By CAROLINE VICINI

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A decade ago, with the new constitution, Kenya embarked on the path of devolution, which has transformed in fundamental ways its governance and service delivery landscape.  Commemorating this milestone, at the Kenya Devolution Conference themed ‘10 Years of Devolution,’ an opportunity is provided to reflect on the impact of devolution, its challenges, and the pathways for the future.

This pivotal occasion invites us not only to consolidate the remarkable achievements, but also to candidly confront the remaining challenges.  Noting the urgency of accelerating the efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030, it is imperative that we chart the way forward with bold and forward-looking interventions.

Kenya’s devolution process significantly ushered in an era of progressive democratisation and expanded political space, thanks to the decentralization of power and resources.

Governance related surveys conducted over the last five years revealed that 73 percent of citizens feel that Kenya is doing better now as compared to the pre-devolution era.

From a development perspective, the decentralisation of power and resources has empowered county governments and local communities to harness unique strengths and resources in their counties, helping to foster self-reliance. Various surveys also indicate improvements in service delivery for devolved sectors such as health, early childhood development, water, sanitation and agriculture, promoting inclusive growth and equity across Kenya. Furthermore, during the Covid-19 pandemic, the devolution dividend highlighted its service delivery capabilities accruing from improved health facilities - the number of county health facilities increased by 34 percent between 2013 and 2018.

However, devolution is not a panacea for all governance or service delivery related issues – getting devolution to work requires systematic effort.

It is important to reflect on challenges and the opportunities the decade of implementation has provided. Disparities in economic, health and education outcomes between counties are, despite improvements, still huge. To give a few examples, maternal mortality varies from 187 to as high as 3,795 per 100,000 births, and health workers density ranges from 3.4 to 24 per 10,000 population. For devolution to deliver on its promise to promote social and economic development and the provision of proximate, easily accessible services throughout Kenya (Article 174 of the Constitution) these inequalities need to be urgently addressed and resources redistributed. Investing in adequate and disaggregated data and evidence is imperative to build a more fair and equitable future society.

County human resources management systems are another challenging area that requires attention and improvement to ensure equitable service delivery. Although devolution has resulted in a significant increase of frontline service delivery staff in the harder to reach and historically underserved areas across the country, the weaknesses in human resource management systems undermine the capacity development, morale, and performance of personnel in many counties. More effective mechanisms for oversight of county level human resource management frameworks need to be put in place to guarantee equal service delivery in all counties.

The establishment of a fiscal framework for sharing revenues between the national and county governments and own source revenue generation has brought fundamental realignment of national resources, yet financing services and critical infrastructure, including through own source revenue, remains a challenge that needs to be addressed for devolution to reach its full potential. The Constitution assigns significant functional responsibilities to county governments but they currently only account for 15 percent of the total national budget, which is not enough to guarantee high-quality delivery of services devolved to the counties.

Devolution has empowered citizens through various mechanisms, such as county budget economic forums, project management committees, but the engagement in broader governance and service delivery issues still requires improvement particularly for youth, women, and marginalised groups. The increased representation of women – exemplified by the election of seven female governors in 2022, three senators, 115 county assembly members and 26 members of parliament – is an improvement, but addressing meaningful inclusion demands sustained attention and action. Further, fostering horizontal accountability is crucial, particularly through the county assemblies and the people themselves via innovative channels such as social audits and enhanced structures for public participation.

Climate change integration is essential for a sustainable future and devolution provides an opportunity for counties to enhance climate actions at the local level. Collaboration with international partners and the private sector to bolster climate finance is crucial aligning with Kenya’s progressive Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) update submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

In the rapidly evolving world, devolution offers a platform for innovation and adaptation to suit emerging development needs.

Reaching the next level of devolution requires a strategic and collaborative effort from all stakeholders.

Embracing climate action, adopting inclusive digitalisation transformation, enhancing transparency and accountability, and combatting corruption while ensuring proper funding for devolutions success are key opportunities.

By harnessing these directions of transformative change, Kenya can unlock the full potential of devolution and embrace the way for a brighter, greener, inclusive, equitable and sustainable future for all its citizens.

Looking at the future, several key driving forces will shape the success of devolution. Collaboration between the Government of Kenya, Council of Governors (CoG), and international development partners including the United Nations will continue to prioritise deepening of institutional capacities and capabilities.

Organisations like the CoG play a crucial role in promoting visionary leadership, sharing of best practices, encourage and initiate information sharing on the performance in execution of devolved functions. The success of devolution will be further bolstered by a commitment to continuously learn from experiences – within and outside Kenya – on how to improve the delivery of equitable and high-quality public services with the citizens at the centre, leaving no one behind.

Let the marking of a decade of devolution in Kenya be a clarion call to build even stronger partnerships through a whole of government and whole of society approach for transformative outcomes leaving no one behind.

By:

• Caroline Vicini - Swedish Ambassador to Kenya
• Anne Waiguru - Governor of Kirinyaga County and Chairperson of the Council of Governors
• Anthony Ngororano - Resident Representative of UNDP Kenya