Publication: Realizing the Devolution Dividend in Kenya through Cohesive Public Finance Management and Public Participation at County Level: Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations
Loading...
Date
2017-08
ISSN
Published
2017-08
Editor(s)
Abstract
This report covers four areas that had been identified by County officers from both the County Executive and the County Assembly as areas that have brought conflict and disharmony in Counties. These issues and challenges cut across Public Finance Management (PFM), public participation, functions and powers of the County actors and formed the basis for capacity building and training intervention that was provided through the Council of Governors (CoG) and Kenya School of Government (KSG) with the support from the Kenya Accountable Devolution Program (KADP). This brief report highlights the issues and challenges identified in four thematic areas and then provides the identified good practices and lessons learned that can be considered and implemented by County Governments. The first chapter discusses the PFM legal framework with reference to the fundamental processes of planning, budgeting, revenue, expenditure, and financial reporting and relates these to identified areas of conflict that are experienced while executing various PFM processes. The chapter also makes corresponding recommendations for good PFM practices in Counties. The second chapter highlights the challenges that County Governments have experienced in rolling out public participation and provides conceptual clarification and examples of good practices. The third chapter highlights areas that were recurring areas of misunderstanding and misinterpretation with regard to the Constitution and legislative framework on devolution (especially relating to functions and powers of the County Executive and County Assembly). Further, it articulates the Constitutional framework and interpretations of key provisions covering those areas of concern to facilitate common understanding that would help reduce recurring operational disharmony and conflicts. The fourth chapter highlights challenges that the County assemblies experience while executing their responsibilities with regard to fiscal matters and suggests good practices that should address these. This report is intended to be a simple, practical, go-to reference resource for County Executives and County Assemblies on common challenges that they experience while executing their roles and responsibilities and suggests good practices that can help them navigate through the challenges.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Wanjiru, Rose; Otsola, Paul; Kangu, Mutakha; Werunga, Murumba; Owuor, Christine; Omolo, Annette. 2017. Realizing the Devolution Dividend in Kenya through Cohesive Public Finance Management and Public Participation at County Level: Challenges, Lessons Learned, and Recommendations. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/29624 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Citations
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Practical Approaches for County Governments to Facilitate Public Participation in the Planning and Budget Process(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2015-02)Kenya's new Constitution and supportive legal framework contain multiple provisions requiring both national government and counties to make information publicly available and consult with citizens in planning and budgeting. Citizen participation affords county governments an opportunity to empower citizens on their operations and to deliberate, debate, and influence the allocation of public resources. This working paper presents practical approaches for Kenyan counties to implement public participation in their systems that encourage meaningful public engagement.Publication Building Public Participation in Kenya’s Devolved Government(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2015-02)Kenya has embarked on a highly ambitious decentralization that seeks to fundamentally change the relationship between government and citizens under the 2010 Constitution. The Constitution and new legal framework place a strong emphasis on strengthening public participation. This paper summarizes findings and analysis from five working papers and case studies reviewing opportunities and challenges for strengthening public participation in Kenya’s newly decentralized system. It provides a consolidated list of recommendations emerging from all the working papers.Publication Six Case Studies of Local Participation in Kenya(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-10)Kenya's new Constitution mandates a new era of public participation in government, particularly in the 47 new County Governments. Despite the limited participation in decisions regarding the vast majority of government spending, Kenya has a significant history with direct participation in government, as this has been a feature in several of the government's devolved funds such as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) and Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plans (LASDAP). The objective of this report is to provide lessons and draw on best practices from previous Kenyan experiences with participation in local government, with a focus on how to effectively implement public participation. The research therefore seeks to prompt dialogue, ideas and action among stakeholders to follow through on the strong mandate provided by the Constitution, both at the national and the county level. The report completes six case studies of direct public participation in local government, where cases were selected for their reputation of strong participation. Two of the case studies looked at the operation of the Local Authority Service Delivery Action Plans (LASDAP), which required citizen participation as part of the decentralized Local Authority Transfer Fund (LATF). Two of the case studies examined citizen engagement in the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) process, through which Members of Parliament spend discretionary funds in their local constituencies. Finally, two case studies looked at how citizens were engaged in overseeing the provision of water services through Water Action Groups (WAGs), consisting of individuals appointed by the water authority to report citizen complaints and monitor responses by the Water Service Providers (WSPs).Publication Participation in Kenya’s Local Development Funds(World Bank Group, Washington, DC, 2015-02)Kenya's new Constitution mandates a new era of public participation in government, particularly within the devolved government structure. The new devolved structures can benefit from reviewing the country's prior experience with participation in decentralized funds. The Kenyan government and citizens gained extensive experience in local participatory development through decentralized programs and funds, in particular the local authority transfer fund (LATF) and the constituency development fund (CDF). This paper focuses on the two development funds because participatory initiatives both by the government and the civil society were centered on them. This paper reviews Kenya's past experiences on public participation in local service delivery to highlight practical lessons that county governments can draw from as they design participation mechanisms.Publication Inclusive and Effective Citizen Engagement(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2018)The introduction of citizen engagement into law is an idea that is gaining popularity around the world. New provisions in Kenya’s Constitution enshrine openness, accountability, and public participation as guiding principles for public financial management. Yet, translating participation laws into meaningful action on the ground is no simple task. Experience has shown that in the absence of commitment from leaders and citizens and without appropriate capacities and methodologies, public participation provisions may lead to simple tick the box exercises. With support from the Kenya participatory budgeting initiative (KPBI), and the commitment from West Pokot and Makueni county leaders, PB is being tested as a way to achieve more inclusive and effective citizen engagement processes while complying with national legal provisions. This report captures the experiences of Makueni and West Pokot counties.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Argentina Country Climate and Development Report(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2022-11)The Argentina Country Climate and Development Report (CCDR) explores opportunities and identifies trade-offs for aligning Argentina’s growth and poverty reduction policies with its commitments on, and its ability to withstand, climate change. It assesses how the country can: reduce its vulnerability to climate shocks through targeted public and private investments and adequation of social protection. The report also shows how Argentina can seize the benefits of a global decarbonization path to sustain a more robust economic growth through further development of Argentina’s potential for renewable energy, energy efficiency actions, the lithium value chain, as well as climate-smart agriculture (and land use) options. Given Argentina’s context, this CCDR focuses on win-win policies and investments, which have large co-benefits or can contribute to raising the country’s growth while helping to adapt the economy, also considering how human capital actions can accompany a just transition.Publication The Journey Ahead(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2024-10-31)The Journey Ahead: Supporting Successful Migration in Europe and Central Asia provides an in-depth analysis of international migration in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and the implications for policy making. By identifying challenges and opportunities associated with migration in the region, it aims to inform a more nuanced, evidencebased debate on the costs and benefits of cross-border mobility. Using data-driven insights and new analysis, the report shows that migration has been an engine of prosperity and has helped address some of ECA’s demographic and socioeconomic disparities. Yet, migration’s full economic potential remains untapped. The report identifies multiple barriers keeping migration from achieving its full potential. Crucially, it argues that policies in both origin and destination countries can help maximize the development impacts of migration and effectively manage the economic, social, and political costs. Drawing from a wide range of literature, country experiences, and novel analysis, The Journey Ahead presents actionable policy options to enhance the benefits of migration for destination and origin countries and migrants themselves. Some measures can be taken unilaterally by countries, whereas others require close bilateral or regional coordination. The recommendations are tailored to different types of migration— forced displacement as well as high-skilled and low-skilled economic migration—and from the perspectives of both sending and receiving countries. This report serves as a comprehensive resource for governments, development partners, and other stakeholders throughout Europe and Central Asia, where the richness and diversity of migration experiences provide valuable insights for policy makers in other regions of the world.Publication Lebanon Economic Monitor, Fall 2022(Washington, DC, 2022-11)The economy continues to contract, albeit at a somewhat slower pace. Public finances improved in 2021, but only because spending collapsed faster than revenue generation. Testament to the continued atrophy of Lebanon’s economy, the Lebanese Pound continues to depreciate sharply. The sharp deterioration in the currency continues to drive surging inflation, in triple digits since July 2020, impacting the poor and vulnerable the most. An unprecedented institutional vacuum will likely further delay any agreement on crisis resolution and much needed reforms; this includes prior actions as part of the April 2022 International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff-level agreement (SLA). Divergent views among key stakeholders on how to distribute the financial losses remains the main bottleneck for reaching an agreement on a comprehensive reform agenda. Lebanon needs to urgently adopt a domestic, equitable, and comprehensive solution that is predicated on: (i) addressing upfront the balance sheet impairments, (ii) restoring liquidity, and (iii) adhering to sound global practices of bail-in solutions based on a hierarchy of creditors (starting with banks’ shareholders) that protects small depositors.Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.