Opposition leader Raila Odinga has proposed institution of radical changes into the Constitution to create a three-tier system of government.
Raila said if his proposal is endorsed, it will enhance the working relationship between national and county governments and will also achieve equitable distribution of resources.
“My proposal is that we adopt a three-tier system that retains the current counties, creates regional governments and retains the national government and with a very clear formula for revenue sharing,” said Raila according to the Star.
He spoke at the 5th Devolution Conference in Kakamega yesterday. About 6, 000 delegates are in attendance.
Raila’s proposal was in direct reference to the 2005 Bomas Draft Constitution which rooted for 14 regional governments.
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Each region would have seven districts. The drafters said the creation of the units will bolster the regions’ economic viability and spur development.
The former Prime Minister said his proposal was part of their unity deal with President Uhuru Kenyatta that culminated in the historic handshake at the steps of Harambee House on March 9.
“We need to bite the bullet and revisit the structure of devolution. It is time to look at how to recover this original spirit,” retorted Raila.
A regional government going by the Bomas Draft would have a regional legislative assembly and a regional Executive. Each region’s Executive would be led by an elected Premier and a deputy-both elected by an electoral college of all elected members of district councils in the particular region.
To the districts, each one of them would be semi-autonomous in that it has its own government with a district council and a district executive. It would be made up of elected councilors.
In the three-tier system, Raila defended his proposal, challenges associated with sizes of the economies of counties where some are very small while others are huge will be addressed.
Some of the problems include lack of systems and runaway corruption.
The former Prime Minister urged counties to continue forming regional blocs but urged county assemblies to cooperate. He lauded the formation of the 14-county Lake Region Economic Bloc of Western Kenya.
“Our aim is modest, humble and noble. We continue to encourage our counties to explore the formation of economic blocs to address some of the challenges identified,” he said.
“I encourage all counties that are exploring such formations to soldier on and their assemblies to cooperate,” he added.
While addressing the delegates on Tuesday via video link, Uhuru said he supports regional blocs to boost growth and also create employment opportunities.
Counties in Mt Kenya, Rift Valley and the Coast have already formed regional blocs with an aim to spur growth and development.