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State to finish transferring functions to counties by end of February

President William Ruto and Council of Governors chair Anne Waiguru during the Annual Devolution Conference in Uasin Gishu County on August 16, 2023. (Photo: NMG)

By Apollo Ochieng | Tuesday, February 6, 2024

Functions estimated at Sh275 billion said to belong to counties are still under the national government.

The transfer of functions to counties is expected to be completed by the end of February, ending years of protracted battles between governors and the national government.

The Inter-Governmental Technical Relations Committee (IGTRC ) on Monday said it has begun mapping out all county functions still under the national government to facilitate the transfer.

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The process, IGTRC Chief Executive Officer Kipkurui Chepkwony said, will pave the way for the complete transfer of all functions to counties.

"Towards the end of last year, we had done a legal notice of the 14 functions and resources that were to be transferred to counties, then there emerged a need for further consultation," he said, explaining the delay.

"By the end of the month, we are hoping that the summit chaired by the President will convene afresh for us to report on the finalisation of the transfer of functions and have the report adopted to complete the process," Chepkwony said in an interview on Citizen TV.

County governments currently perform functions such as agriculture, health, early childhood development and education, vocational training, water supply, waste management, and community development.

However, functions with an estimated value of Sh275 billion, said to belong to counties, are still under the national government, according to a report released by the Council of Governors last year.

The functions yet to be transferred are in categories including agriculture (41 functions valued at Sh105 billion), transport (51 functions valued at Sh51 billion), and education (52 functions).

Chepkwony said the transfer will also unlock additional funding to counties to address project and service delivery delay complaints by governors.

The transfer will also help resolve the duplication of roles between the two levels of government.

"Once we have done costing based on the functions transferred or identified for transfer, we need to also work closely with the Commission on Revenue Allocation to properly cost the functions," Chepkwony said.

He said that after discussions with the CRA, a report will be submitted to the to the Inter-Governmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC) for review and adoption.