Kenya to host EA's United Cities and Local Governments office

Kenya has affirmed her commitment to advancing devolution and regional empowerment by signing an agreement for the East Africa Regional Office of the United Cities and Local Governments of Africa (UCLG-A) to be headquartered in Nairobi.

The UCLG-A is the umbrella organisation and the united voice and representative of local governments in Africa.

Kenya will become the 5th regional office in the continent covering Eastern Africa.

The milestone underscores Kenya's dedication to promoting devolution and strengthening good governance across the African continent.

Deputy President Prof Kithure Kindiki said the move portrays Kenya’s strong belief in subsidiarity and addressing the developmental needs of its people from all levels of governance.

“Having the UCLG-A Regional Office in Nairobi is an honour to Kenya as it highlights the promise of strengthening decision-making and service delivery in local governance. We will ensure immediate operationalisation of this office in order to pick best practices from this collaboration to help push Kenya and Africa forward,” 

The Deputy President was speaking on Thursday during the signing of the Hosting Agreement between the State Department for Devolution and UCLG-A.

The event held at the DP's official residence in Karen, Nairobi, was witnessed by Jean Pierre Elong Mbassi (Secretary General of UCLG-Africa); and Terry Mbaika (Principal Secretary, State Department for Devolution) among other officials.

Kindiki said devolution is Kenya's crown jewel of the 2010 constitution, which has dispersed public power and orchestrated a paradigm shift leading to faster and more efficient delivery of services to the people.

"Successful roll out of devolved government and sustainable well planned urban settlements will turbo-charge Kenya’s and indeed Africa’s priority agenda of empowerment of the citizens," the DP said.

While signing the agreement, PS Mbaika emphasised that hosting the UCLG-Africa in Kenya offers a valuable opportunity to strengthen the devolved governments.

She highlighted that the office will focus on capacity building through the development of a regional resource centre, which will support the reinforcement of national associations working towards creating a just and democratic society that promotes the social and economic well-being of all citizens.

“A key part of our approach is to incorporate inclusive and sustainable best practices in the local government sector through peer-to-peer learning. We will also hold regional strategy caucuses to set clear regional objectives and specific programs for devolved governments,” PS Mbaika said.

The PS reiterated the State Department for Devolution’s enthusiasm in collaborating closely with UCLG-A and other key partners to enhance and strengthen cooperation in advancing devolution and decentralization in Kenya.

UCLG Africa Secretary General, Jean-Pierre Elong Mbassi, said the Nairobi regional office will play a key role in improving local governance across Eastern Africa.

He expressed his gratitude to President William Ruto for his leadership in ensuring the swift establishment of the office and shared his anticipation for its successful implementation and operation.

Other regional offices are in Accra, Ghana for Western Africa, Cairo, Egypt for Northern Africa, Pretoria, South Africa for Southern Africa and Liberville, Gabon for Central Africa.