Download : Devolution & County blueprints - The Kenya Alliance of ...

Devolution
& County
blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
2
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Table of contents
Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
Introduction......................................................................................................................... 4
Kara/UNDP Amkeni Wakenya initiative ............................................................................. 4
Linking County blueprints to Kenya’s development agenda .......................................... 5
The necessity for a County blueprint ................................................................................ 6
Benefits of a County blueprint .......................................................................................... 7
Pilot County blueprints ....................................................................................................... 8
- Kericho County ........................................................................................................ 9
- Embu County ........................................................................................................... 10
- Kakamega County ................................................................................................... 10
- Kajiado County ......................................................................................................... 11
- Garissa County.......................................................................................................... 11
- Nairobi County ......................................................................................................... 12
Values and principles ......................................................................................................... 13
Lessons learned .................................................................................................................. 13
Citizen participation: Roles and responsibilities ..............................................................14
Other cross-cutting issues ............................................................................................... 15
Natural resources matrix ................................................................................................. 16
Conclusion .......................................................................................................................... 16
Acknowledgement
We appreciate our partners UNDP, Amkeni Wakenya and all those individuals who
made this publication a great success. We trust it will offer value as Kenyans usher in a
completely new and exciting chapter- devolution!
Stephen Mutoro
CEO, KARA and Chairman, DEGONSA
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
3

Introduction
Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
County governments will come into being immediately after the forthcoming
general elections. The enabling legislation will be in place as outlined in the
Constitution of Kenya 2010 (CoK 2010). The overarching objective of creating
devolved governments is to give powers of self-governance to the people and to
enhance their participation in making decisions affecting them.
The expected outcome of devolution is the promotion of socio-economic
development and the provision of proximate, easily accessible services throughout
Kenya. County governments will have the mandate to provide policy framework and
the enabling environment for political, economic and social development players to
deliver services to the citizens in accordance with the spirit of the CoK 2010.
The adoption of the CoK 2010 and the concept of devolution were based on a
promise of development to the people of Kenya. The Constitution represents a
fundamental paradigm shift in the philosophy of governance. It adopts a philosophy
founded on solidarity, and a developmental framework informed by the concept of
financial equalization. 1 The development framework includes generation of more
wealth and expansion of the common basket by exploitation of the potential of
previously neglected areas. Field visits to counties by the Kenya Alliance of Resident
Associations (Kara) found a positive population looking upon the counties to initiate
and achieve positive and affirmative development outcomes for the citizens.
KARA/UNDP Amkeni Wakenya initiative
Kara, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP)
Amkeni Wakenya initiative, rolled out an initiative aimed at strengthening the
impact of citizens participation on County issues by working with grassroots
citizens’ structures such as professional groups to develop County blueprints.
Through the process of developing blueprints, the respective County stakeholders
were expected to understand their County focus, priorities and assess cross-county
needs and relationships for cost-effective public service delivery.
It emerged that different counties were at different stages of preparedness for
devolution and the approach for doing so was also quite different. While some
already understood the need to develop a blueprint to guide their development
agenda, others were still not sure how to effectively contribute towards preparing
for devolution as a County.
1 Republic of Kenya: Draft Sessional Paper on Devolved Governance in Kenya, 2011
4
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
The Kara/UNDP initiative was undertaken as a pilot project targeting six counties.
However, the lessons and diverse citizens’ understanding and expectations regarding
devolution in the six counties is a reflection of what is going on in the 47 counties as
far as County stakeholders’ preparedness for devolution is concerned. The lessons
derived from interaction with the selected counties are shared in this booklet for
purposes of promoting cross-county learning and enabling County stakeholders to
replicate some of the successes of other counties in their respective counties.
The development agenda for devolved governments will be driven by policies,
procedures and regulations that are integrated with the national planning strategy
and Vision 2030. Vision 2030 aims to transform Kenya into a newly industrialized
middle-income country by 2030. Therefore, the immediate objective of each County
development agenda is to contribute towards Kenya’s development agenda. Indeed,
the concept of a developmental devolved government that informs devolution in
Kenya anticipates that County governments will have to focus on development as a
basis of the national rebirth and renewal.
Development outcomes expected include job creation, harnessing local potential
and integrating the counties with the nation. This means that devolved governments
will bring government closer to the people and become platforms for accessing
services by citizens. The overarching outcome will be improved livelihoods and
citizen empowerment.
The Kenya Institute of Administration (KIA) has introduced a curriculum aimed
at imparting knowledge and skills that will enable the targeted individuals
to understand the government system, procedures and practices, for better
performance and improved service delivery. The institute’s graduates are expected
to provide leadership at both the national and County levels towards realization of
the desire for Kenya to become, ‘a globally competitive and prosperous nation with a
high quality of life by 2030.”
County blueprints and other development plans should thus be linked to the Vision
2030, which is supported by three pillars namely: Economic, Social and Political.
The Economic pillar aims to maintain a sustained growth of 10 percent per annum
for most of the next 20 years.
The Social pillar, aims for a just and cohesive society enjoying equitable social
development in a clean and secure environment.On the other hand, the Political
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
5

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
pillar aims to create an issue-based, people-centred, result-oriented, and accountable
democratic political system. 2 It is therefore expected that developmental devolved
governments should reflect their benefits to the local communities. They must also
lead to outcomes anticipated in the constitution and the Vision 2030 as expected
by citizens. 3
The necessity for a County blueprint
In order for the County governments to complement the national government in
achieving Vision 2030 objectives, they should prepare blueprints that will direct
their work and improve their program efficiency and effectiveness during the 2012-
2017 period.
A blueprint sets the County’s vision, mission, strategic objectives, strategies and
activities. Besides, it defines structures, staffing levels and financial resources
required for carrying out the County’s functions and mandate. In developing the
blueprint, a County will need to heed the experiences of other organizations that
have gone through the same process. In particular, a number of useful lessons can
be derived from other organizations in strategic planning and implementation.
Six lessons stand out as outlined below;
a) The need for timely development of blueprints
b) The importance of leadership in the implementation of the blueprint
c) The need to ensure adequate capacity for implementation
d) The need for a clear institutional framework for implementing the
strategies, particularly the coordination of activities that are likely to be
scattered in different implementing agencies.
e) The need for harmony between the blueprint, work plans and budgetary
provisions. This will minimize shifting of priorities and enhance efficiency and
effectiveness.
f) The need for a well institutionalized monitoring, evaluation and reporting
system.
Preparation of a blueprint requires participation of a whole range of stakeholders.
Extensive consultations and inclusion of a broad range of internal and external
stakeholders is very vital. While the primary data is obtained through consultations,
review of policy documents and sector-wide reports by the stakeholders, personal
2 Kenya Institute of Administration: Curriculum in Leadership Capacity Development for National and County
Governments
3 Republic of Kenya: Draft Session Paper on Devolved Governance in Kenya 2011
6
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
input of stakeholders and peer reviews in consultative workshops enrich the
County’s blueprint.
Benefits of a County blueprint
A blueprint forms the County’s framework for; decision-making, planning, resource
mobilization and utilization, performance monitoring and evaluation for a term
of five years or more. It becomes the road map for service delivery to the local
community while at the same time feeding into the national agenda of achieving
the national long-term objective of transforming Kenya into a newly industrialized
middle-income country by 2030. It thus helps turn the wheels that will make both
the national and County governments prosperous through:
a) Cascading Vision 2030 and the principles of the Constitution to the
County level and below.
b) Encouraging sustainable development, poverty eradication and increased
wellbeing of vulnerable groups.
c) Supporting national long-term objectives of transforming Kenya into a newly
industrialized middle-income country by 2030.
d) Defining programmes aimed at achieving the objectives of the three pillars
namely political, economic and social as identified in Vision 2030 blueprint.
County blueprints are the mechanisms through which benefits of devolution will be
realised. In particular they will facilitate:
a) Equitable allocation of resources
b) Improved delivery of public services
c) Increased economic activity in the County governments
d) Reduced political tensions in the country
e) Job creation
f) Yielding of functional development for the estimated young and urbanising 64
million Kenyans by the year 2030.
A County blueprint must address some fundamental cross-cutting issues.
These include:
a) Macro-economic stability
b) Development of physical infrastructure
c) Security
d) Human resource development
e) Equity
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
7

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
f) Science and technology innovations
g) Land reforms
h) Public sector reforms
Pilot County blueprints
The Kara–UNDP Amkeni Wakenya initiative was undertaken in six counties namely
Embu, Garissa, Kakamega, Kericho, Kajiado and Nairobi. The purpose was to build
capacity of County professionals and citizens to prepare County blueprints in
readiness for devolution.
During the interaction with various stakeholders in the six counties, several
questions came up, demostrating the level of interest and willingness by the public
to learn. Some of the cross-cutting questions included:
• What is the fate of devolved funds If they are retained in the new revenuesharing
mechanism, will they be part of the 15 percent earmarked for County
governments
• How shall we ensure that the mega corruption that exists at national level is
not devolved to the counties
• How will incremental devolution of functions be carried out under Section 15
of the Sixth Schedule and what will be the criteria for determining counties
that are not ready for devolution
• How will the cost of the forthcoming elections and the subsequent cost of
running 47 counties be met by the national government
• How will devolution process escape political sabotage
• What is the formula of getting good leaders
• What is the conflict resolution mechanism at County level
• What are the criteria of determining whether vetting panels will be fair and
independent
• How can the gap between professionals and grassroots people be closed
• Who is the CEO in a devolved government
All the above questions can be answered through a County blueprint developed
professionally and through a consultative process.
The six target counties under the Kara/UNDP initiative embraced the idea of
developing a blueprint for their respective counties and below are brief description
of their status and plans:
8
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
Kericho County
Kericho County Development Forum (KCDF) is a registered organization that
encompasses the Kericho County Professional Group, the Kericho County Council
of Elders, the Kericho County Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, the Kericho County Youth
Organization and the Kericho County Inter-faith Organization. All the groups were
founded by the South Rift Development Forum.
The objective of KCDF is to partner with other stake-holders in improving
governance and the quality of life of the residents of Kericho County. Some of
its past activities include conducting civic education on the Truth Justice and
Reconciliation Commission process; conducting vetting of presidential candidates
by organizing open forums for citizens to receive and interrogate their manifestos.
This is an innovation that Kara encourages among County forums.
After attending the Kericho County forum organized by Kara on 10th September
2011 to discuss development of a blueprint, KCDF was motivated to start thinking
about the agenda for their County by determining where they were as a County,
where they should be headed and the means to get there.
As a result, they immediately constituted a 40-member committee to work on the
County’s blueprint and to also come up with a vision and a mission for the County.
Specifically, the committee was tasked to focus on the following areas:
- Develop strategies that will ensure that Kericho becomes a stable County
economically, politically and socially.
- Formulate mechanisms of ensuring that the County’s residents are made
aware of their rights and obligations to the County and the need to maintain
peace at all times.
- Develop strategies that will encourage County residents to demand
transparency and accountability from their leaders.
KCDF is a progressive organization with an office and a website (www.kerichocounty.org).
They have engaged a consultant to facilitate the formulation of
the County’s blueprint. The County has competent human capital to effectively
undertake implementation of County functions.
Tea farming, human resource and professional athletes are some of the strengths
they intend to harness to achieve an economically-empowered County. Some of
the challenges they face include capital flight and idle capital due to past political
instability.
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
9

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
Embu County
Embu is arguably one of the most advanced counties when it comes to level of
preparedness for devolution and development of blueprint. The Embu County
Professionals Forum (ECPF) brings together various stakeholders such as youth
groups; business organizations, faith-based organizations and senior civil servants
among others.
Sector-based committees were established to generate information on diverse
sectors to inform the process of developing a blueprint. The committees made
regular reports to members of ECPF and the blueprint is now at an advanced stage
of completion.
Embu County boasts of highly qualified human resource capital which is instrumental
for the development of the County. The County is also comparatively well developed
with majority of its residents having access to water and sanitation, electricity and
health care facilities. Among the challenges ECPF face are perceptions of being an
elitist forum by the ordinary residents of Embu County. Efforts are however, being
made to bring most of the stakeholders on board.
Kakamega County
Kakamega is the largest County outside Nairobi in terms of population. The County
is richly endowed with human capital of varied talents, knowledge and professional
expertise. Other endowment include: wildlife, minerals, cash and subsistence crops,
arable land, a rich cultural profile, tourist circuits, good road networks, rails, air
strips, factories, technology and tertiary educational institutions. The County is
very proud of its unique natural resources including indigenous forests, fauna, flying
snakes and table hills which have the potential of being major tourist attractions.
Kakamega County Forum (KACOF) is a registered organization with representatives
from all the 12 constituencies of the County. The forum has a structured management
system consisting of the Governing Council, the Executive Committee and the
Secretariat. Ten sectoral clusters have been established comprehensively to inform
the process of developing a blueprint for the County. Each cluster has been tasked
to work on a number of interlinked subsectors of the economy such as tourism,
education, health and agriculture among others.
KACOF envisions a richly resourced population of Kakamega County with
guaranteed security and self-reliance. It seeks to harness, harmonize and tap the
potential of local and outsourced resources of the County through capacity upscaling
and inclusive implementation of strategic development programmes. Some of the
challenges KACOF is grappling with include suspicion by the political class leading
10
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
to sabotage of some of its activities; competition from parallel professionals’ forums,
which leads to confusion of the County residents; inadequate resources to realize
its objectives among others.
KACOF has deveveloped a concept note for development of blueprint and are
seeking for resources to hire an expert to finalise development of blueprint.
Kajiado County
Kajiado County lies within a belt that qualifies as arid lands of Kenya. It has large
tracks of idle land, which are gradually being occupied by a cosmopolitan population
running away from the congestion in Nairobi. The County has a unique mixture of
a very traditional society of pastoralists on the one hand and a very modern urbane
society on the other. It is home to natural game parks, modern industries and key
educational institutions.
The professionals from the County have formed the Kajiado County Professionals
Forum (KCPF) that consists of diverse groups such as women groups, youth
groups, faith-based organizations among others. The KCPF has organized highprofile
forums that bring together various County stakeholders to discuss the area’s
developmental issues. There is, however, lack of political goodwill as politicians
are suspicious of the forum’s agenda. Leaders of KCPF have initiated stakeholders
discussions aimed at formulating the County blueprint in readiness for devolution.
Garissa County
Garissa County is the gateway to north eastern Kenya. It consists of a predominantly
pastoralist society. The County has expansive arid lands that has remained
undeveloped and marginalised. Despite having high illiteracy levels, the County has
some very highly educated professionals. The professionals have formed a strong
Garissa County Professionals Forum (GCPF) that is part of the North Eastern
Professionals Association, which brings together professionals from Garissa,
Mandera and Wajir. Some of the strengths of Garissa County are: a rich resource
data base; a Sh1 billion sewerage project earmarked for the area and adequate
human capital to manage a devolved government.
Some of the challenges include: Garissa County is home to the largest refugee camp
in the country; It neighbours Somalia and hence experiences insecurity challenges:
The County has been marginalized over the years hence infrastructural development
is very poor. Members of GCPF have a clear foresight of how they wish to leverage
on the strengths of Garissa to approach developmental issues. Discussions are
already underway on the development of the Garissa County blueprint through a
consultative and inclusive approach.
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
11

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
Nairobi County
Nairobi County is the largest County by population but the smallest by land mass.
It has an estimated population of five million people and controls over 60 percent of
Kenya’s economy. But despite being nearest to governmental systems, it has failed
to use this advantage to put together an acknowledged County forum. It attributes
this to widespread and diverse interests.
Besides, there are powerful players who call the shots in both public and private sector
affairs. Nevertheless, groups of diverse organizations appreciate Kara’s intervention
and hope that through Kara’s guidance, a citywide County forum will be formed with
devolved branches in the districts, divisions and wards within Nairobi County.
Other Counties
Other counties have undertaken to prepare County blueprints on their own initiative
as follows:
• Uasin Gishu County professionals had by the end of the year 2011 completed
their blueprint. This, however, faced some challenges from citizens and other
groups who felt excluded. It was seen as an elitist document lacking citizen
participation. The document is the first complete blueprint Kara has seen
in about 15 counties where it has conducted civic education. It is a good
initiative by professionals who spent colossal sums from their own sources.
Finance has been a major constraint to the preparation of County blueprints.
Kara has therefore advised that a consultative process be initiated throughout
the County to sell the document for adoption by the citizens and other
organizations that may feel excluded.
• Kiambu County Forum took up the preparation of a blueprint as its first duty.
The forum started by conducting a workshop for all its 17 sectoral committee
leaders. The 17 sectoral subcommittees constitute subject areas such as legal
and governance, ICT, Diaspora, women empowerment, tourism, education,
health, youth empowerment and infrastructure among others. The subcommittees
have developed concept papers to support policy proposals for the
County blueprint.
The County forum has held stakeholder consultations with leaders from all
constituencies in Kiambu, elected Members of Parliament, the youth and
religious organizations. They are preparing to carry out civic education in all
constituencies with the hope of getting support at the grassroots level for their
proposals. The forum is planning to have the blueprint approved and adopted in
a countywide conference which will mark the end of the process.
12
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
• Nakuru County on the other hand preferred to educate and sensitise the
masses first before indulging in preparation of a County blueprint. They have
carried out more than five open civic education workshops in different
constituencies. These will be followed by a Countywide conference for 1,000
leaders from all constituencies in the County, who will lay down the framework
for a County blueprint. The workshops are, however, hampered by nonavailability
of resources. All activities of the forum are funded by individuals.
Values and principles
The governance of Kenya and the Kenyan society is bound by the national values
and principles espoused on Article 10 of the Constituion . In due course, Kenyans
will be a value system led society. The values and principles of equity, patriotism,
sharing, national unity, citizen participation among others are noble ideas for
guiding a nation.
During the County forums, Kara challenged the County leaders to invent their own
values and principles based on positive local beliefs, cultural practises and rallying
slogans. These have a motivational impact in bringing together people towards a
common cause. Local values and principles help to drive action by local people.
Interesting innovations that have arisen out of the Kara challenge include:
a) Rainbow County and oasis of peace
b) Centre of peace and harmony
c) Oasis of innovation
d) Centre of education excellence
e) Centre of culture
f) County of diversity
g) County of champions
h) County of transcendence
Lessons learned
Many field lessons were learnt from engagement with stakeholders from the six
selected Counties on development of County blueprint. Some of the lessons are:-
a) County blueprints will be very effective tools for vetting individuals aspiring
for leadership positions at the County level.
b) There is need for a National County Citizens Forum to be formed. The forum
will provide a platform for sharing information and lessons between the
counties and strengthen citizens’ participation in service delivery and political
processes. The forum can also be instrumental in identifying cross-cutting
County challenges and seeking common solutions.
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
13

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
c) Simple blueprint formulation guidelines should be published for distribution
to counties across the country to guide stakeholders in developing blueprints
for their respective counties.
d) Citizen’s forums at the County level such as the professional forums should be
legally registered to give them legitimacy and ensure establishment of proper
structures to manage them.
e) There is need to enhance capacity building of citizens organizations at the
County level to make them participate more effectively in driving the County
agenda.
f) County branding through slogans, values and principles, and mottos should be
encouraged in order to promote Kenya’s diverse heritage.
g) Each County should carry out resource audit to establish the value of both
physical and natural resources.
h) There’s need to bring together County forum members and incumbent
politicians to create harmony in counties as we ready ourselves for the
new political dispensation.
i) Professionals should be encouraged to give back to the society as a way of
improving the deficit in development and electoral leadership.
j) The definition of professionals should be looked at in a broader sense to
include all those who are earning a living including slum dwellers and hawkers.
k) There is need for more intensive civic education targeted at the counties to
ensure that citizens understand their roles and responsibilities in realizing an
effective and responsive County.
Citizen participation: Roles and responsibilities
Citizen participation is a key plank of decision-making under the new constitutional
dispensation. It is both a constitutional and legislative necessity for decisionmaking
in devolved governments. While the blueprints produced by County citizens
and professionals may not be binding to future elected County officials, it will help
citizens to crystallize, prioritize and consolidate their demand-driven needs, which
leaders must agree to address.
The overarching objective of creating devolved governments is to give powers
of self-governance to the people and to enhance their participation in making
decisions affecting them. The Constitution of Kenya therefore creates an obligation
for citizens to participate in all decision-making and planning processes. Citizens
are a key stakeholder in the design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of
County blueprints. The Constitution bestows rights and obligations on citizens as
follows:
14
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
a) Citizens cease to be passive users of public services and become active holders
of fundamental rights.
b) As rights holders, they are entitled to social and economic rights, health-care
and education as well as clean and sustainable environment within the
available resources according to the Bill of Rights. These entitlements are key
service areas to be included in County blueprints.
c) Under the concept of accountability, the people acquire superior rights of
authority over the County government officials and therefore the right to
demand answers and impose sanctions.
d) Corruption and misallocation of public resources is considered a violation of
citizens’ basic rights to public goods and services.
e) Citizens become empowered to engage more in evidence–based advocacy with
government officials responsible for the delivery of public services.
f) Citizens advise on formulation of County blueprints and policies that are
responsive to their needs.
g) By participating in formulation of blueprints, citizens are enjoined together
with other organizations as participants in the development and governance of
the County government as provided for in Article 10 of the Kenyan Constitution.
Citizens therefore become part of the consultative process that enables them
to select and prioritise their needs.
h) According to Article 35 of the Constitution, citizens acquire the right to
demand access to information that will enable them play their rightful
oversight role in the implementation of the blueprints and governance in
general.
i) Citizens are able to establish a range of good governance indicators for
democratic and accountable governance to be realised
j) Citizens learn to re-tool social accountability mechanisms through research,
monitoring and advocacy to promote social accountability.
k) The citizens provide oversight, monitoring and evaluation backstopping in
the design, implementation and completion of County projects arising from
the County blueprints.
l) Using rights-based approach to governance, they demand social accountability
by the County government.
m) Citizens are able to hold government official accountable for the integrity of
their conduct and for their performance in managing County resources.
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
15

Other cross-cutting issues
Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
The discovery of oil has hastened the debate on revenue sharing, ownership and
the future of Kenya. More minerals with commercial values of exploitation have
been discovered in Kenya. Often, discovery of oil, gas and minerals have become
a curse in countries where they are discovered. Many commentators have opined
that a curse or conflict is avoidable if the right structures, legislation and mindset
are applied to govern the extraction and use of the minerals. Agreement on how the
wealth of the country will be shared is urgent as it will impact on County planning
where such minerals are located. County blueprints cannot ignore the existence of
such wealth in their locality. The counties where exploitable minerals are found are
shown in the natural resources matrix below.
Natural resources matrix
COUNTY
MINERAL / RESOURCE
Turkana
Oil and Wind Energy
Migori
Gold, Copper
Kitui
Coal, Iron, Sapphire
Tharaka Nithi
Coal, Iron
Kajiado
Soda Ash
Kwale
Titanium, Niobium, Rare Earths, Zinc, Lead and Silver
ElgeyoMarakwet, West Pokot Fluorspar, Turkwell Gorge Hydroelectric Project
Turkana
Fluorspar, Turkwell Gorge Hydroelectric Project, Gypsum
Isiolo
Gas and Oil, Sapphire
Nakuru
Geothermal Power Energy
Kilifi
Iron, Gypsum
Taita Taveta
Iron, Rubies, Green Garnet
Tana River
Gypsum
Mandera
Gypsum
Nyeri
Kaolin
Source: Kinuthia Wamwangi
Conclusion
Devolution, in all its dimensions, remains a mysterious subject among Kenyans. Even
professionals have difficulties having a full appreciation. Intensified civic education
is very crucial to a successful implementation of devolution and subsequent County
planning. Structured citizens’ engagement and participation must be enhanced by
capacitating County stakeholders to formulate public-driven County development
plans. With a clear County blueprint, citizens will be at a better position to drive the
County agenda and effectively contribute towards the attainment of high standards
of public service delivery within their respective counties.
16
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
Kara/UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative: Targeted Counties
Kiambu
Embu
Uasin Gishu
Kakamega
Garissa
Kericho
Nakuru
Kajiado
Key:
Nairobi
Own Initiative:
Uasin Gishu, Kiambu, Nakuru
Kara/UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative:
Embu, Garissa, Kakamega, Kericho, Kajiado, Nairobi
Source: Kara/Degonsa
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
17

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
The 47 Counties:
SOUTH
SUDAN
ETHIOPIA
Turkana
Mandera
Marsabit
UGANDA
West Pokot
Wajir
Trans Nzoia Elgeyo Marakwet Samburu
Bungoma
Baringo
Uasin Gishu
Busia Kakamega
Laikipia
Isiolo
SOMALIA
Siaya
Vihiga
Nandi
Meru
Homabay
Migori
Kisumu Kericho
Nyamira
Nakuru
Kisii Bomet
Narok
Nyandarua
Tharaka Nithi
Nyeri
Kirinyaga
Muranga Embu
Kiambu
Nairobi Machakos
Kitui
Tana River
Garissa
Kajiado
Makueni
Lamu
TANZANIA
Taita Taveta
Kilifi
INDIAN OCEAN
Kwale
Mombasa
Source: Kara/Degonsa
18
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
19

Kara-UNDP Amkeni Wakenya Initiative
Devolution
& County
blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons
The Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations
The Kenya Alliance of Resident Associations (KARA)
Jamhuri Crescent, Off Kabarnet Road, Off Ngong Road
P.O Box 1411-00100 GPO, NAIROBI, Kenya. Tel. 254-20-3874331, 3873828, 2341515
Fax: 254-20-3862872. Cellphones: 0725983445; 0772700007; 0733779585
E-mail: info@kara.or.ke or kara@eafra.net
Website: www.kara.or.ke
20
Devolution and County Blueprints
Cross-Cutting Lessons