(The Half-Fulfilled Promise of Devolution in Kisumu)
By John Wesley
Devolution was meant to bring government closer to the people. It was meant to end years of neglect, to give Kisumu citizens dignity, services, and a chance at shared prosperity. And truth be it, at some point, devolution has reached. We now see ward administrators in offices, health facilities built like one; Nyalenda Health Center that has a maternity wing under construction, feeder roads opened, and bursaries that have lifted at least a few children back into school. These are changes worth noting.
But the story does not end there. Walk through the estates of Nyalenda, Manyatta, Obunga, or the villages in Nyakach and Seme, and you will see that devolution has been hijacked. The dream of self-governance has become a nightmare of misplaced priorities and betrayal.
The numbers are shocking. Kisumu County’s 2024/25 budget is in the billions. The Department of Public Service, County Administration & Participatory Development alone takes nearly 39% of the entire budget. Why? Because every salary, every allowance, every administrative cost is lumped there. In contrast, critical services are starved. Health, which receives about 31.6% of the county budget, spends nearly 80% on payroll, with only 4% left for development. What does that mean on the ground? Hospitals without medicine. Health centers without equipment. Communities forced to fundraise for bills, or even wheelchairs.
Meanwhile, in the informal settlements, over 90% of households rely on shared pit latrines, many in deplorable condition. Yet sanitation receives a negligible allocation…year after year. Women fetch water from unsafe sources while the county pours nearly a billion shillings into “infrastructure and public works”, most of which never translates to working drainage, safe water, or functional roads in the estates.
The story is the same in agriculture. Farmers in Nyando watch their produce rot in the fields because there is no storage, no market access. Yet the Department of Agriculture’s development allocation is a mere KSh 291 million, compared to over KSh 5 billion for Finance and Planning. This is not just imbalance; it is betrayal.
And even when money is allocated, it is not spent. The County Budget Implementation Review Report reveals consistent under-absorption of funds. Projects stall. Procurement delays pile up. Billions remain in books while Kisumu residents queue in hospitals without drugs, or walk on muddy paths that were “budgeted for” years ago.
This is what devolution has become: a tool for elites to enrich themselves while citizens are left with press statements and broken promises.
But insecurity in Kisumu is not just about crime or protests. It is the insecurity of a mother in Nyalenda who delivers her child in darkness because the facility has no better maternity wing. It is the insecurity of a graduate in Nyamasaria who carries his certificate from one office to another but is told jobs are reserved for relatives of the powerful. It is the insecurity of a fisherman on Lake Victoria whose catch rots for lack of storage, while county leaders host “investment conferences” in posh hotels.
Elections alone are not democracy. Budgets alone are not devolution. True devolution means every voice, every village, every estate matters. It means budgets that reach the people, not just boardrooms. It means service delivery, not endless workshops.
Kisumu people are watching. And they are speaking. From market women in Jubilee, to farmers in Muhoroni, to youth groups in Manyatta…they demand accountability. They demand dignity. Devolution cannot just be about big words and glossy documents. It must be about impact.
To every leader in Kisumu: the time for excuses is over. The people see the billions. They feel the betrayal. And they will not be silenced.
