Remarks

 Devolution is taking shape.

• Kenya should be proud of the accomplishments to date:
  • County governments (both executive and legislative) are functioning and managing the resources devolved to them;
  • Counties are also implementing the necessary systems and processes to provide services to citizens.

• In addition, AHADI is helping the County Assembly Forum develop systems and operational manuals, namely human resource and finance manual.  

• During the course of implementation in 2015, the counties, AHADI and USAID have learnt key lessons that have informed our activities in 2016.
  • My team has identified the principal lesson as the need to equip your county staff with the skills in public financial management and planning processes, so counties can prioritize and allocate adequate resources towards priorities.
  • In a short while, the team from AHADI will take us through the 2016 work plan.
•  Training in areas such as legislative review and budget oversight will use a cluster approach and will be aligned with the National Capacity Building Framework (NCBF).
•  In turn, NCBF aligned USAID support with the Government of Kenya framework.
• County-level activities will be geared to the needs of each county, so each county gets the support it needs.

• USAID is keen to see Kenyans enjoy the dream of devolution.
• We remain committed to support devolution and work with counties to become new centers of economic growth.
  • We share in your excitement about the enormous possibilities devolution offers, especially the potential to improve the quality of life for Kenyans. 
• Let me hand over to AHADI Chief of Party Waceke Wachira to walk us through the 2016 work plan. 
•  Thank you for coming today and USAID looks forward to continued partnership over the coming year.

Background:

 USAID is providing institutional and capacity-building support through the USAID flagship devolution project, Agile Harmonized Assistance for Devolved Institutions (AHADI). AHADI is a five-year, $49.4 million activity supporting key national-level institutions mandated to implement devolution and 22 county governments.

During the past year, AHADI supported 12 counties and eight national level institutions. In 2015, prior to commencing county-level support, USAID and a team from AHADI held introductory meetings with the Governors, Speakers and other county leaders. The training and technical assistance provided in 2015 aimed at enhancing county governments. These introductory meetings were critical for building strong partnerships with the counties and USAID. They also provided an opportunity for USAID to highlight other investments. 

The 12 counties targeted in 2015 were: Bomet, Isiolo, Kakamega, Meru, Mombasa, Muranga, Nairobi, Siaya, Tharaka Nithi, Turkana, Vihiga and Wajir. The support to the initial 12 counties will continue in 2016. During this period, AHADI will extend its support to an additional 10 counties: Garissa, Kiambu, Kisii Lamu, Machakos, Mandera, Marsabit, Nandi, Nyamira, and Trans-Nzoia.

From prior experience, planning and scheduling individual county introductory visits takes considerable time, delaying implementation of activities. In January 2016, the USAID COR, the COG and the team from AHADI agreed to hold a joint meeting with County Assembly Forum (this is the leadership body of County Assemblies) in Nairobi, and USAID DO 1 team members were to follow up with county visits.

In addition to county-specific support, AHADI is aiding the CAF Secretariat. This support includes: development of human resources and finance manuals, development of a website and supporting research assistants and technical consultants, when needed, on specialized issues.  USAID, through AHADI, will continue to assist the CAF as additional opportunities emerge.