President Kenyatta to preside over governance summit in Nyeri

President Uhuru Kenyatta will on Wednesday preside over the fifth National-County Government Coordinating Summit to be held at the Sagana State Lodge in Nyeri.

The two-day event is a creation of the Inter-Governmental Relations Act and has for the last few years served as the primary body for overseeing and facilitating inter-governmental relations between the two tiers of governments.

The summit, according to State House, will run under the theme ‘Celebrating the Transformation’ and will  serve as a time to reflect on the progress made over the last few years while assessing the challenges that impede the efficient operationalization of devolution.

In his press briefing on Tuesday, State House spokesperson Manoah Esipisu said the summit will seek to draw ways of complementing devolution rather than compete with other efforts for national integration.

“As we approach the next election cycle, such a discussion becomes both urgent, and relevant, as Kenya continues to deepen the democratic space and ensure that inter-clan conflicts and ethnic violence becomes an unfortunate political relic,” he said.

“There will be presentations by the national government, represented by the Presidential Delivery Unit, and Council of Governors Secretariat who will showcase key flagship projects undertaken by each County Government.”

President Kenyatta will chair the summit with his deputy William Ruto also set to attend.

Various bodies including the Intergovernmental Budget and Economic Council (IBEC), Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IRTC) and the Transitional Authority will each table reports for review and discussion.

There will also be reports tabled on a number of critical issues surrounding devolution including public finance management, health services, Capacity Assessment and Rationalization of the Public Service (CARPS) Programme and agriculture.

Esipisu further commented on the current judicial proceedings against Supreme Court Judge Philip Tunoi saying State House has not received the recommendation from Judicial Service Commission (JSC) sub-committee that had been mandated to carry out the investigations.

He said that once the report has been received, the President will, in accordance with the Constitution, suspend the Judge and form a tribunal to further probe the matter and advise on the next course of action.

@benjaminwafula