REPUBLIC OF KENYA

THE PRESIDENCY
MINISTRY OF DEVOLUTION AND PLANNING
SPEECH BY ANNE WAIGURU, OGW CABINET SECRETARY, MINISTRY
OF DEVOLUTION AND PLANNING DURING THE SECOND ANNUAL
CONFERENCE ON DEVOLUTION ON THE 21ST OF APRIL 2015 AT TOM
MBOYA LABOR COLLEGE, KISUMU.
Your Excellency Hon. Uhuru Kenyatta CGH - President and
Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya,
Governors present,
Cabinet Secretaries present,
Senators present,
Honorable Members of Parliament present,
Members of County Assemblies,
Distinguished Guests,
Ladies and Gentlemen.
May I take this opportunity to welcome you to the second annual devolution
conference whose overall theme is CELEBRATING DEVOLUTION. This theme
was deliberately chosen in recognition of the fact that life is all about the
journey, and that means that every step, as well as reaching our destination,
is part of our journey. Celebrating at a crucial anniversary is recognition of a
life well lived and well worked.

Looking back at the second anniversary of devolution gives us plenty of cause

for celebration: devolution has gained a lot of ground and is now an
indispensable part of our social and political infrastructure, the economy is
booming, business optimism is high, infrastructure projects are in high gear
and there is a general feeling that the country is on the right trajectory.
However, this is not the story we often hear. Where devolution is concerned,
we have often heard a negative story, a story of inter-governmental turmoil
and suspicion. But those of us who walk this journey of devolution, know that
this is not the full story - this is not even the true story. While there are some
teething challenges, and a process of institutional repositioning, the successes
far outweigh the challenges. One of my favourite authors Chimamanda
Adichie, so eloquently takes us on a journey of retelling our stories, in her
books (The Half of a Yellow Sun; Purple Hibiscus; The Thing Around Your
Neck and Americanah) she retells the story of living through the Biafran war
in Nigeria; or describes the daily life of African immigrants to the US amongst
other stories. She shows us that how the story is told, not only influences our
belief of history, but also impacts on our perspectives of the future.

In her now widely syndicated TED talk series The danger of a single story,
she describes this even more aptly, The single story creates stereotypes, and
the problem with stereotypes is not that they are untrue, but that they are
incomplete. They make one story become the only story. She further
contends that the danger of a single story is that it robs people of their
dignity, and flattens our reality.
The 2nd Devolution Conference therefore is an opportunity for us to tell other
stories about devolution that many out there are not hearing yet. It helps us
move away from creating a stereotype of the Devolution process in Kenya. It
helps us understand that there is no linear process in a political process such
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as this; it is a multi-layering of processes with different facets of engagement.

As such no one single story can explain devolution.

Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,

On August 27th 2010, Kenyans witnessed the promulgation of new
Constitution. In response to the peoples expectations of greater democracy,
human rights and accountability of the government to its citizens, the
Constitution ushered in a new republic with expanded, transparent political
and economic structures, including devolution to forty-seven counties.
Overnight, the country created 47 county executives and 47 county
assemblies with devolved power and resources and the transition has been
more or less seamless. That is no small feat.
Ordinary Kenyans seem to appreciate this as evidenced by a recent opinion
poll by Ipsos Synovate that showed that more than two-thirds of Kenyans
support devolution which is an objective indicator of the support that
devolution and its implementation continue to enjoy.
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,
The Ministry of Devolution and Planning was established to amongst other
functions coordinate policy decisions aimed at supporting the devolution
process. Towards this end, there have been various notable achievements in
the implementation of this mandate.
First, the transfer of functions from National to County governments was
accomplished through Legal Notice No. 137, which ensured that county
governments could effectively assume their responsibilities and had the
requisite authority to meet their mandates. As a Ministry we facilitated the
establishment and operations of the County operational units including the
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County Executives and Assemblies through the provision of adequate financial

resources - Kshs 210 Billion in 2013/14, Kshs 226 Billion in 2014/15 and a
projected Kshs 283 Billion in 2015/16; human resources in the form of
transitional teams and staff seconded from the national government to the
Counties; and finally through provision of the necessary infrastructure (e.g
physical facilities for administrative and logistical purposes).
Secondly, in line with the provisions of the inter-governmental Coordination
Act, 2012, as the Ministry responsible for inter-governmental affairs, we have
continued

to

provide

technical

support

to

the

Inter-governmental

Coordinating Summit. We have also facilitated the establishment of other

Inter-Governmental mechanisms, including the Inter-Governmental Sectoral
Forums, which provide a forum for discussing sectoral policy matters relevant
to both national and county governments. Following the decision by the
Intergovernmental coordination Summit, we have now gazetted the members
of

the

Intergovernmental

Technical

Committee,

which

will

manage

intergovernmental coordination matters.

Thirdly, in line with the functions outlined in schedule 4 of the Constitution,
the Ministry has developed the National Capacity Building Framework and a
framework for Civic Education. Some of the key programs in the areas of
capacity development for the Counties have included the training of officers
from all the 47 counties on Human Resource Management and Public
Financial Management; we have also conducted induction for the County
Executive Committees in more than 30 Counties. Civic Education will enable
Kenyans better understand the Devolution process, and the processes of
planning and public financial management, to ensure that they can effectively
participate

in

these

governance

processes,

and

make

meaningful

contributions.
Fourthly, the Ministry is in the final stages of finalizing the Devolution Policy
to reflect the comments from the stakeholder engagement process. In

addition, we have also developed model laws for the counties awaiting
dissemination of the same this quarter.
Fifth, in cooperation with the County Governments, the Ministry is
implementing the Capacity Assessment and Rationalisation Programme. This
includes

comprehensive

skills

and

competencies

assessment

and

institutional review that will ensure that skills are matched to mandates. One
aspect of this programme was the biometric data capture exercise which
registered existing and newly recruited civil servants at both level of
government. The report of the same will soon be finalized and released.
Your Excellency, Ladies and Gentlemen,
In conclusion, may I reiterate my personal appreciation and that of my
Ministry to you, your Excellency the President and His Excellency the Deputy
President for their unwavering support for devolution. The successful
implementation of the devolved system of Government is indeed a collective
responsibility of all of us. As the Cabinet Secretary responsible for Devolution,
I have no doubt whatsoever that the devolved system of government is on
course. With the support of all stakeholders and in the spirit of cooperation
and consultation we shall succeed in addressing any teething problems that
were bound to emerge.

Your Excellency in reaffirming my Ministrys commitment to supporting

devolution, I would wish to paraphrase the words of Franklin Roosevelt to
assure you that our hand is the steadier for the work that is to be done, that
we move more firmly into the task, knowing that you, Your Excellency, the
Council of Governors, other Stake holders, and other well-meaning citizens
are joined in the resolve to make devolution a success.
I thank You all.