Battle lines drawn as governors meet to elect new CoG leadership
By Rawlings, September 15, 2022
The battle for control of the Council of Governors (CoG) will reach a fever pitch today when the 47 county bosses converge in Mombasa to undergo induction and elect new leaders for a one-year term.
Besides the chair position, deputy and whip, the governors will also lock horns in picking chairpersons of 18 various council committees with some perceived as lucrative.
Council had last year developed a comprehensive induction programme for governors and their deputies.
It follows last month’s election that saw 28 new governors elected to office through a constitutional and democratic process, with eight pioneer county bosses making a comeback while 11 were re-elected.
Council of Governors last month held sensitisation meetings with development partners and Government agencies respectively in a bid to ensure that their views were consolidated and incorporated into the final programme.
“It is my hope that this induction programme will propel implementation of the devolution agenda for the benefit of all Kenyans,” Devolution Principal Secretary Julius Korir said.
The two coalitions of Kenya Kwanza and Azimio will battle it out in picking the next CoG chairperson if consensus is not reached.
Formidable candidate
While Kenya Kwanza is said to have settled on Kirinyaga Governor Ann Waiguru, Azimio is yet to front any formidable candidate.
The meeting is expected to end on Saturday when the governors convene for the inaugural council conference to pick its leaders.
Besides electing the chair and deputy, the governors will also pick committee chairs of Health, Agriculture, Infrastructure and Energy, Urban Development, Planning and Lands, Tourism and Wildlife committees respectively.
County bosses will also pick Water, Forestry and Mining, Trade Industry and Investment, Education, Youth, Sports, Gender and Culture, Finance, Planning and Economic Affairs, Human Resources, Labour and Social Welfare, and Security and Foreign Affairs committees.
Other committees include Legal Affairs, Human Rights, Intergovernmental Relations, Resource Mobilisation, Information Communication Technology and Arid and Semi-Arid Lands.