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Governors yesterday criticised the national government for initiating amendments to the County Governments Act, 2012 without involving devolved units.

Instead, the county bosses want the Senate to initiate amendments to the State Corporations Act, 2010 to ensure that it aligns with the devolved system of governance.

They argued that the proposed amendment was critical legislation in the implementation of devolution.

Senators had sought powers to convene and chair county development boards to coordinate projects, a move that the Supreme Court declared unconstitutional.

“We welcome the move to review the Act to conform to the judgment of the Court which declared the County Development Boards unconstitutional, among other critical issues,” said CoG chair Anne Waiguru.

Through her, CoG noted that there was need to undertake a more comprehensive review of the Act to address emerging issues in the course of its implementation since the advent of devolution.

Already the National Government through the State Department for Housing and Urban Development has advised the counties on the implementation of the Markets Development Programme for the next five years.

Devolved function

“The development of markets in the country is a fully devolved function under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution. The programme should be implemented by the respective county governments through the framework of the conditional grant under the law.”

She urged the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development to suspend the pending advertisement tomorrow and the rollout of the project with immediate effect until the modalities of its implementation are agreed upon between the two levels of Government.

The Kirinyaga County Governor charged that the National Government has been attempting to claw back on devolution in areas like markets, housing and lighting among others.

National Government

“We note with concern the continuous attempts by National Government department and agencies, to claw back on devolution, especially on devolved functions such as; markets, housing and lighting, water, provision of fertiliser and seeds in the agricultural sector,” said Waiguru.

While the Council of Governors has continued to embrace the spirit of consultation, the leadership of the Council will engage the respective ministries to address the issues of encroachment on devolved functions.

The council further embraced a decision by the High Court declaring the establishment of the Kenya Tissue and Transplant Authority as illegal.

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta established the Kenya Tissue and Transplant Authority via Legal Notice No 142 of 2022, a move that the governors took to the corridors of justice and won against the State.

“The Council welcomes the recent High Court judgment which declared the establishment of Kenya Tissue and Transplant Authority to be illegal. This is a victory for Devolution as it sets a precedent on the establishment of parastatals that undertake devolved functions vide legal notices,” said Waiguru.

She went on, “We will in due course send the proposed draft amendments for consideration.”

Instead, the governors called upon the senate to initiate amendments to the State Corporations Act, 2010 to ensure that it aligns with the devolved system of governance.

She reiterated that the Devolution Conference will be held in Uasin Gishu County, Eldoret Sports Club from August 15-19, 2023, adding that the Council has developed a robust programme for the three days.

 Waiguru said that they have lined up pre-conference activities such as athletics and football to interact with the members of the public ahead of the conference, adding that the county governments have so far grown 7.3 million trees.

“We will grow, 300 trees in Uasin Gishu County to kick start the conference,” she said.