Speaker of the Senate Rt. Hon. Amason Jeffah Kingi, EGH has challenged counties to strive to be independent and avoid over independence from the National Government.

Hon. Kingi who spoke during the official launching of the Devolution Conference in Eldoret said despite several achievements realized courtesy of Devolution in the last 10 years, there is a lot that needs to be done to ensure full implementation of Devolution for the benefit of Kenyans.

“We now expect to see more assertive, accountable, transparent and resilient devolved units that manifest some level of independence from the mother (National Government), we yearn to see Counties aggressively pursue more beneficial partnerships, networks and collaborations; adopt a keen sense of responsibility in pursuit of their goals and objectives, as well as acquire capabilities to make their operations and activities self-sustainable,” said Speaker Kingi.

The Senate Boss appealed to Counties to explore and adopt novel and more innovative ways of raising their own source revenue to avoid over-reliance on the national exchequer advising them to take advantage of regional economic blocs for shared economic opportunities and growth.

He assured the Counties and the country at large that the Senate has displayed and will continue to display its continuous support to Devolution by enacting relevant legislations that enhance devolution.

“An array of proposed new legislation, nearly 40 in number, are currently being processed by the Senate, we expect that upon their enactment, the legislation will enhance capacity of counties to tap into the enormous potential that they have in form of natural resources, inexhaustible renewable energy sources and considerable dynamic and versatile workforce in order to thrive and deliver,” explained Hon. Kingi.

“The Senate remains committed to undertaking responsive, expeditious and timely processing of legislation,” he added.

On dealing with the corruption menace, Speaker Kingi called on Counties to come up with ways that will protect taxpayers' resources from corrupt officers and ensure prudent expenditure of public funds.

“To deepen accountability, which is a key ingredient of good governance, County Governments must be ready to come up with more stringent measures to curb corruption and ensure county resources are used for the intended purposes and for the benefit of wananchi,” said Hon. Kingi

“It would be a big win for Devolution if devolved units moved fast to seal accountability loopholes as periodically flagged by reports of the Office of the Auditor-General,” emphasized Hon. Kingi.

Speaker Kingi used the opportunity to commend President William Ruto and his Administration for their commitment in the implementation of Devolution.

“I commend you, Your Excellency, for walking the talk in bolstering Devolution, your resolute commitment to enhancing development at the grassroot by rallying the 47 counties to work in a participatory and harmonious manner with the bottom-up developmental model, with the sole aim of meeting the expectations of Kenyans,” commended Speaker Kingi.

“As the Senate, and Parliament at large, we appreciate the priority accorded to Bills presented to your office for assent, notably the Equalization Fund Appropriation Act 2023, County Allocation of Revenue Act 2023 and the County Governments Additional Allocation (Conditional Grants) Act 2022,” he submitted.

In conclusion, Speaker Kingi appealed to all the stakeholders to join hands in ensuring that the dreams of Devolution are fully realized as intended by the 2010 Kenyan Constitution.