Sh20b World Bank grant to sponsor training on thorny devolution issues

Governors Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega) and Josphat Nanok (Turkana) in the last day of the 2nd Devolution Conference at Tom Moya Labour College in Kisumu on April 23, 2015. County staff are set to be trained on areas that have posed enormous challenges to the success of devolution. PHOTO | TOM OTIENO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Each county will receive the first instalment of Sh30 million next month, for organisational and system development, technical assistance, peer learning, purchase of equipment and training.
  • The trainings will focus on public finance management, planning, monitoring and evaluation human resource management, devolution and inter-governmental relations and civic education to enhance public participation.

County staff are set to be trained on areas that have posed enormous challenges to the success of devolution through a four year Sh20 billion grant from the World Bank.

Each county will receive the first instalment of Sh30 million next month, for organisational and system development, technical assistance, peer learning, purchase of equipment and training.

In response to fears that the funds might be misappropriated, Devolution Principal Secretary Mwanamaka Mabruki said the auditor general has been mandated to audit the programme to ensure value for money.

In subsequent years, counties may receive from Sh50 million and up to Sh900 million in support of implementation of projects contained in the County Integrated Development plans, depending on their performance.

“We shall give counties targets and capacity to perform. They will get additional funding based on their performance,” Ms Mabruki said yesterday during the launch of the Kenya Devolution Support Programme, in Nairobi.

Though it was optional, governors from all the 47 counties signed up for the programme that will be coordinated by the devolution ministry while the National Treasury will be in-charge of the funds.

Counties will receive 80 per cent (Sh16 billion) of the funds leaving only 20 per cent (Sh4 billion) for the national government to strengthen devolution.

The trainings will focus on public finance management, planning, monitoring and evaluation human resource management, devolution and inter-governmental relations and civic education to enhance public participation.

This follows concerns that the biggest threat to devolution is breach of the law that has resulted to misappropriation of funds disbursed to counties.

Many counties have continued to generate little revenue compared to what the defunct local authorities collected, raising concerns that county governments have not been able to seal revenue leakages.

Director General at the Kenya School of Government, Dr Ludeki Chweya said the trainings are critical, given that devolution is a new system of governance in Kenya.