Governor Josphat Nanok has assented to three bills passed by the County Assembly.
Bills signed into law included: Turkana County Frontier Counties Development Council Bill, 2022; Turkana County Ward Development Fund Bill, 2022; and the Turkana County Peace Building and Conflict Management Bill, 2022.
The Frontier Counties Development Council Act (2022) ratifies the establishment of FCDC, a regional development bloc of 10 counties- Turkana, West Pokot, Garissa, Wajir, Marsabit, Samburu, Lamu, Tana River, Isiolo and Mandera.
It also spells out areas of collaboration, the powers and functions of the Councils and its different membership structures including the General Assembly, Governors’ Summit, Secretariat, Women Member of County Assembly Caucus among others.
The County Ward Development Fund Act (2022) ‘provides for the establishment of a fund for promoting development in the Wards and to set up an institutional framework for coordinating development initiatives and projects in the Wards’.
These new pieces of legislation seeks to assure the equitable development of the 30 wards of Turkana, sets a mechanism to identify priorities projects in each ward, further decentralization of County functions and service delivery in line with Article 176 of the Constitution.
The Act also provides for protection of the interest of marginalised communities in each ward and establishes framework for public participation in choice of priority projects funded by the Ward Development Fund.
The Turkana County Peace Building and Conflict Management Act (2022), provides for effective approaches, strategies and establishes different organs for peace building and conflict management. These organs include the County Steering Committee for Peace Building and Conflict Management.
The Committee will comprise of the Governor as Chairperson, County Commissioner and Deputy Chair, Speaker of the County Assembly, County Executive for Public Service, Administration and Disaster Management, the County Attorney, County Police Commander, as well as representatives from NDMA, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Community Civil Organizations and the chairperson of the Council of Elders. County Secretary will act as the secretary of the committee as provide for by the law.
Functions of the steering Committee include providing leadership and guidance on peace building and conflict management matters, fostering Intergovernmental cooperation and lobbying for resources from partners to support peace building.
