Six out of 10 Kenyans believe corruption and misuse of funds are the major hindrances to the full implementation of devolution in the country.
A new report on the state of devolution released by Twaweza Kenya shows that 62 per cent of 3,746 Kenyans interviewed mentioned the vices as the major challenges.
Poor financial management came second with 32 per cent pointing it out as a lack of sufficient funds at the devolved units and inequality between counties following at 25 per cent and 22 per cent respectively.
The interviews were conducted in July using a nationally representative sample through Computer Aided Telephonic Interviews.
Respondents were asked whether or not citizens feel that devolution is working and the sectors in which devolution has had the most and the least impact including the biggest challenges of devolution.
They were also asked about the level of participation in the devolution process whether this has improved over the years or not and their views on the allocation of funds to the counties.
The report is titled Power to the People: Kenyans’ Experiences and Opinions on Ten Years of Devolution in Practice.
Other issues mentioned by respondents are low citizen participation, delayed disbursement to counties, interference by the national government, low capacity of county officials and overlap in national and county roles.
The report is being launched at a time when Kenya is marking the first decade since the advent of devolution.
Twaweza is a regional non-governmental organization that works to promote open government.
Consequently, 16 per cent of Kenyans say devolution is being implemented very well while 38 per cent think it is well.
Those that said it is being implemented badly account for 18 per cent with 27 per cent saying they are unsure.
On health services, three out of 10 prefer to be managed by counties with four out of 10 preferring the national government to be in charge.
The main reason given in favour of counties is accessibility, while the main arguments in favour of national government are quality and capacity.
"The most critical message is that Kenyans still do not feel that the government officials, however, near or far, genuinely take their views into account when making decisions,” James Ciera, the organization’s country lead said during the launch.
