Kisumu Governor Professor Peter Anyang’ Nyong’o has pushed back against a proposal by Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang’ to reduce the number of counties from 47 to 13.
The governor, who also served as senator between 2013 and 2017, said such a move would undermine the principles of devolution.
Responding to Senator Kajwang’s recent speech in Homa Bay, where the senator called the current number of counties "unsustainable," Nyong’o dismissed the suggestion as simplistic.
Nyong’o said Kajwang’s numbers-driven approach fails to grasp the deeper context of Kenya’s devolved governance.
“This is a knee-jerk reaction of an accountant mesmerised by the game of easy calculation of figures,” Nyong’o said in a statement dated April 23.
“At the dawn of devolution, there were extensive discussions about how many counties were appropriate. These historical and constitutional considerations cannot be casually dismissed."
While acknowledging Kajwang’s right to raise concerns, Nyong’o urged the senator to initiate a broader, inclusive discussion involving stakeholders from various fields before pushing for structural changes to the devolution framework.
“I suggest that Kajwang’ call for a serious discussion involving diverse representatives from different schools of thought, so that this issue can be deliberated upon seriously and resolved in a manner that will benefit the nation,” Nyong’o said.
The governor reiterated his support for the current 47-county model, calling for a sober evaluation of its achievements and shortcomings rather than a radical overhaul.
“In the meantime, I submit that I fully accept the present structure of devolution. Let us evaluate it, establish what has been achieved, and identify what we could have accomplished after acknowledging some of the shortcomings we might have overlooked,” he added.
Kajwang’s proposal has already triggered debate among political leaders and governance experts, with some calling it bold and necessary.
Others see Kajwang’s proposal as a threat to the inclusivity and service delivery goals that devolution was meant to achieve.
Addressing a public gathering in Homa Bay, Kajwang’ expressed concern over what he termed as the inefficiency and high cost of maintaining the current devolved governance structure.
He argued that the existing system, though well-intentioned, has become a financial burden to the country and is in urgent need of reform.
“We need to have a serious conversation about the sustainability of our devolution model,” Kajwang’ said.
“The structure we have today is bloated and expensive.
Reducing the number of counties to at least 13 would ensure efficient service
delivery and better use of public resources.”
