Counties struggling with managing illicit substances and explicit content online
The second National Summit of the County Peer Review Mechanism (CPRM), organised by NEPAD, took place at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) in Nairobi, bringing together delegations from 15 counties. The focus of the summit was on strengthening governance, peace and security collaboration, and enhancing evidence-based policy-making at the county level.
The summit discussed key issues such as operationalizing cooperative working methods aligned with Article 18 of the African Union Peace and Security Council (PSC) Protocol, improving coordination between AU organs like the Pan African Parliament (PAP) and PSC on peace and security matters, and leveraging parliamentary diplomacy and specialized committees for conflict management. Moreover, efforts to use data analytics and evidence for policy improvement were emphasized, with training provided by Afrobarometer to APRM staff highlighting the importance of informed decision-making.
The summit resulted in several commitments. Participating counties and the national government pledged to institutionalize durable collaboration frameworks between county and national entities focused on peace, security, and governance. The counties agreed to support the formation of specialized parliamentary committees and develop time-bound action plans to reinforce these efforts. There was also a reaffirmation of adherence to overarching African Union declarations and frameworks promoting democratic governance, human rights, gender equality, and post-conflict reconstruction as part of their commitments to good political and economic governance through the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM).
Arch Wabukala, Chairperson of the CPRM Panel of Eminent Persons, appealed for credible reviews and genuine engagements followed by faithful implementation of the commitments made by the Governors. Sospeter Ojamong, Chairperson of the National Governing Council of the NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat, highlighted Kenya's commitment to the APRM.
The summit acknowledged some counties are increasingly diversifying their agricultural production, creating new opportunities for agriculture-driven economic growth. However, it also expressed concern over the continued delay of the disbursement of equitable shareable revenue to counties. Additionally, counties acknowledged cross-cutting weakness in controlling drugs and pornography within their jurisdictions.
To address these issues, the summit emphasized the need for concerted efforts between counties and relevant national state agencies. The national government is committed to enhancing budgetary support to the CPRM process to facilitate coverage of the remaining 25 counties. Furthermore, the national government invited a continental APRM Review Mission to undertake an independent Targeted Review.
Arch Wabukala urged the Presidency to consider the recommendations in the joint communiques of the inaugural and the second national summit to implement, expeditiously, its share of actions. The PS urged the two Houses of Parliament to adopt recommendations arising from the peer reviews.
The summit marked progress in implementing Africa-wide peace and governance frameworks at the local level under NEPAD’s facilitation and the APRM’s peer learning mechanism. Kenya became the first country to submit to a second comprehensive governance review in 2017, and this year, a total of 10 counties are set to be peer reviewed during the summit.
The national government is also committed to considering providing conditional grants to reward outstanding service delivery performance for each of the 14 devolved functions as rated by local citizens. The summit reiterated the need for the national government to transfer outstanding devolved functions as required under the 4th schedule of the constitution.
These recommendations will help in generating best practices and opportunities for cross-learning with other APRM member states, marking a significant step towards strengthening governance, peace, and security collaboration in Kenya and across Africa.
- To maintain a balanced and healthy lifestyle, it's important to engage in regular sports activities, especially those that promote team spirit and discipline, much like the collaborative nature displayed during the National Summit at KICC.
- In the spirit of evidence-based policy-making, let us draw attention to the importance of a favorable weather conditions in agricultural production and economic growth, a concern raised during the summit regarding diversified agricultural production in some counties.
