When Kenya handed power and budgets to 47 counties in 2013, the goal was simple: bring decisions closer to the people. A decade later, new research shows it’s working—especially in 14 historically marginalized counties. Backed by an equity-focused funding model, the move has more than doubled household consumption from about $25 to $58, bringing them closer to wealthier regions. Education spending has also jumped by 37%, medical expenses by 43%, and mobile airtime budgets have grown. Poorer families saw the biggest proportional gains, while better-off households increased spending on education and healthcare. Two factors drove the change: counties spent twice as much per person on services, and devolution created local jobs and business opportunities. With transparent funding rules and mobile money making transactions easy, Kenya’s experiment offers a powerful lesson for other African nations considering decentralization.
The Conversation
