Yulita Cheruiyot wants Deputy Governors Position Clarified

By Robert Mutasi 

Deputy Governor Yulita Cheruiyot of Nandi County is seeking a review of the constitution to define the Deputy governors' responsibilities.

She expressed her displeasure that their roles have been unclear since devolution was implemented.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, August 20, 2024, the nation's chair of the Women Deputy Governors' Caucus claimed that although they voiced their complaints, they were all in vain.

DG Cheruiyot claims that deputy governors in several counties are dealing with numerous difficulties. 

Despite explicitly stated in the constitution, she expressed dissatisfaction with how little recognition they receive.

"I regret the fact that our colleague, the deputy governor for the great people of Uasin Gishu, has reached the point of resigning. We know that for most of us as deputy governors across the land most of us had our expectations not met, more often the challenges that we experience as deputy governors because our roles are not defined properly," she said. 

They emphasized that the majority of the governors lack specific offices stating they don't fully benefit from the allocation of appropriate resources. 

" Most of us as deputy governors don't have any portfolio and that means even in terms of appropriating resources, we have no control," she stated. 

Cheruiyot said that  for counties to resolve the conflict between governors and their deputies, the County Government Act needs to be amended to make the duties of deputy governors more clear. 

" I want to ask that maybe we go back to the drawing board if we can amend the County Government Act to enable us to spell out functions and roles of Deputy governors, this may go a long way in alleviating the crisis that we experience in the number of counties, " said Cheruiyot.