Mombasa, KENYA: Devolution experts from the Coastal region are warning of a little or no tangible benefits of devolution will be witnessed in the second phase of county governments, if the witnessed wrangles in the first phase in some coastal counties will not come to an end.
Speaking during a two days media devolution workshop in a hotel in Watamu -Kilifi County, devolution expert Dishon Mgonda said that the wrangles witnessed in the first phase of devolution in some coastal counties have largely hurt the growth of devolution in those counties, hence denying its citizens their rights.
Mgonda, however called on the media to ensure devolution works through creating awareness among the citizens on the roles of devolved systems.
“The fight or misunderstandings we witnessed in the previous county governments between the county leaders and the national leaders in counties like Mombasa and Kilifi, have been a major setback as far as devolution is concerned,” said Mngoda.
He added that the media is a major stakeholder in ensuring that devolution succeeds.
“The media has a big role to play in sensitizing the public and creating awareness to ensure that citizen fully participates in the governance and development of their county”, added Mgonda.
However, the devolution expert admitted that some milestones have been made since the inception of devolution, and lessons learned.
The 2 days media Workshop on Devolution was attended by journalists from different media houses from the coast region.
The Workshop was a Courtesy of Partnership for Transformational Devolution project funded by a Germany organization –KONRAD ADENURE STIFTUNG.
Topics covered included: 5 years of Devolution in Kenya and its Milestones, Challenges and lessons learned, Different phases in the planning of CIDP, Investigative and Analytical Reporting on Devolution among others.
