REMARKS BY HON. MWANGI KIUNJURI, MGH, CABINET SECRETARY
FOR DEVOLUTION AND PLANNING AT THE HANDING OVER
CEREMONY BY THE TRANSITION AUTHORITY
Principal Secretaries
Senior Government Officials
Development Partners
Chairman, Transition Authority
Vice-Chairperson of the Intergovernmental Relations Technical
Committee
Members of the TA and IGRTC
Distinguished Guests
Ladies and Gentlemen
I am delighted to be here today to witness the handing over by
the Transition Authority to the Intergovernmental
Relations
Technical Committee.
The Transition Authority was established under Section 4(1) of the
Transition to Devolved Government Act as a body corporate to
facilitate and coordinate the transition to devolved system of
government pursuant to Section 15 of the Sixth Schedule to the
Constitution.
It was assigned more than 18 functions under Section 7 of that
Act. Section 37 of the said Act provided that the Authority shall
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stand dissolved three years after the first general election under
the Constitution or upon the full transition to county governments,
whichever is the earlier.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There is no doubt that the Authority has done commendable work
in fulfilling its mandate in mid-wifing the transition to the devolved
system of government.
It has provided a very commendable
foundation for further deepening and widening of the devolution
process in Kenya.
Devolution was going to be and is indeed a process and not an
event. It will be a main feature of our political development for
many years to come.
Experience around the world indicates that many countries have
taken many years to achieve what we have achieved in a period
of three years, thanks to the Transition Authority. Kenyans tend to
take it for granted that we have had by and large a seemless
transition without a major disruption of services.
We need to
congratulate ourselves, and the Transition Authority for this is no
mean feat.
County governments are up and running performing the bulk of
functions assigned to them under Schedule 4 of the Constitution.
There is general consensus that great advances have been
recorded in the improvement of service delivery in many sectors
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across the country. These include health, agriculture and Early
Child Development, to mention just a few. Citizens are now closer
to their government as county government presence can be felt
in every corner of this country.
Devolution has surely brought
power, resources and service delivery closer to the people.
However, there are still a number of activities which were assigned
to the Transition Authority which are yet to be completed.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Parliament indeed envisaged such a situation. It is for this reason
that they provided that the Intergovernmental Relations Technical
Committee established under the Intergovernmental Relations
Act, would take over the residual functions of Transition Authority,
upon the latter’s dissolution.
The Intergovernmental Relations
Technical Committee has been in place for the last one year. This
Committee is established under the law and is not a creature or
Department of the Ministry as the press has tended to portray it. It
has 8 independently recruited members.
As Cabinet Secretary for Devolution my responsibility is to provide
the necessary support to the institutions established for the
purpose of facilitating devolution. Just as we have facilitated the
Transition Authority to perform its tasks so shall we facilitate the
Committee. My Ministry will take all the necessary steps to ensure
that the Committee completes the remaining tasks while fulfilling
its other mandate of servicing the summit and implementing its
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decisions. I have no doubt that the Committee has the necessary
knowledge and expertise to enable it fulfill these tasks.
I am encouraged in this regard that the Transition Authority and
the Committee have held several meetings – some presided over
by the Ministry and others on their own volition - to agree on a
Road Map to a smooth transition. The two institutions have also
agreed to establish an intergovernmental mechanism to work with
the Committee and Transition Authority’s Secretariat for the next
one month to ensure that all is well.
I therefore wish to take this opportunity to assure Kenyans that we
are on the right track and that the devolution process is on course.
I appeal to all stakeholders and to the general public to provide
the necessary support and cooperation to the Committee to
enable it complete these important assignments.
To conclude, let me reiterate the commitment of the Government
to the devolved system of government. The national government
programmes and initiatives can only be implemented through the
county governments. There is no going back on this. For us to
succeed devolution must work.
Together we can and must succeed.
Thank you.
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