By Eddah Waithaka
The Kenya Devolution Civil Society Organisations Working Group is demanding that President William Ruto honor his pledges to devolve essential functions to county governments. “Kenya’s public health sector is in turmoil, with primary healthcare services deteriorating due to unfulfilled promises and administrative bottlenecks,” read the press statement.
With Ruto having twice backtracked on transferring crucial devolved responsibilities, the failure to allocate an estimated Sh271 billion to county administrations has left local governments struggling to address the urgent health needs of their constituents, exacerbating the suffering of millions.
Cornelius Oduor from the Kenya Human Rights Commission and Diana Gichengo, Executive Director of The Institute for Social Accountability (TISA), led the group of lobbyists who expressed deep concern over the state of Kenya’s public health sector. They highlighted that primary healthcare services have significantly declined, attributing this deterioration to unkept promises and persistent administrative hurdles that have plagued the system.
“President William Ruto has twice reneged on his promise to transfer devolved functions to county governments, which, had it been done, at least Sh271 billion would have gone to counties to alleviate the suffering people face,” said Oduor.
Oduor stated that the national government continues to maintain control over certain responsibilities, even though the constitution requires the empowerment of county governments to manage devolved healthcare functions. He emphasized that this situation puts millions of Kenyans at risk of preventable diseases due to compromised access to essential healthcare services.
“But it is not just healthcare, other sectors have also been affected, with infrastructure lying in ruins, because the national government is hoarding funds and functions that the county should be running,” he added.
Read Also :https://switchmedianews.wordpress.com/2024/12/03/kalonzo-calls-for-urgent-action-needed-on-iebc-reforms-as-elections-loom/
Additionally, Gichengo noted that although the defunct Transition Authority had transferred all devolved functions to county governments, the national government has held onto responsibilities previously managed by regional development authorities, including the Kenya Forest Service, the Water Resources Management Authority, and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority. “President Ruto’s first promise to transfer these functions within 90 days occurred on August 15, 2023 during the devolution conference held in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County,” said Gichengo.
The team stated that the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) followed the directives effectively. The IGRTC spearheaded the technical processes to clearly define and separate functions, along with assessing their historical costs. “Having completed the task in time, the IGRTC published the information in a special gazette notice No. 16170 Vol. CXXV-No.251 on November 27, 2023.”
Evans Kibet from the Kenya Devolution Civil Society Organisations Working Group stated that the plan aimed to transfer an additional Sh271 billion to county governments, calculated based on fully costed functions.
This proposal was initially published in a gazette notice. However, it was later withdrawn through another gazette notice—Vol. CXXV-No. 257—issued on December 8, 2023, without any explanation provided.
“On December 18, 2023, during the 10th meeting of the national and county governments coordinating summit, the President, again, announced a new 60-day timeline for transferring the devolved functions, pushing the deadline to February 2024,” said Kibet.
Kibet elaborated that the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC), in collaboration with the State Department for Devolution, conducted a technical consultation process.
This initiative engaged several task teams and resulted in the drafting of legal notices that specified all functions assigned to county governments under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, paving the way for the formal transfer of outstanding functions.
He also pointed out that this process involved reviewing and recommending amendments to 94 relevant pieces of legislation across various sectors, which were compiled into an omnibus Bill.
“These documents were submitted to the Office of the Attorney General in July 2024 and have since not been published. Consequently, the presidential directives on the transfer of the devolved functions have remained a mere promise,” added Kibet.
The civil societies raised concerns about President Ruto’s dedication to making devolution successful.
