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There has always been a tussle between the national government and counties over division of roles. Governors have persistently accused the national government of executing what ought to be devolved functions.

The undercurrent is that the national government remains keen to hold onto roles that come with vast resources. Governors also demanded that resources follow the devolved functions in vain.

For instance, it is unclear why the Kenya Rural Roads Authority is domiciled in the national government when rural roads are a county function. The same applies to the Health and Agriculture dockets, where despite the sectors being devolved, the national government has consistently meddled in matters relating to the two and thereby causing all manner of distractions, confusions and malpractices.

And governors are unhappy about it. Only yesterday, governors demanded that money meant for government-subsidised fertiliser be channelled directly as grants to counties to allow the devolved units to separately procure farm input that match their soil types.

But it is not just fertiliser. The national government has often been found menacingly wandering in areas it should not, given that they are devolved matters. Fourteen years since the advent of devolution, citizens should not be groping in the dark on county matters as they still do, given that the implementation process was well laid down.

After the Constitution was adopted in 2010, the State appointed an implementation task force to oversee the transition process for three years. Thereafter, the national government established the Inter-Governmental Relations Authority to resolve emerging teething problems, if not overlapping roles between the two levels of government.

Also created was the Inter-Governmental Budget and Economic Council, which brings together all governors and is chaired by the Deputy President. That is in addition to both the National Assembly and the Senate having Standing Committees on Devolution.

But it would seem all these institutions and their respective office bearers have not been able to dissuade the national government from meddling in the affairs of county governments, thereby stalling development projects and perpetuating grand corruption.

This is not tenable. It has to stop. We agree with the Council of Governors the national government should desist from interfering with the affairs of county governments. Administration and economies in the devolved units should be left to flourish unfettered.