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The best news for the 47 counties so early in the New Year is the announcement that the National Treasury will release additional funds to them.
A total of Sh36.9 billion will be available to counties in loans and grants. This is a vote of confidence in devolution as a vehicle through which the development of the entire country from the grassroots can be enhanced.
It’s hardly surprising as devolution has been touted as the most significant change in the country’s governance since independence five decades ago, having seen substantive resources moved from the centre to the regions.
The extra resources are now available following President Uhuru Kenyatta’s assent to the County Allocation of Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2018.
It is a New Year’s gift to the counties, whose programmes have often been hampered by the late release of annual allocations.
However, the leadership in the counties must realise that a substantial amount of these funds is loans.
They must, therefore, be managed prudently and channelled into the projects for which they were intended. How they manage the funds will largely determine whether or not they will get more.
While the general consensus is that counties have great potential to change the face of the country by implementing projects that improve the people’s lives, worrying trends have been noted.
Some have become notorious for the wanton wastage of resources and the monster of corruption has also been, literally, devolved.
Quite encouraging, however, is the growing competition between the counties in their development programmes.
Though taking more resources to the counties is welcome, the question of its prudent use remains.
They must ardently fight corruption, prevent waste and pilferage and put the resources to good use.
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