MCLD Kenya participated in the Devolution Conference 2021 (November 23-26) where Kenya’s President H.E Uhuru Kenyatta was the headline speaker. Hosted by the Makueni County Government, this year’s conference was themed “Multi – level Governance for Climate Action” and sought to address how county governments can be supported to unlock the full potential of climate action during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Chapter had an opportunity to showcase its work in promoting community-led actions at a side-event during the conference. The Chapter challenged and called on leaders at the national and sub-national levels of government to engage local communities by developing their capacity and availing resources needed to address various challenges they face including mitigation and adaption to the ravaging impact of climate change. Various development organizations, community members and governors present at the conference were interested to learn from the collaboration between MCLD and Makueni County Government (MCLD partner county) in integrating community-led actions in addressing various challenges including climate change. MCLD and Makueni, signed an MoU in September 2021, to partner in championing development led by citizens.
Dr. Wilberforce Ottichillo, Governor of Vihiga County, while visiting MCLD’s exhibition booth at the conference, remarked: “Addressing climate change requires community action. I’m excited to learn about the great work the Chapter and Makueni is undertaking to improve development outcomes using bottom-up approach” he added, “Vihiga County will explore ways in which we can collaborate with MCLD to co-create actions and strategies that supports actions by our people to adapt to the climate change impact.”
MCLD Kenya continues to engage with county governments to develop policies and frameworks that are centered around community-led development. The devolved units provide the right platform where communities are involved in finding solutions to challenges, they face. The Chapter also advocates for allocation of more resources to the local level by both levels of government.
Read the resolutions from the conference here