Two levels of government
Kenya has a national government and 47 county governments. Each county has a Governor, who runs the county executive, and a county assembly of MCAs, who make county laws and oversee the executive. The Fourth Schedule of the Constitution lists who does what.
County responsibilities include
- County health services, including county health facilities and pharmacies, ambulance services and primary health care.
- Agriculture, including crop and animal husbandry, livestock sale yards and fisheries.
- County transport: county roads, street lighting, traffic and parking, public road transport.
- Pre-primary education, village polytechnics, home craft centres and childcare facilities.
- Trade development and regulation, including markets and trade licences.
- County planning and development, water and sanitation services, and firefighting and disaster management.
The national government keeps
- Defence, foreign affairs, the police, courts and citizenship.
- Education policy and standards, universities, and primary and secondary schools.
- Health policy and national referral health facilities, and national trunk roads.
The money
Revenue raised nationally is shared between the national and county governments. Every year at least fifteen per cent of all revenue collected by the national government goes to the counties as their equitable share. Counties also raise some money themselves, for example from licences and fees.