Raila Odinga, the leader of the Azimio coalition, has accused President William Ruto of obstructing governors by assuming control of certain devolved functions.
Raila, who recently graded President Ruto’s government with a D- in terms of its performance over the past year, asserted that the Kenya Kwanza administration lacks commitment to supporting devolution.
According to Raila, the Ruto administration has taken over crucial devolution responsibilities, such as those related to affordable housing, roads, markets, and industrial parks. Raila suggested that the national government’s eagerness to control these functions stems from its desire to manage the substantial financial resources involved.
“They want to construct markets so they can subsequently transfer them to county governments; all of this is due to corruption,” Raila said when he unveiled Kenya Kwanza’s performance assessment.
The opposition leader argued that the national government should not be overseeing affordable housing, as it is a devolved function meant to be administered by governors.
“It is regrettable that they intend to construct houses and then hand them over to county governments, all because of the financial interests at stake,” he remarked.
Raila also pointed to the government’s fertilizer program as an example of a devolved function that the Kenya Kwanza government is controlling.
“This is an agricultural function that falls under devolution,” Raila emphasized, asserting that President Ruto’s administration is reluctant to relinquish control over devolved functions.
President Ruto has already established a committee tasked with developing a plan to transfer devolved functions currently under the national government’s purview to the governors within a 17-month timeframe.
The opposition leader, who recently released a comprehensive performance index for the Kenya Kwanza administration, maintained that Ruto’s government has performed inadequately and has received a dismal rating.
“The evaluation has been conducted, and we have completed the assessment. Our scorecard for this regime stands at 30 percent, equivalent to a D-,” Raila concluded.
