Meaning of #Devolution in the Kenyan Context “All sovereign power belongs to the People of Kenya and shall be exercised only in accordance with the Constitution” ~ Art. 1 Devolution is a form of decentralization. It is simply defined as the process of transferring decision-making and implementation powers, functions, responsibilities and resources to legally constituted, and popularly elected local governments. Devolution in Kenya is based on the supremacy of the Constitution, sovereignty of the people and the principle of public participation. Supremacy of the Constitution means that the Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic. Therefore, devolution being an aspect of the Constitution binds all persons and all State organs at both levels of government. The sovereign power of the people on the other hand, means that the power to rule and make laws in Kenya lies with the people of Kenya and can be exercised only in accordance with the Constitution at the national and county level either directly or indirectly, through their democratically elected representatives. Devolution is one of the concepts in the Constitution that has brought about a complete overhaul in Kenya’s system of governance. This is because it is a new aspect in the Kenyan governance system. The need for Devolution has been seen in many countries and it is informed by the need to have power sharing, checks and balances in governance and the decentralization of resources.
Posted on: Wed, 19 Mar 2014 08:13:47 +0000
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