GDI Africa at the 5th County Assemblies Forum Legislative Summit: Championing Accountability & Economic Development in Kenya’s Counties
GDI Africa is a locally run and independently-managed global partner organization with a shared vision and mission. GDI’s partners work together to build knowledge and capacity in our incubation services, and often collaborate in their support of initiatives. Our team comes from a variety of backgrounds with experience at top-tier public, private, non-profit, and philanthropic organizations. We share a track record of entrepreneurship, deep social sector experience, and a culture of turning talk into action.
GDI Africa, with GDI Africa CEO Alice Gugalev and others, was privileged to address County Assembly Legislators from across Kenya’s 47 Counties at the 5th Legislative Summit hosted by the County Assemblies Forum (CAF). CAF is a coordinating body of the 47 County Assemblies who perform representation, oversight and legislative functions at the County level. CAF was established by the Constitution of Kenya, 2010.The theme of this year’s Summit was Championing Accountability: Strengthening Oversight for Transparent Leadership through Legislative and Policy Reforms.
Alice shared GDI Africa’s experience of incubating organizations and movements that are responsive to the social and economic needs, and leverage the unique opportunities present in each County, an approach that is particularly important given the prevailing context of reduced ODA, and high public debt. She shared three key learnings from GDI Africa’s experience in the youth employment, tourism, economic development, and childcare sectors, that have the potential to use the present challenges, to reimagine and chart the way to a truly sustainable and resilient future for Kenya’s County Governments:
- Embracing economic development as a function of the County Government. Economic development is an explicit function of County Governments according to the Constitution’s fourth schedule. For Counties to realize this, local and differentiated assets and value chains should be identified and leveraged. Often the best people to do this are those closest to the ground, who understand the context and opportunities, and can anticipate roadblocks to catalyzing system change. These opportunities should meet the ambitions of the County’s integrated development plans. GDI Africa is incubating County or Metropolitan-level Economic Development and Investment Councils to achieve this.
- Revenue recognition at the county level. Now more than ever, there is a huge opportunity for County Governments to diversify revenue streams and identify sources of funding outside of traditional ODA, and the public exchequer. A clear vision and a strong institutional and legal framework are required to inspire confidence and drive local investment. NurtureFirst – incubated by GDI – is working closely with the County Government of Mombasa’s Elimu Scheme to mobilize resources and model alternative frameworks for childcare financing. The Rural Tourism Development Action – an initiative under GDI Africa’s discovery phase – aims to identify hyper-local tourism opportunities to generate previously untapped commercial revenue streams.
- Efficient, effective and transparent government service delivery, supported by policies and budgets. The Constitution devolved critical functions to the County Government. Recognizing that devolution is a process, County Assemblies have a critical role in driving accountability and ensuring that Counties embrace the full breadth of their constitutional functions. Legislators must develop policy and legislative frameworks to guide effective resource allocation and service delivery, informed by quantitative data, and effective and inclusive program design. NurtureFirst – incubated by GDI – works closely with County Governments in Murang’a, Kisumu and Mombasa Counties to map and understand the needs of the homebased childcare sector, and collaboratively design, cost and pilot support programs.