This archive report was first published on 17 September 2019.
September 17, 2019
Machakos County Governor Alfred Mutua has emerged as the top-performing governor in the country, a report by All Africa Advisors has revealed.
The London-based firm released a report on Tuesday, six years after the implementation of devolution in Kenya, to assess its impact. The report showed that 51% of Kenyans believe devolution has been a success, while 49% think it has failed.
According to the report, the top five governors are Alfred Mutua (Machakos), Wycliffe Oparanya (Kakamega), Mike Mbuvi Sonko (Nairobi), Kuvutha Kibwana (Makueni), and Ali Hassan Joho (Mombasa). The bottom five governors include Amason Kingi (Kilifi), Fahim Twaha (Lamu), Sospeter Ojamong (Busia), Cyprian Awiti (Homa Bay), and Ferdinand Waititu (Kiambu).
Speaking at the launch of the report, All Africa Advisors Director Stephen Kayatte said that a lack of in-depth surveys on devolution's progress hinders proper planning and effective service delivery.
"The overall analysis was based on infrastructure development, public participation, poverty eradication, and economic growth initiatives, delivery of basic services, ability to self-generate revenue to reduce reliance on Central Government, and Governor's leadership capabilities," Kayatte explained.
He added that the poll and verification exercises were conducted in all 47 counties, with random samples including a gender balance.
"We expect to conduct another survey in 2023 to take stock of improvements realised by the county governments over the next four years and to contribute modestly to understanding the impact of devolution in the country," Kayatte said.
