Paul Juma

2 September 2010

Nairobi — The national government of Kenya will still be present at the local level despite the decentralised county system.

That will result in two parallel governance structures - national and county - according to Kenya Government Spokesman Alfred Mutua.

Speaking during his weekly media briefing in Nairobi, Dr Mutua said that even with the new counties, it will still be important to have the national government represented at the local level.

However, the roles of these structures will be clearly differentiated so as to avoid conflicts or overlap, he added.

Kenya is currently implementing a new constitution which has significantly deviated from the way the country was governed before, introducing a devolved county system alongside the national government.

Dr Mutua, who spoke Thursday, added that Kenya government had started to make administrative changes that did not require the enactment of laws to ensure Kenyans begin to reap the benefits of the new constitution.

The Government has always maintained that the Provincial Administration officers will be accommodated within the new structure.

And on Thursday, Dr Mutua added that Provincial Commissioners (PCs) and other administrators will be redeployed in the counties and given new roles.

"Some positions may become extinct and new ones may be created. So I don't want to pre-empt, he said," when he was prodded for particular changes.

But he added that some names that have defined the Provincial Administration structure, like PCs, will also change.

Modalities for the overhaul of the governance structure was still being worked on, he added.