Trisha Shetty (Editor)

Counties of Kenya

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Category
  
Semi-Devolved State

Number
  
47 Counties

Location
  
Republic of Kenya

Counties of Kenya

Populations
  
101,539 (Lamu) – 3,138,369 (Nairobi)

Areas
  
294.7 km (113.8 sq mi) (Mombasa) – 71,597.8 km (27,644.1 sq mi) (Turkana)

Government
  
County Government, Government of Kenya

The counties of Kenya are geographical units envisioned by the 2010 Constitution of Kenya as the units of devolved government. The powers are provided in Articles 191 and 192, and in the fourth schedule of the Constitution of Kenya and the County Governments Act of 2012. The counties are also single member constituencies for the election of members of parliament to the Senate of Kenya and special women members of parliament to the National Assembly of Kenya. As of 2013 general elections, there are 47 counties whose size and boundaries are based on the 47 legally recognised Districts of Kenya. Following the re-organisation of Kenya's national administration, counties were integrated into a new national administration with the national government posting county commissioners to represent it at the counties.

Contents

Establishment

County governments were established in 47 counties (based on the 1992 Districts of Kenya), after the scheduled general elections in March 2013. The counties' names are set out in the First Schedule of the Constitution of Kenya.

List of counties

Under the new constitution, Kenya is now divided into 47 counties for administrative purposes. They are grouped below according to the former province of which they were part, with their areas and populations as of the 2009 census:

County Governments

County governments are responsible for county legislation (outlined in article 185 of the Constitution of Kenya), executive functions (outlined in article 183), functions outlined in the fourth schedule of the constitution of Kenya, functions transferred from the national government through article 187 of the constitution of Kenya, functions agreed upon with other counties under article 189(2) of the constitution of Kenya, and establishment and staffing of a public service (under article 235 of the Constitution of Kenya). The functions of governments assigned to counties by the fourth schedule of the Constitution of Kenya are:

Agriculture

  • Crop and animal husbandry
  • Livestock sale yards
  • County abattoirs (slaughterhouses)
  • Plant and animal disease control
  • Fisheries

    • County health services

  • County health facilities and pharmacies
  • Ambulance services
  • Promotion of primary health care
  • Licensing and control of undertakings that sell food to the public
  • Veterinary services (excluding regulation of the profession)
  • Cemeteries, funeral parlors and crematoria
  • Refuse removal, refuse dumps and solid waste disposal

    • Pollution, Nuisances and Advertising Control

  • Control of air pollution, noise pollution, other public nuisances and outdoor advertising

    • Cultural activities, public entertainment and public amenities

  • Betting, casinos and other forms of gambling
  • Racing
  • Liquor licensing
  • Cinemas
  • Video shows and hiring
  • Libraries
  • Museums
  • Sports and cultural activities and facilities
  • County parks, beaches and recreation facilities

    • County transport

  • County roads
  • Street lighting
  • Traffic and parking
  • Public road transport
  • Ferries and harbours, excluding the regulation of international and national shipping and matters related thereto

    • Animal control and welfare

  • Licensing of dogs
  • Facilities for the accommodation, care and burial of animals
  • Killing of stray pets

    • Trade development and regulation

  • Markets
  • Trade licences, excluding regulation of professions
  • Fair trading practices
  • Local tourism
  • Cooperative societies

    • County planning and development

  • Statistics
  • Land survey, planning and mapping
  • Boundaries and fencing
  • Housing
  • Electricity and gas reticulation and energy regulation

    • Education and Childcare

  • Pre-primary education, village polytechnics, homecraft centres and childcare facilities

    • Policy Implementation

  • Implementation of specific national government policies on natural resources and environmental conservation
  • Soil and water conservation
  • Forestry

    • County public works and services

  • Storm water management systems in built-up areas
  • Water and sanitation services

    • Coordination

  • Ensuring and co-ordinating the participation of communities and locations in governance at the local level
  • Assisting communities and locations to develop the administrative capacity for the effective exercise of the functions and powers and participation in governance at the local level

    • County Executive Committee

    The county governor and the deputy county governor are the chief executive and deputy chief executive of the county, respectively. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission shall not conduct a separate election for the deputy governor but shall declare the running mate of the person who is elected county governor to have been elected as the deputy governor. Each county will be run by an executive committee, consisting of:

  • A governor, elected directly by the people
  • A deputy, elected as running mate of the successful candidate for governorship
  • A number of committee members not exceeding a third (or ten where a county assembly has more than 30 members) of the members of the respective county assembly
  • A county secretary, nominated by the governor and approved by the county assembly, who will double up as head of the county public service, and secretary to the county executive committee

    • As a specialty in the democratic system Kenyan law requires governors to have a recognized university degree (it is not necessary for the President of the United States, for example, to hold a degree).

    County Assemblies

    The counties will each have an assembly whose members are elected from single member constituencies known as wards. There may also be a number of nominated members as is necessary to ensure that neither male nor female members constitute more than two-thirds of the assembly. There will also be six nominated members to represent marginalized groups (persons with disabilities, and the youth) and a speaker who will be an ex officio member of the assembly.

    History

    Embu County governor Martin Nyagah Wambora was the first governor to be impeached following allegations of impropriety.

    Current List of Governors

    The governors listed below took office on 27 March 2013, unless otherwise noted.

    References

    Counties of Kenya Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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