Guidebook for Governors - Second edition

Guidebook For Governors Second Edition

Publisher	World Bank
Year of Publication
Category	Consitution of Kenya Laws of Kenya Papers and Articles Policies and Guidelines
County	Nairobi
Description	Kenyas devolution agenda is one of the most ambitious in the world, that will result in the historic transfer of services and funding to 47 new county governments, each with elected officials at four levels of the government, namely, Governor, Senator, County Assembly Representative and Womens Representative. This arrangement follows the recent peaceful elections held on March 4th 2013. The newly elected officials will manage functions and finances previously managed through ministries and district administrations by the central government. County governments will be led by Governors, in line with the stipulated constitutional provisions, and various enabling legislative acts and guidelines. The roles of the Governors include: coordinating the appointment of County Executive Committees and other accounting officers; providing leadership in the countys governance and development; promoting peace and order; encouraging and facilitating citizens participation; and, being accountable for efficient and transparent management and use of the countys resources. Some Governors have come into office with much knowledge of, and experience in public administrationperhaps having previously served in government positionshence, a good understanding of government bureaucracy. Obviously, this is not the case for all Governors, and certainly not for numerous other new county government officials. In fact, the devolved structure of government introduces a complex framework of systems and procedures that will not be immediately comprehensible, even to the more experienced public officials. Governors are therefore likely to have a myriad of questions from the very onset. Without correct information and adequate communication, confusion is likely to arise, which could lead to intergovernmental tension and conflict. Furthermore, if Governors begin operating in ways that contravene established rules and procedures, reversing these inappropriate practices will be extremely challenging. The TA has developed this Guidebook, through which it aims to avert these consequences by anticipating Governors questions and providing responses to them. In publishing the Guidebook, the Authoritys members, with support from key partners identified questions most likely to be of concern to incoming Governors. The questions were then discussed with relevant expert government officials and agencies, for the purpose of developing initial responses. Finally, the responses were validated by an extended group of stakeholders during a two-day workshop held between February 28th and March 1st 2013, in Nairobi. In preparing this Guidebook, the TA was guided by the Constitution and the ensuing enabling legislations. The underlying motivation was to capture critical information about transition arrangements, and how county systems should work during the initial transition phase, thus paving a smooth way for subsequent transition phases. It is intended that this Guidebook will lay the foundation for an anticipated supplementary administrative tool, that will encompass detailed procedures and guidelines. The Guidebook will also be an essential resource for other county officials such as County Assembly Representatives and County Transition Teams. Additionally, besides helping Governors to understand their roles and responsibilities, this Guidebook will enable the TA to identify any gaps in the transition framework that may require immediate resolution, and also to identify the agencies responsible for filling these gaps. Over the transition period, information contained in this Guidebook will be revised, to reflect new questions emerging from the implementation of the constitution, with special emphasis on county governments. The TA wishes to make this a widely inclusive process, and appeals to you to send us any comments and suggestions, which will enable us to improve future editions of this Guidebook. Thank you for the continued support to the TA s commitment to facilitating Kenyas successful transition to a devolved system of government.
Tags	Counties / General
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