Politics Uhuru, Ruto urge governors to uphold devolution

President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing County Governors at State House, Nairobi on April 11, 2013. Photo/PPS 

By PPS

County Governors have been urged to ensure that devolution succeeds even as the new government endeavours to fully implement the Constitution.

In a meeting with governors on Thursday at State House, Nairobi, President Uhuru Kenyatta and Deputy President William Ruto said their offices were open for consultation on issues affecting county governments.

“Just as I said during my inauguration, devolution is not a choice but our civic duty to ensure we support it to the fullest. It is our responsibility to support devolution as stipulated in the Constitution, which we swore to protect and defend,” President Kenyatta said.

Mr Ruto also said that the government's only choice was to ensure that devolution succeeds.

“The one thing that we are not going to do is to fail. We must do whatever it takes to ensure devolution succeeds,” Mr Ruto said.

Mr Kenyatta also noted that Kenyans expect service delivery to improve with the inclusion of every stakeholder as per the spirit of the Constitution.

“Those expectations are still there so people are really looking up to you with a lot of hope and expectations,” he said.

“That is why the first meeting we are having with elected representatives is with you as a sign of our commitment to devolution,” he added.

President Kenyatta also urged the governors to work with the national government irrespective of challenges that will arise while administering duties.

“Let us understand that we will have problems but we are committed to working together in resolving those problems and ensuring devolution succeeds,” he said.