By GPC Reporter
Newly elected Council of Governors (CoG) chairperson Muthomi Njuki has pledged to defend devolution and push for increased funding to help counties strengthen their economies and improve service delivery.
Speaking after taking over from outgoing chairperson and Wajir Governor FCPA Ahmed Abdullahi, Njuki said he would build on his predecessor’s efforts to safeguard devolution.
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Njuki assured fellow governors that he would stand firm whenever the interests of county governments were threatened, pledging not to side with the National Government at the expense of devolution.
He said one of his immediate priorities would be to improve relations between county governments and Parliament, which have been marked by recurring disagreements over the management and financing of devolved units.
The new chairperson said he would seek meetings with both the National Assembly and the Senate in the coming days to strengthen cooperation and address the persistent differences between the institutions.
Njuki also pledged to engage actively in the national budget-making process to push for an increase in funding to county governments from the current KSh400 billion to KSh500 billion next year.
He said adequate resources were necessary to enable counties to deliver services and drive economic development.
On development partnerships, Njuki said he would pursue projects that had stalled or remained pending, noting that their completion would benefit residents across the counties.
He acknowledged the role of development partners in supporting county governments and called for an enabling environment in which they could continue implementing programmes that contribute to local development.
Meanwhile, newly elected CoG vice-chairperson Kenneth Lusaka called for greater unity among governors in their push for increased resources and stronger county governments.
Lusaka said governors needed to maintain a common position when engaging the National Government and other institutions on matters affecting devolution.
Outgoing chairperson Ahmed Abdullahi said his tenure had focused on creating an enabling environment for counties to thrive.
He said his administration had worked to improve relations between the Council of Governors and the National Government, providing a foundation for continued cooperation between the two levels of government.
