of The System Of Devolved Government

Publisher	Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC)
Year of Publication	2014
Category	Report
County	All/General
Description	The Constitution of Kenya (CoK, 2010) seeks to transform the way we govern and manage our society. As such, a central tenet of the Constitution is the implementation of the system of devolved Government. In implementing this system, the Constitution in Articles 174 and 175 envisions the power of selfgovernance by the people and their enhanced participation in decision-making. In addition, the Constitution requires proximate and easily accessible service delivery for the benefit of the people of Kenya. In this regard, the Constitution envisages that the implementation of the system of devolved government will focus on empowerment, equity, prudent use of public resources and enhanced service delivery. It has now been a year since the operationalization of County Governments following the elections held on the 4th March 2013. In line with its mandate, CIC undertook an assessment of the status of the implementation of the system of devolved government and has developed this report for the People of Kenya. From the assessment, it is clear that commendable progress has been realized in the operationalization of the system of devolved governance. To a great extent, the key institutional structures and systems in the County Executives and County Assemblies have been established to enhance service delivery. However, there are substantive challenges, which if not addressed will severely compromise the success of the system of devolved government in Kenya. Key in this regard are incongruent policy, legal and institutional frameworks that are clawing back on the devolution of power, resources and functions. The second major challenge faced, is the politicization of the implementation process as evidenced in the current trend of impeaching or threatening to impeach Governors, Speakers and members of the County Executive Committees. In order for Kenya to realize the desired transformation, the people of Kenya need to proactively work together. I therefore take this opportunity to urge all implementing partners including the people of Kenya to pursue full implementation in both the letter and Spirit of the Constitution. As this report reflects, this will require that we prioritize as well as relentlessly focus on fundamental and sustainable legal, institutional and service delivery reforms to ensure that the objects of Kenyas system of devolved government are actualized. Let us individually and collectively work towards inclusion in governance and decision making; equitable sharing of resources; responsive leadership; a society based on values and ethics and a country where there is enhanced service delivery to ourselves and to our future generations. It is our hope that this report and the experiences and observations it records, will make a contribution to this process.
Tags	Counties / General
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