Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has praised President William Ruto for improving relations between the national and county governments, saying the country has made significant progress in implementing devolution 15 years after its introduction.
Kindiki said devolution had initially been characterised by competition, conflict and confrontation as different levels of government struggled to adjust to the new system.
“When devolution was introduced into our governance structure, it started with a lot of difficulties. There was a lot of competition, conflict and confrontation,” Kindiki said.
He spoke on Tuesday during the National and County Government Coordinating Summit at State House, Nairobi.
He said the challenges experienced in the early years were part of the learning process as the country sought to understand and operationalise the devolved system of government.
“Fifteen years later, we have a much better working relationship and a much better system,” he said.
Kindiki credited Ruto with helping to strengthen cooperation between national and county governments and improving coordination among institutions supporting devolution.
He said he had personally benefited from the improved relations in his role as Deputy President and chairman of the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC).
“I am a beneficiary, as your Deputy, of that perfection because I have enjoyed tremendous goodwill from our colleagues in the Council of Governors and the heads of independent offices,” he said.
The DP also commended outgoing Council of Governors chairman and Wajir Governor Ahmed Abdullahi for fostering cooperation between governors and the national government.
“Governor Ahmed, we wish you well as you exit, and we hope that your successor will advance the ideals of the Council,” Kindiki said.
He said the Summit should remain focused on high-level policy decisions, with technical and operational matters handled through sector forums and other intergovernmental structures.
“The Summit is not the place to do technical, professional and operational work,” Kindiki said.
He identified health, agriculture, and trade and investment as among the sectors where cooperation between the two levels of government had yielded progress.
Kindiki particularly praised the health sector forum, saying it was the most successful, while also citing progress in agriculture and trade and investment through County Aggregation and Industrial Parks (CAIPs).
He urged the government to strengthen sector forums to reduce the workload of the Summit and enable it to concentrate on strategic policy matters.
The DP also praised Ruto for regularising Summit meetings, noting that the Constitution requires the forum to meet at least twice every year.
“In the early days of devolution, the meetings of the Summit were not very regular; they were a bit haphazard,” Kindiki said.
“Once more, because of your leadership, we are now sure, as the law requires, that at least twice a year, the Summit meetings are being held regularly.”
Kindiki said continued cooperation would help improve devolution, which he described as the “crown jewel” of Kenya’s Constitution.
