The Senate Standing Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations held a pivotal meeting earlier today to deliberate on the County Government Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025.
This landmark legislation, sponsored by Senator Abdul Mohammed Haji, seeks to overhaul the operational framework of county governments by introducing strict timelines and enhancing executive accountability to ensure that devolution truly works for the people.
The meeting was defined by rigorous debate among Senators as they weighed the Bill’s transformative potential against concerns raised by stakeholders like the Council of Governors (CoG), the County Assembly Forum (CAF), and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), among others.
A major point of contention during the session was a proposal to treat a Governor’s failure to assent to a Bill as a gross violation of the Constitution, a threshold that could lead to their removal from office.
The Bill proposes that a Governor shall, within seven days of receipt of a Bill, assent to the Bill, and if they fail to do so, the Speaker of the County Assembly is empowered to step in and facilitate its publication to ensure the legislative process is not frustrated by executive inaction.
The Senators present provided critical oversight and voiced diverse perspectives on the proposed reforms, highlighting a delicate balancing act between accountability and the constitutional rights of state officers.
While some stakeholders argued the penalty would safeguard the integrity of the county law-making process, the Committee deliberated on deleting this specific removal ground to maintain procedural fairness while still ensuring that laws are eventually published through the Speaker’s intervention.
“This penalty is too punitive and inconsistent with the constitutional threshold set by Article 181. We should delete this specific removal ground to maintain procedural fairness,” Senator Abbas, the Chairperson of the Committee, submitted.
The Bill also introduces fiscal discipline by proposing to cap the number of chief officers at twenty per county to prevent bloated executive structures and administrative inefficiencies that strain budgets.
Further, to ensure seamless transitions after elections, the Bill proposes aligning the terms of County Public Service Boards with the five-year electoral cycle, a move the Council of Governors supported to ensure alignment with a new administration’s manifesto.
Senator (Prof) Margaret Kamar highlighted the practical complexities of the strict timelines for constituting new county executives, noting that the current twenty-one-day provision provided by the Bill is often not feasible due to the complexities of the approval process at the county assembly.
Senator Catherine Mumma questioned the immediate necessity of some amendments, suggesting that the current legal process already allows for laws to become operational within fourteen days.
Taking a different view on the mechanics of legality, Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute raised vital concerns regarding the role of the Gazette, arguing that the failure to publish a law should not prevent it from becoming operational in practice.
Through these deliberations, the Senate has demonstrated its commitment to strengthening the foundations of devolution, ensuring that county governments remain efficient, transparent, and legally accountable to their citizens.
The Devolution Committee will subsequently synthesize these stakeholder submissions and, thereafter, submit a report on the Bill with the necessary amendments on the floor of the Senate for consideration.
By Anthony Solly
