Deputy President William Ruto has told off African Union High Representative on Infrastructure Development Raila Amolo Odinga over the proposal to reduce counties.
Speaking at the closing ceremony of the Sixth Annual Devolution Conference in Kirinyaga County, the second in command said that the push to reduce the counties is ill-timed and ill-advised.
He insisted that the counties need better management and not reduction to ensure they realize development.
“The success and future of devolution therefore is not going to be determined by size or population but rather by creative, innovative and innovative but leadership. The debate about size, groupings and mergers is a treacherous narrative that simplistic, retrogressive and seeks to reverse the hard earned gains of our reform endeavor,” he said.
He also challenged those accusing him of being corrupt to report him to the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) George Kinoti.This comes after Raila, who has vowed to work with President Uhuru Kenyatta, said that he is fully behind the merger of counties.
The ODM leader argued that some counties are too small to realize development. He also said that the bigger units will realize development faster compared to the small ones in the near future if the proposal is accepted.