Mandera Governor Ali Roba has opposed National Super Alliance (NASA) leader Raila Odinga’s push for a three-tier government.
Mr Roba said Mandera county does not want its project and programmes to be coordinated in another region or county.
Governor Roba who praised devolution said Mr Raila’s proposal would be a setback for devolution, especially in North Eastern counties.
The governor added that county governments had made a lot of progress under the current devolution structure which he said has transformed Kenyan lives across the country.
He further said that Mr Raila needed to know that governors have since formed economic blocs to coordinate large-scale inter-county programs.
“What Mr Raila is talking about in Nairobi is not acceptable in this part of the country and we cannot accept to be taken to Garissa for services.”
“We are having our first tarmac road in fifty years and many other new things have come our way and he (Raila) is proposing that we go back to Garissa. We will not accept that.”
“How can Mandera be getting its share from Garissa when in the past we were forgotten and what will change?” asked Mr Roba.
The opposition leader had proposed for a review of the structure of devolution saying there is a need for the establishment of a three-tier government as one of the ways of finding lasting solutions to the problem posed by economically weak devolved units.
“There is a need for the county to adopt a three-tier system that retains the current counties, creates a regional government and retains the national government, to create units with the size and population that are economically viable,” said Mr Raila.