Raila criticises govt over county chiefs

President Kenyatta criticised over county chiefs’ posts

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PHOTO | GIDEON MAUNDU | FILE Assistant County Commissioners from Kwale, Mombasa and Kilifi at a meeting at the Kenya School of Government Matuga Campus on July 19, 2013.  NATION MEDIA GROUP

By Nation Correspondent
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Maintaining the provincial administration is a recipe for conflicts in the devolved governance system, former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said.

Speaking in Kwale, Mr Odinga on Sunday accused the Jubilee leadership of betraying the Constitution by renaming the old structure instead of restructuring it.

He said keeping the county commissioners and their juniors at the county level would interfere with the governors’ work and frustrate implementation of the Constitution.

“What is there that the county commissioner is going to do that the governor cannot do? What we are going through is a fear of the unknown,” he said.

“The Constitution has said clearly that within five years, it (provincial administration) will be structured to make it compliant with the devolved system of government.”

REFORM

The way to reform the old structure, Mr Odinga said, was by devolving it as the law stipulates.

“That was the understanding and that was the spirit at Bomas— to reform the provincial administration to make it part and parcel of the devolved government,” he said.
He said the retention of the old structure in its current form was “duplication and a recipe for conflicts that would create vested interests and interference”.
He said it was needless for the president to have another person other than the governor as his representative at the county level.

“Why should the national government be competing with the county government in the county? Then where is devolution?” he said. The Cord leader claimed Jubilee had clung on important functions like education and security instead of devolving them.