By Nyakang’o O’Nyamota
Kenya’s devolution system was designed to promote regional equity, enhance service delivery, and stimulate local economic growth.
However, a decade into implementation, most counties remain financially dependent on the national government, struggle with misallocation of resources, and fail to maximize their economic potential.
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Amidst this, there are strategic approaches that can make counties economically self-reliant, promote industrialization, and create sustainable livelihoods.
The first strategy is Fiscal Prudence and Public Finance Management.
There is need for counties to strengthen Own-Source Revenue (OSR).
Counties must reduce reliance on national transfers by increasing OSR through Automated Revenue Collection.
This is will be made possible by digitizing land rates, business permits, market fees, and parking payments to curb leakages.
In the same breath, there should be a refocus on GIS-Based Property Taxation. Counties must create accurate property valuation databases to improve compliance.
The regional governments should Monetize County Natural Resources by implementing revenue-sharing frameworks for minerals, forests, water bodies, and tourism sites.
Another critical area is Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs). In this context, counties need to collaborate with private investors to develop revenue-generating projects such as market facilities, parking, and bus terminals.
Through budgetary discipline and development prioritization, counties must reallocate funds towards growth-oriented projects.
There should be Zero-Based Budgeting (ZBB), by justifying all expenditures annually instead of incremental budgeting.
Also, recurrent expenditure should be capped. This should be done by ensuring at least 40% of revenue is ring-fenced for development.
Equally, Funding should be performance base, by tying disbursements to specific economic targets.
Agriculture and Agro-Processing: Unlocking Value Chains
Agriculture contributes over 25% of Kenya’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but remains underexploited at the county level. Key interventions include value Addition and agro-industrialization.
There should be County-Based Agro-Processing Plants. Through this, investing in dairy, coffee, tea, mango, and fish processing facilities will be possible and increase farmers’ earnings.
Counties should invest in cold Storage and logistics. They should establish county-run cold chains to reduce post-harvest losses.
At the same time, they should explore agri-tech and precision farming by promoting mechanization, drone surveillance, and climate-smart agriculture.
Counties should strengthen cooperative and market linkages. County Agricultural Cooperatives can enable smallholder farmers to access credit and markets collectively.
Also, they should explore export promotion strategies, through which they can partner with the Kenya Export Promotion and Branding Agency to facilitate direct international exports of key produce.
Industrialization and County-Based Manufacturing
Kenya’s industrialization has been concentrated in major towns and cities such as Nairobi, Mombasa, and Nakuru.
To expand this, counties must now find out what they produce in plenty within their region and put an industry for purposes of value addition and creating employment.
This can be made possible by establishing Special Economic Zones (SEZs) with favorable Tax Incentives to attract investors.
Another possible approach is coming up with Industrial Clusters, where similar industries can be grouped together. For example, textile hubs can be established in Kitui, and leather industries in Kajiado.
Counties should develop cottage and light manufacturing industries.
They should establish local industrial parks focused on textiles, furniture, and food processing.
Another possible approach is TVET- industry collaboration, where they should ensure technical and vocational training institutions align with county industrial needs.
Tourism and Cultural Economy Development
Counties must diversify beyond agriculture by maximizing their unique tourism potential.
One critical area is infrastructure and destination branding, where they can create county-based tourism circuits and inter-county safari routes to boost domestic tourism.
This can also be done by establishing hospitality training centers to improve service quality to attract more visitors.
Another master stroke is cultural festivals which can serve as marketing avenues for county-based traditions and heritage.
They should also venture into digital tourism marketing, by establishing E-tourism Portals for showcasing attractions, booking services, and offering virtual tours.
Infrastructure and Smart County Planning
Infrastructure is a critical enabler of economic growth and counties must prioritize roads, transport, and logistics
There should be improved inter-county road networks linking key trade corridors for easy movement of goods and people.
They should also look into public transport reforms, by establishing county transport authorities to regulate fares, fleet management, and safety.
Kenyan counties need also to venture into Energy and Smart Cities, where renewable energy investments are given attention.
In doing this, they should promote county-level solar farms and wind energy projects, while bearing in mind that smart urban planning, including implementing digitized urban management systems for waste collection, security surveillance, and traffic control can unlock the potential of the counties.
Health and Education as Economic Enablers
Universal Healthcare and Medical Investment are key for healthier populations.
This can be approached through county-based health insurance schemes, replicating successful models like Makueni Care.
Another approach is through Public-Private Healthcare Partnerships, where private investment in medical facilities is encouraged.
County chiefs should also root for specialized health centers: Establishing regional centers of excellence to reduce referrals to Nairobi.
Another approach is workforce development through TVET and digital skills, through County Innovation and ICT Hubs and establishing co-working spaces for startups, software developers, and online freelancers.
They should also engage in vocational training for job readiness, by aligning TVET courses with county economic priorities.
Governance, Citizen Participation, and Anti-Corruption Reforms
This can be attained by strengthening public oversight, through participatory budgeting where counties ensure that citizens influence county spending priorities.
There should be vibrant ward development committees which are established to enable localized decision-making.
Another critical component in this front is digital governance and open data, including automating Government Systems such as procurement, licensing, and land transactions to curb corruption.
Equally, there is need for public financial transparency which can be obtained by adopting open contracting data standards (OCDS) for procurement processes.
Implementation Roadmap: Phased Economic Transformation
To transition towards county-driven economic sustainability, a structured implementation roadmap is required:
In the short-term (3-4) years, priority should be full automation of revenue collection, county investment forums to attract private investors, and public financial management reforms.
In the medium-term (4–7 years), focus should be on SEZ and industrial park development, large-scale agribusiness and value addition initiatives, as well as expansion of county-based TVET programs
In the long-term (8–10 years) priority should be county-led smart cities and renewable energy expansion, establishment of globally competitive export zones, and advanced healthcare and digital economy growth.
Breaking the Cycle of Dependency
The success of Kenya’s counties hinges on adopting bold economic policies that drive self-sufficiency, industrialization, and innovation.
County leaders must move beyond reliance on national allocations and focus on unlocking their unique economic potential.
The central question remains: Will our counties take decisive steps toward economic independence, or will they remain financially reliant on the national government?
This roadmap has been tested elsewhere and it is a practical approach to county-level economic transformation.
It is upon policymakers, scholars, and county executives to implement these strategies and steer Kenya’s devolution towards true economic empowerment.
-The author is a civil engineer with a passion in farming and business.
