Reflections from the National Accountability Forum - Nairobi, Kenya. ByTonia Hilary
Kenya is at a crossroads, one where rising public debt, persistent systemic inefficiencies and inequalities threaten to undermine the very essence of our social protection systems.
At the heart of this challenge lies a familiar but pressing question: who is accountable when things fall apart? That’s the question we gathered to tackle at the National Accountability Forum, hosted by the Kenya Human Rights Commission in partnership with the center for fiscal affairs. The event brought together civil society organizations, oversight institutions, members of parliament, and citizens under one roof all with one purpose: to demand answers, call out systemic failure, and to chart a way forward rooted in justice and transparency.
Devolution: As highlighted by the KHRC, reforms have been made that "seem to support full devolution of functions from national to county governments", including efforts like the IGTRC's work on function delineation and state corporation reforms. Yet, these efforts fall short when funding doesn’t follow. Counties are often left carrying out devolved functions without adequate financial support violating the very principle enshrined in Kenyan law that “funds follow functions.” Without this, service delivery, particularly in critical areas like healthcare and social protection, remains compromised.
