Ex Kiambu governor James Nyoro accuses govt of sabotaging devolution
By Cynthia Lodite, August 11, 2025Former Kiambu Governor Dr. James Nyoro has raised concerns over the lack of political goodwill from the National Government, warning that it continues to undermine the spirit and effectiveness of devolution in Kenya.
According to Nyoro, who was speaking in an interview on Monday, August 11, 2025, the National Government has crippled the County Government’s service delivery financially
“It has become increasingly difficult that when the National Government gets itself into a financial crisis situation, the first person to suffer is the County government,” Nyoro said.
On his part, he argues that County Governments have experienced several instances of delayed funds from the National Government, which he states that, without genuine commitment from the national leadership, particularly in resource disbursement and coordination, the County Governments are bound to struggle in fulfilling their mandates.
“There have been delays in the disbursement of funds. Going forward, it is very important for the National Government to have political goodwill in the development,” Nyoro said.
Similarly, Nyoro emphasised that key devolved sectors such as health and agriculture have continued to suffer due to delays in the disbursement of funds and poor coordination between the two levels of government.
“If there is no political goodwill in terms of disbursment of those resources or even in terms of coordination, including some key areas which have been devolved like health and agriculture, it is important that there is a separation,” Nyoro said.
2025 Devolution Conference
The former Kiambu governor made his remarks just ahead of the annual devolution conference set to start on Tuesday, August 12, 2025.
According to the Head of the Councils of Governors, the Council of Governors (CoG) will host the 2025 devolution conference in Homa Bay County.
While making the announcement, the CoG Vice Chairperson and Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga pointed out that the steering committee agreed that the structure and discussions on the Devolution Conference 2025 are to infuse international standards this year.
“We will be opening up the conference to include partner-led side events, further to ensure the side events meet the standards of the conference, ” he added.
On his part, Kahiga hinted that Homa Bay County will curate various activities, like cultural and tourism, that the delegates can partake in during the conference, and it will be uploaded to the devolution’s website.
“We want to assure Kenyans that this year’s conference will be one like no other. We expect the platform will offer an opportunity to learn, network, and forge partnerships that will advance the devolution discourse in Kenya,” he assured.
Worth noting, according to Kahiga, the Devolution Conference serves as a platform for knowledge sharing to enhance the implementation of devolution in Kenya; likewise, the conference will bring together state and non-state actors and will be planned and guided by a multi-agency steering committee.