His Excellency President Uhuru Kenyatta today appointed a Panel of Eminent Persons for the County Peer Review Mechanism (CPRM) to help direct county peer reviews going forward and for the following three years in order to promote good governance and continuous improvement of service delivery in the counties.
Prof. Olive Mugenda, Archbishop Emeritus Eliud Wabukhala, Amb. Rukia Ahmed Subow, and Dr. John Kakonge are members of the Panel of Eminent Persons for the County Peer Review Mechanism, whose responsibility it is to make sure the reviews are impartial, efficient, and credible.
The others are Mr. Pete Ondeng, Mr. Salesa Adano Abudo, Dr. Wanjiru Kamau, Dr. Hassan Bashir, and Dr. Josephine Kulea.
President Kenyatta stated that the commissioning of the CPRM Panel of Eminent Persons gives impetus to the Open Government Partnership’s (OGP) efforts aimed at enhancing service delivery in the counties in a speech read on his behalf by the Head of Public Service Dr. Joseph Kinyua at State House, Nairobi.
The President thanked the distinguished individuals for offering their services as the initial panel for the County Peer Review Mechanism out of a sense of civic duty.
The Eminent Personalities will be tasked with explaining to each governor the results of the peer reviews and how they will be put into practise for both local residents’ welfare and the good of the nation.
The County Peer Review Mechanism (CPRM), which is based on the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM), will reach its zenith at a national summit of the CPRM, where governors will peer-review one another and the Presidency will attend as an interested party and observer.
More than 20 state agencies, constitutional commissions, and independent offices are involved in the CPRM initiative, one of President Kenyatta’s legacy projects, which is coordinated by the NEPAD/APRM Kenya Secretariat in collaboration with the Council of Governors (CoG).
The initiative gives citizens the chance to democratically converse with their officials and decide on commitments that should be prioritised for execution.
The CPRM reports will be helpful as oversight tools for members of County Assemblies and the houses of Parliament in addition to increasing public participation in governance and development.
Surprisingly, Kenya is the first of the APRM’s 42 members to voluntarily cascade the fundamentals of governance down to the level of governors through the use of peer reviews.
The initiative’s implementation has advanced significantly in the counties of Meru, Tharaka Nithi, Makueni, Machakos, Nakuru, and Siaya, according to President Kenyatta.
Vihiga, Kilifi, Nyandarua, and Kakamega were also mentioned by the President as counties that had made noteworthy advancements.