HOMA BAY, Kenya – Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga has criticized the Senate for repeatedly summoning governors to appear before committees in Nairobi, saying the practice undermines devolution and distracts county leaders from their work.
Speaking in Homa Bay County on Thursday during the second day of the 9th Devolution Conference, Odinga said the constitutional role of oversight over county governments lies with county assemblies, not the Senate.
“Only the Public Accounts Committee and the Public Investments Committee should summon county executives — not even the governors — to answer to queries,” the ODM leader said. “It’s a waste of time, all the time summoning governors to appear before parliamentary committees.”
He argued that centralized decision-making was outdated and that local leaders should be empowered to handle county matters without constant interference from Nairobi.
“Centralism still has strong supporters, but I believe its days are in the past. It thrives on keeping the whole country waiting for Nairobi to make decisions on local issues that Nairobi knows little or nothing about. Devolution beats centralism at allowing local people to make decisions on local issues,” he said.
Odinga called for the transfer of more functions to county governments, including management of education up to secondary school level, road construction, and funds currently administered under the National Government Constituencies Development Fund (NG-CDF) and the National Government Affirmative Action Fund (NGAAF).
“It is a shame to see a Minister of Education inspecting school structures in counties because that should be done by governors,” he said, adding that agencies such as the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA) and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) should cede control of rural and urban roads to counties.
The former premier also proposed that governors who serve two full terms be automatically entitled to a pension, similar to MPs.
While acknowledging that some of his proposals might require constitutional changes, Mr. Odinga said others could be implemented through legislation or delegation of functions.
He stressed that his push to curb national government control over counties was not intended to spark conflict between the two levels of government but to ensure devolution works as intended.
“We must continuously push the national government to stop micromanaging counties and fight its instincts to hoard power and resources,” he said.
