Two governors vying to succeed their Kirinyaga counterpart Anne Waiguru as chairperson of the Council of Governors (CoG) have outlined their vision for the position should they be elected in the October 7 poll.
Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi (ODM) and his Nyeri counterpart Mutahi Kahiga (UDA) say they will push for early disbursement of funds to counties and ensure full transfer of all devolved functions to save devolution.
Mr Abdullahi said the late disbursement of funds to counties had affected critical services, thereby negatively impacting on the devolution objective.
"I believe that we have a new CS for Finance (John Mbadi) who is very receptive and cordial in his approach. We believe that he is convinced that timely disbursement of funds to counties is actually an integral part of our financial management system," the Wajir governor told the Nation .
He said timely disbursement of funds to counties will help boost local economies and thus generate more revenue and taxes for the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).
"When you delay in paying employees, it affects remittances to KRA as well as pension schemes, which are very important in the financial architecture of counties. Delaying payment to suppliers, who are also taxpayers and have provided goods and services to counties, also affects the local economy. So the disbursement of cash is so critical and has a multiplier effect.
"In fact, if we want to grow our economies and collect more taxes, we should disburse money to counties like yesterday before anything else," said Mr Abdullahi.
Mr Kahiga said he would prioritise enshrining the CoG in law to ensure that it operates within the confines of the constitution to help governors push their agenda for the benefit of counties through a legal framework.
"The COG is not currently enshrined in law. This will be my first priority. We have a lot of devolved functions in health, water, irrigation and agriculture.
"The issue of markets is another that needs serious intervention. Devolution is 11 years old but we are still struggling to unbundle devolved functions," said the Nyeri governor.
Mr Abdullahi, who is also the current CoG Deputy Chairman, also stressed the need to speed up the transfer of all devolved functions to the counties.
"We have raised this several times. This process is with the Inter-Governmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) and there are over 500 functions that have been devolved whose components are yet to be fully transferred to the tune of about Sh270 billion at current costing," the Wajir governor said.
With the money, he said, they will be able to "complete the process of devolution".
"But a lot of work has already been done. We will push to ensure that the process of completing the unbuckling and transfer is completed and becomes a thing of the past," Mr Abdullahi added.
Mr Kahiga said that if elected, he would ensure that all devolved functions are transferred to the counties within the next one year, followed by the necessary funding.
"Late disbursement of county funds has become a perennial challenge for counties as it hampers service delivery," he told the Nation .
He said the council needed to work with the National Treasury to find a lasting solution to the problem.
He also faulted the council's relationship with the national government, describing it as "patronising". He promised to correct this if elected.
"Our engagement with the national government has been somewhat patronising. That is not the way it should be. It is not the national government that gives the counties their fair share. On the contrary, National Government should be a fair arbiter in this matter.
"I intend to create a mechanism for constant engagement between our county CECs and their counterparts in national government ministries to streamline many government programmes," said the Nyeri County boss.
Mr Abdullahi said that even as they eye the chairmanship, "the competition is not cut-throat as whoever becomes the chairperson is only a first among equals".
"It's a voluntary job and it's a pledge to serve because you are serving on behalf of your colleagues, taking your time to be able to move the country forward by being available for intra-governmental consultations, collaborations and relationships," he said, adding that the council is non-partisan.
The Wajir Governor noted that: "Our established tradition is to choose our leadership through consensus."
"So, yes, having been deputy chairman for two years in a row now and being a second term governor who has been faithful to the devolution course, I believe I should offer myself and I have indeed offered myself but the decision rests with the governors.
"Whichever set of leaders they choose through that consensus for a particular period, we will all support them," he said.
Mr Abdullahi added, "There is nothing wrong with as many people as possible volunteering and offering to serve. So it is a duty to serve on behalf of colleagues and the country because there have to be people who take time out of their busy schedules in their counties to serve in various capacities.
"Each and every committee is also important because they deal with different issues that affect the counties because the executive committee has only three people – the chairman, the deputy chairman and a whip."
Mr Abdullahi promised to engage the new National Treasury team to address the issue of disbursement of funds to counties to improve services.
"So we will continue to engage with the new team at the National Treasury, but it is not that our current chairman has not engaged on these things, we have also engaged as a leadership team and we also understand the current financial crisis over issues of the Finance Bill and the delays in finalising the relevant legislation that affects the allocation of revenue to the counties," Mr Abdullahi said.
He said the forthcoming election was not a partisan one as they come from across the political divide and there are also independent governors who have every right to lead.
"Ours is a caucus that is provided for by law as part of the intergovernmental architecture that brings us all together and we choose our leadership in a consensual manner knowing that whoever is given the privilege of serving is in a position of trust with his colleagues."
"So whoever is chosen to be chairman works through consultation. Even the decisions we take are not necessarily the position of the chair, and as chair my positions are subject to what the consensus is."
"So if the majority of my colleagues feel that my position is not right and theirs is right, then I have to subordinate my thoughts and then abide by the consensus decision of the majority because at the end of the day there is nothing personal," the Wajir governor added.
Although the CoG chairperson is an elective post, governors have historically chosen the route of negotiation and consensus to select their leaders, taking into account party affiliation, regional balance and gender.
Previous CoG chairmen in Kenya's history are Isaac Ruto of Bomet (2013-2015), Peter Munya of Meru (2015-2017), Josephat Nanok of Turkana (2017-2019), Wycliffe Oparanya of Kakamega (2019-2021), Martin Wambora of Embu (2021-2022) and now Waiguru of Kirinyaga (2022-2024).
Former Kwale governor Salim Mvurya was elected CoG chairperson in December 2017, but did not complete his one-year term and Mr Nanok took over.
According to an election notice seen by the Nation , this year's polls will be held during an ordinary meeting of the Council of Governors on Monday, October 7, 2024.
The notice, dated September 16, urges prospective candidates to submit their applications for the post by the end of the month.
"The proposed agenda for the meeting is hereby attached for your information and preparation. Also attached is an application form which interested candidates are requested to complete and return by September 30, 2024," the notice reads.
The meeting is expected to consider and approve the region to host the 9th Devolution Conference (2nd Biennial) in 2025.
Apart from the CoG elections, the county chiefs will also participate in the election of the Deputy Chairperson, Whip and chairpersons and members of committees "in accordance with the provisions of section 19(3) of the Intergovernmental Relations Act Cap 265F Laws of Kenya".
