APRM • SECOND COUNTRY REVIEW REPORT OF THE REPUBLIC OF KENYA 2.12 Several special funds (e.g., Constituency Development Fund (CDF) renamed the National Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF), Constituency Bursary Fund (CBF), Youth Employment Fund (YEF) and Women Employment Fund (WEF) are operated with each having its administrative structure. These and other funds contribute to economic activities and employment. The government is advised to streamline the various development funds to avoid overlap and duplication, and also to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. A comprehensive audit of the funds needs to be carried out. In addition, the full names and addresses of the beneficiaries of each of the funds should be published regularly. Overall, there is need for improved management strategy of the special funds in order to maximize their benefits. 2.13 The general perception of the people of Kenya about devolution is strongly positive and profound. Specifically, the consensus across the broad spectrum of the society is that devolution of functions is a good model of governance for the country. The testimonies during the consultative forums by the CRM revealed that infrastructure, health care, roads, education, among others, have all commonly improved with devolution. However, devolution of functions requires that adequate revenue be allocated to the counties to carry out the functions they are assigned. In some of the consultative forums, the CRM was told that the devolution of healthcare services has some challenges. Spasmodic strikes by health workers, arising from the non-payment of salaries, remain a big challenge in some counties. Given that devolution is still at infancy, a careful re-examination of the decentralisation of healthcare is desirable for effective service delivery. The capacity of the county governments is weak to cope with effective service delivery. Openness, accountability and transparency in the use of financial resources remain a major challenge at the county level. Effective participation in the budget and planning process to own the process of economic governance is very low in most of the counties. The consultation process needs to be strengthened to ensure maximum buy-in by a large segment of the society. 2.14 Currently, corruption remains a major challenge in Kenya, as it is considered endemic and systemic. Combating money laundering has also gained prominence as part of the war against organized crime, drug trafficking, corruption and terrorism. Although various legal and institutional arrangements for fighting corruption are in place, they have not made significant impact, making the international ratings of Kenya’s economic governance fretting. A significant administrative reform is the Huduma initiative. The Government has established Huduma Centres to serve as a one-stop shop for processing services offered by the public sector. The Huduma Centres have improved accessibility to the services provided by the government, reduced personal contact and minimized the opportunity to offer bribes and corruption. 2.15 In order to make a success of the anti-corruption war, a Task Force was appointed by the President in March, 2015 to the Review of Legal, Policy and Institutional Framework for Fighting Corruption. The report of the Task Force is very comprehensive and telling as it carried out a situation analysis of the various aspects of the subject matter, identified the problems and made recommendations. The wide-ranging recommendations of the Task Force encompass legal, policy, institutional frameworks in the devolved system of government, partnerships and multi-agency collaboration, technical assistance, capacitybuilding, strict adherence to the Constitution of Kenya, among others, in the fight against | 36 |