Governor Arati meets DP Gachagua to forge close working relationship with devolved unit
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua hosts Kisii County Governor Simba Arati at the Harambee House Annex office on January 10, 2023.
Kisii Governor Simba Arati held talks with Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, in his latest move to forge a close working relationship with the Kenya Kwanza administration to enhance service delivery in the devolved unit.
The governor who was elected on an ODM ticket said they discussed a number of issues.
"We are now in a new dispensation and we are keen on forging a bright future for our people. Politics is behind us and it is now time to deliver our promises to our people," said Mr Arati, noting that the political animosity witnessed before the August 2022 polls is now a past thing.
He said they discussed areas of strategic collaboration to promote socio-political agenda between the national and Kisii county government.
The meeting comes just a day after President William Ruto through the first Executive Order of 2023 expanded the DP's roles in national government operations.
The President placed devolution matters in Mr Gachagua's office, making the DP the focal point in the coordination of the country’s 47 counties.
"Today, I hosted the Govenor of Kisii County, Mr Arati, at my office in Harambee Annex for talks on delivering the devolution promise we made to the people of Kenya," said Mr Gachagua on Twitter; speaking of the Tuesday meeting.
Areas of interest
He said that in line with the mandate of coordinating intergovernmental relations between the national and counties as assigned by President Ruto, the two explored areas of interest to focus on development initiatives creating new synergies for better service delivery.
"We discussed realigning our common strategic priorities especially on the fully and partially devolved functions," said the DP.
He noted that devolution remains central to the Kenya Kwanza administration in bringing back dignity to the lives of Kenyans irrespective of their party or political affiliations.
"Kisii County is one of the 48 governments in Kenya, 47 being the devolved units and the other the national government. We cannot afford to be left behind and that is why we met with the DP," Mr Arati told the Nation.
He also noted that late disbursement of county funds was another issue and a summit to be attended by the governors and the top country leadership will give lasting solutions to the issue.
"We have not received disbursement for November and December, yet we are in January. Basically, we cannot do any projects. This is not a problem unique to Kisii County alone, but all the 47 devolved units," said Mr Arati.
