Anne Waiguru picked as new Council of Governors Chair
The newly-elected chairperson of the Council of Governors Ms Anne Waiguru makes her statement at the end of the three-day Governors and Deputy Governors Induction Conference in Mombasa on September 17, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Wajir Governor Abdullahi Ahmed picked as the council's vice-chairperson while Stephen Sang as the chief whip.
- The positions were agreed on by consensus.
- The leaders were chosen Saturday after a three-day induction for the newly elected governors and their deputies in Mombasa.
Kirinyaga Governor Anne Waiguru has been picked as the Council of Governor's chair.
Her Wajir counterpart Abdullahi Ahmed was picked as the council's vice-chairperson while Stephen Sang as the chief whip.
Waiguru was Saturday picked by consensus as the CoG chairperson after intense lobbying which threatened to tear the lobby apart.
The county bosses resorted to a consensus after it emerged a secret ballot election would have divided the lobby group.
In her maiden speech, Governor Waiguru promised to steer the council so that it continues to be non-partisan and ensure all counties flourish.
She also said the council would push for timely disbursement of county funds in accordance with the law.
Ms Waiguru said county bosses will seek to anchor the Council of Governor's secretariat in law as well as a review of policies in the water and health sectors that claw back the gains of devolution.
Additionally, she lamented that counties are still underfunded to enable them to deliver more and better services.
The council also selected the chairpersons for various committees as below.
- Finance and Planning - Fernades Barasa
- Health - Muthomi Njuki
- Agriculture- Kenneth Lusaka
- Water and Forestry - Andrew Mwadime
- Lands, Housing – Anyang Nyong’o
- Education - Eric Mutai
- Legal Affairs - Mutula Kilonzo
- Gender, Youth - Samuel Kachapin
- Blue Economy - Issa Timamy
- Energy, Roads - Kimani Wamatangi
- Arid and semi-arid - Nathif Jama
- Resource mobilisation - Cecily Mbarire
- ICT - Wisly Rotich
- Trade and Industry - Wavinya Ndeti
- Human Resource and Labour - Johnson Sakaja
- Tourism and Wildlife - Patrick ole Ntutu
President William Ruto has committed to enhancing devolution by accelerating the transfer of outstanding functions to counties.
“To promote budget efficiency and minimise disruptions and delays in devolved service delivery, my administration commits to take necessary measures to secure the timely disbursement of revenue allocations to county governments,” he said on Tuesday.
In the August 9 General Election, 28 new governors were elected, eight pioneer ones made a comeback and 11 were re-elected.
Water, health and infrastructure have been some of the biggest success stories of devolution, and they have had the greatest impact on people’s lives.
According to the Fourth Schedule of the constitution, which outlines counties’ mandates, the governments are responsible for planning, licensing businesses, transport and controlling air pollution, among others.
According to the CoG secretariat, the development of the induction began in 2021 and has been a widely consultative process.
