The African Peer Review Mechanism, that was pioneered by countries including Kenya, has seen African nations review each other on governance and economic policies leading to improvements in performance in participating countries.
Kenya was first peer reviewed in 2006 and has been the first to undergo a second review in 2017.
The report of the second peer review was launched on Friday in Nairobi, where the plan to apply the same mechanism to counties was announced.
Kenyatta, who gave the keynote address at the function, said he was pleased with the tremendous progress attained by Kenya through the APRM.
The President said that he is happy that Kenya will set the pace in cascading the peer review mechanism to strengthen the efficient delivery of services at the county government’s level.
“Kenya will be among the first countries to customise the APRM mechanism to the second tier of governance and I believe this will foster democratic dialogue between leaders and citizens in the delivery of services,” said Kenyatta.
Kenyatta said Kenya will continue subjecting itself to peer reviews and is ready for the third APRM.
The milestones mentioned in the second review include the promulgation of the constitution of Kenya in 2010 and the establishment of the devolved system of government which has progressively resolved issues of perceived marginalization.
Other milestones include the successful establishment of constitutional commissions and independent offices.
The establishment of various affirmative action funds notably Women Enterprise Fund, Youth Enterprise Development Fund and the Uwezo Fund; and the establishment of Huduma Centres, as one-stop shops for public service delivery, were also cited as key the milestones in the report.
Some of challenges identified in the report include the issue of gender equity in governance, insecurity largely attributed to terrorism, containing the overall cost of the devolved system, diversity management for national unity, corruption and the quest for transformative leadership and poverty and inequality.