The Senate has initiated various measures aimed at addressing challenges affecting the operations of County Governments. These efforts were highlighted during the Senate Midterm Retreat held in Naivasha, Nakuru County.

During the event, Senator Catherine Mumma participated as a panelist in a discussion focused on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations. She informed participants that the Senate is actively processing legislations designed to mitigate the challenges hindering the effective implementation of devolution.

Sen. Mumma also urged the National Government and its departments to uphold the constitutional requirement of intergovernmental collaboration emphasizing that it should not be perceived as a competition.

“The National Government should not take a constitutional requirement to collaborate as a form of competition,” she stated.

Addressing the issue of county bursaries, Sen. Mumma made a clarification stating that the required resources should come from the National Government if there is any agreement for counties to do so ensuring that funds meant for devolved functions under the equitable share are not diverted.

The Council of Governors, represented by Nandi County Governor Stephen Sang had earlier appealed to the Senate to intervene in resolving challenges such as delays in fund disbursement, bureaucratic obstacles created by the Controller of Budget’s office and the National Government’s reluctance to devolve funds designated for county functions.

In support of the Senate’s initiatives, the County Assemblies Forum Secretary General, Chege Mwaura commended the ongoing legislative efforts aimed at strengthening County Assemblies. He further urged the Senate to establish clear mechanisms to delineate financial allocations for both the executive and County Assemblies. This, he noted, would help resolve frequent conflicts over the limited funds disbursed to counties.

Other key participants in the discussion included representatives from the State Department for Devolution and the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGTRC).

Additionally, the retreat featured discussions on the Senate’s oversight function. Dr. Johnson Okello, Director of Legal Services and Mr. Daniel Ngumbao, Deputy Director of Finance and Accounting Services provided insights on the function.

The discussions were chaired by Sen. Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi) and nominated Sen. Peris Tobiko, reinforcing the Senate’s commitment to improving county operations through legislative and oversight interventions.