Friday, 30 May, 2025
Devolution Committee demands full transfer of functions, funds, and legislative alignment
Mombasa CountyFriday, 30th May 2025
The Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations, chaired by Wajir Senator Sheikh Abbas Mohamed, convened a two-day consultative meeting with the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC) in Mombasa to deliberate on the implementation of Kenya Gazette Vol. CXXVI No. 219 dated December 16, 2024.
This Gazette outlines the delineation of functions between the national and county governments, a critical milestone in the journey towards fully realized devolution in Kenya.
During the session, Senator Abbas underscored the importance of the meeting as a constitutional responsibility to evaluate the progress of function transfer and to ensure counties are adequately empowered to perform their mandates.
"This meeting is not just a routine engagement. It is about operationalizing the spirit of devolution,” he stated. He emphasized that it was unacceptable for counties to be given responsibilities without the corresponding resources, legal backing, and technical support required to carry them out efficiently.
IGRTC Chairperson CPA Kithinji Kiragu informed the Committee that the IGRTC had successfully completed the unbundling of devolved functions and published 12 Gazette Notices (Nos. 16472–16483) to delineate responsibilities between the two levels of government.
“We now know what belongs to counties and what the national government must let go of,” Kiragu stated. He added that the focus now shifts to the transfer of resources funds, assets, staff, and programs aligned with these functions.
While the initial costing exercise estimated the transfer to be valued at over Ksh. 272 billion, Kiragu revealed that a review was underway in collaboration with the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA), with completion targeted for September 2025 to inform the 2026/2027 budget.
Senators present raised numerous issues of concern. Senator Mohamed Chute questioned the merger of the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) with the Kenya National Trading Corporation, asserting that it undermined the devolution of agriculture.
He emphasized that national government agencies continue to encroach on county mandates, resulting in duplication and confusion. “The merging of NCPB is a clear disregard of the constitutional imperative to devolve agriculture,” he said.
He also criticized the use of the Housing Levy to fund market construction, arguing that such projects fall squarely within county jurisdiction. “If there were goodwill, the money should go directly to the counties,” Senator Chute noted.
Other senators raised concerns about staffing practices within county governments. Senator Abbas decried rampant nepotism, where individuals with limited experience are appointed to senior positions.
“It defeats the whole purpose of service delivery when counties hire ‘job group R’ graduates simply because they are related to someone powerful,” he said, urging for standardized job grading and deployment systems across counties.
He also emphasized the need for effective capacity-building frameworks to support the implementation of devolved functions.
A major omission noted in the Gazette Notices was the failure to include the function of “control of air pollution, noise pollution, public nuisances, and outdoor advertising,” which is clearly listed under the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution as a county function.
IGRTC acknowledged the oversight and assured the committee that a supplementary gazette notice would soon be published to include the omitted function, following consultation with the Attorney General.
To address systemic legal and policy gaps, the committee made a resolution to convene a broader multi-stakeholder engagement to deliberate the long-awaited Omnibus Bill.
This bill is intended to harmonize over 94 pieces of legislation with the 2010 Constitution and the Intergovernmental Relations Act, thereby streamlining the execution of devolved mandates.
As part of this process, the committee resolved to invite key institutional stakeholders, including the Office of the Attorney General, the State Department for Lands, the State Department for Devolution, the National Treasury, the Council of Governors, and the Commission on Revenue Allocation.
These stakeholders will be expected to deliberate and finalize the Omnibus Bill, which will serve as the legal foundation for the transfer of functions, roles, and resources across all sectors.
The committee also expressed concerns regarding the delay in the transfer of public assets, especially over 400 public buildings whose ownership has not been formalized.
Kiragu responded that IGRTC, in collaboration with the National Land Commission, had begun issuing reservation certificates for unregistered land and assets and expected to initiate formal transfers by June 2025.
Furthermore, senators took issue with the duplication of efforts between national and county governments in areas such as school feeding programs, early childhood education, and the provision of school buses.
These are functions constitutionally assigned to the national government but are increasingly being performed by counties, often without intergovernmental agreements. Kiragu clarified that Article 187 of the Constitution allows for such arrangements, provided they are governed by time-bound, legally binding agreements.
Despite the challenges, IGRTC reiterated its readiness to support the devolution process. “We are not where we were five years ago. The systems are maturing.
With the support of Parliament, we can align policy, law, and resources,” Kiragu affirmed. He stressed that the success of devolution depends on mutual respect, cooperation, and timely funding from the national government.
As the day concluded, the Committee reaffirmed its commitment to conduct county-level visits to assess preparedness for receiving the newly delineated functions and to push for enforceable timelines for function transfer.
They called on the Executive and relevant government bodies to uphold the spirit and letter of the Constitution by ensuring that funding follows functions and that counties are not left to shoulder unfunded mandates.
Senators who joined the meeting virtually were Senator Karungo Thangwa (Kiambu), Senator Peris Tobiko (Nominated), and Senator Prof. Margaret Kamar (Nominated). Each lent their voice to concerns about capacity, legal clarity, and resource sufficiency for counties expected to implement new functions by July 2025.