Devolution Conference: A real waste of resources with no tangible results
By Mabonga Makhanu, August 13, 2025It has been over 11 years since the first Devolution Conference was held. This came after a joint decision by the Council of Governors in collaboration with various state and non-state actors in 2014, where they agreed to create a forum for county heads and other stakeholders of devolution to reflect on the progress, challenges, and opportunities of the system.
Devolution, as constitutionally designed, was meant to decentralise power, with resources being disbursed to 47 county units to bring services closer to the people. However, all these conferences seem to yield no tangible results and have become avenues where public funds are wasted and misappropriated.
Purpose of the conference
The other aim of the Devolution Conference was to provide county heads with a platform to discuss the progress of devolution. It was agreed that the conference would be held every two years in different countries on a rotational basis.
The forum was meant to allow county heads to benchmark, exchange ideas, and engage in peer-to-peer discussions on matters of devolution.
But since its inception in 2014, when the first conference was held in Kwale, there has been no visible outcome. There is no development that any governor, past or present, can claim as a direct result of a devolution conference.
No governor can say that attending such a conference inspired or equipped them to resolve a long-standing problem in their county, such as improving road infrastructure or other pressing issues.
Millions spent, nothing to show
Nothing meaningful has ever come from these meetings, despite over five conferences being held and millions of shillings being spent on them. From the planning stages to the event itself, large sums are wasted.
Days before the conferences, banners, placards, and adverts run across all media stations announcing the event as if it were a national holiday when in reality, it is something that should only be communicated to relevant stakeholders. In 2023, the Devolution Conference held in Eldoret brought the entire city to a standstill.
Each billboard displayed information about the conference, and every street light bore the names and photos of governors and senators. This was merely part of the preparations. Then comes the pre-devolution conference, which takes place about two days before the main event, another needless expense.
The only slightly meaningful pre-conference activity was in Homa Bay, which featured a 48-hour hackathon and skating events graced by the governor – at least something with potential impact.
But everything else remains unnecessary. Most of the issues governors discuss at these conferences are never implemented. They produce files and reports that end up gathering dust on shelves.
Do challenges need a conference?
Many of the challenges facing counties do not require a conference to address. What is needed is for governors to enforce existing laws and eliminate wastage of public funds. If this is done, more resources will be available to tackle pressing county issues.
The major problem affecting counties is underfunding or lack of resources, something that could easily be addressed if the money wasted on unnecessary events like these conferences were redirected to meaningful projects.
If there is any urgent matter to be addressed, it should be done in a one-day meeting without unnecessary preceding events. Currently, far too much goes into organising the Devolution Conference.
Governors and their staff have to be paid allowances to attend, and costs for accommodation, transport, and entertainment must be covered, not forgetting the allowances for other stakeholders like MCAs and senators. All this expenditure for a week-long event, when calculated in total, runs into millions of shillings.
The problems affecting devolution are mostly misappropriation of funds; even if hundreds of these conferences are held without going for the specific issue, there is nothing that will be solved