The Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relations has commended the Makueni County Government for making progress in implementing the Urban Areas and Cities Act, saying the county is among a few that have taken steps to operationalise the law.
The Makueni boss Mutula Kilonzo Jr appeared before the Wajir led-Senator committee Mohamed Abbas to apprise the senate on the status of urban governance and implementation of the Act in the county.
The committee has been summoning governors to assess the implementation of the Urban Areas and Cities Act, with senators expressing concern that several counties have failed to establish and operationalise urban governance structures as required by law.
"This committee summoned governors to evaluate the implementation of the Urban Areas and Cities Act and has been disappointed that many counties have largely ignored this law. Makueni is among the few counties that have recognized the need to operationalize the law right from the start," Senator Abbas noted.
Governor Mutula told the committee that Makueni currently has three chartered municipalities Wote, Emali-Sultan Hamud and Mbooni-Kee with structures established to support their operations.
The governor told the senators that Wote and Emali-Sultan Hamud municipalities have fully constituted boards and competitively recruited municipal managers. Wote has 22 employees while Emali-Sultan Hamud has 20 employees.
The governor said, ‘’Mbooni-Kee Municipality, which was established less than six months ago, has four board members, an acting manager and seven staff members. Three additional nominees are awaiting vetting by the County Assembly.’’
The governor said the county has fully gazetted the municipal charters and developed nine draft municipal bylaws covering key urban functions, including spatial planning, solid waste management, traffic control, trade regulation and environmental protection.
Mutula also told the senators that Emali-Sultan Hamud Municipality emerged as the county's highest revenue collector during the 2025/2026 financial year after the county delegated selected local revenue streams to the municipality.
A major issue before the committee was the legal framework governing revenue collection and retention by municipalities.
Governor Mutula raised concerns over what he described as a statutory mismatch between the Urban Areas and Cities Act and Sections 171 and 172 of the Public Finance Management Act.
He said an administrative order that took effect on July 1, 2026, allowed Wote and Emali-Sultan Hamud municipalities to collect and retain revenue at source from designated revenue streams under a three-year pilot programme.
Mutula called for Parliament to establish a uniform legal framework to guide the delegation and retention of municipal revenues across the country.
He proposed that the framework be modelled on the Facility Improvement Fund used in the health sector, arguing that a similar arrangement would enable municipalities to meet their operational costs directly.
However, the committee's Vice-Chairperson, Senator Catherine Mumma, differed with the governor's proposal for a new national law, saying existing legislation already provides counties with sufficient authority to delegate revenue collection.
"Nothing stops a county executive and assembly from putting in place the necessary administrative policies to ensure urban entities function smoothly," Senator Catherine Mumma submitted.
The committee also raised concerns over the terminology used in Gazette Notices relating to the movement of functions to municipalities, with senators questioning the use of the term "transfer of functions" instead of "delegation."
Senators further sought clarification on how Makueni was dealing with land-use conflicts in rapidly expanding peri-urban areas and measures being taken to shield traders from double taxation.
The committee also questioned the county on safeguards to guarantee the operational independence of municipal boards and the need for a new Integrated Development Plan for Wote Municipality following the expiry of its 2021–2025 plan.
Governor Mutula further called for a review of conditional grant allocations to urban areas, particularly development funds provided through programmes such as the Kenya Urban Support Program.
He proposed that such funds be made direct and mandatory for urban areas, linking the proposal to the affirmative action principles provided for under Article 204 of the Constitution.
Makueni County also told the committee that its three municipalities have dedicated bank accounts at Kenya Commercial Bank and Co-operative Bank and that the accounts comply with public finance management requirements.
The county said designated Accounting Officers oversee the municipal accounts and affairs in accordance with Section 179 of the Public Finance Management Act.
The committee's assessment places Makueni among counties making visible progress in establishing the governance, financial and administrative structures required to give effect to the Urban Areas and Cities Act.