National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga on Wednesday proposed major changes to the country's system of governance.
While delivering the keynote address at the 2018 Devolution Conference in Kakamega , Raila hailed the successes of devolved units over the past 5 years before highlighting threats to devolution that he maintained must be addressed.
He noted that while several counties had come together to form economic blocs, the current structure of devolution needed to be revised to ensure the units were economically viable.
The opposition boss then proposed a new 3-tier system that borrows elements of the 2005 Bomas draft constitution but retains the current counties along with the national government.
"We need to bite the bullet and revisit the structure of devolution. The Bomas draft had 14 regions and the intention was to have units that were economically viable. It is time to look at how to recover this system.
"I propose a 3-tier system that retains the counties, creates regional or provincial governments and retains the national government with a clear formula of revenue sharing," he declared.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader was one of the key proponents of devolution and is credited with vouching for the system as it exists in the 2010 constitution.
Speaking at Kakamega High School, he highlighted noticeable development brought about by devolution in counties such as Makueni, Wajir, Kisumu and Kirinyaga before tearing into county officials and elected leaders for using their positions to enrich themselves.
He noted that many Governors, County Executive Committee (CEC) members, Members of County Assembly (MCAs) and other county officials were accused of engaging in high-level corruption and misusing public resources.
Raila Odinga being welcomed to the 2018 Devolution Conference by Council of Governors Chair Josphat Nanok
"This corruption network is eating devolution from inside out, the greatest gift we have bestowed on ourselves since independence. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) should conduct proper lifestyle audits," Raila stated.
He asked the governors to support his Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with President Uhuru Kenyatta noting that it would also deal with rampant corruption.
"Fighting corruption and shielding devolution are no longer partisan issues. We shall not provide sanctuaries. Very soon, the corrupt will be on their own," he warned.
