Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) in partnership with the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) with technical support from European Union (EU) have today launched The Integrated Devolution Data Portal (TIDDP) aimed at centralizing devolution information onto a single platform.
The portal is an interactive platform for information sharing between County Governments, Constitutional Implementation Bodies, the public and other stakeholders, providing a unified space for users to easily identify, retrieve and use devolution information.
ICT Cabinet Secretary, Mr. Joe Mucheru noted that the government is keen to provide relevant information from all Counties to investors for decision making and encourages accountability of public officers.
“The portal attests the government commitment to freedom to information. Citizens have the right to information owned by the state. This information will include County legislation, public participation forums, revenue laws, equitable share expenditures essential in decision making particularly for investment and business,” said Mr. Mucheru.
Devolution in Kenya still faces challenges including overdependence on the national government for finances, an unstructured mechanism to sustain investment attraction to counties, inconsistent County regulatory frameworks and lack of a national framework to guide Counties in policy and legislations affecting business.
“The portal aims at collecting and aggregating resources and simplifying access to data, news, County websites, and task performance tools through single-log-in profiles,” said CRA chairperson, Dr. Jane Kiringai.
KAM Head of Operation, Mr. Dalmas Okendo noted that the portal is a vital tool to enrich Counties and enhance investment opportunities.
“The Integrated Devolution Data Portal that we are launching today will encourage counties to explore their natural advantages to attract investment. Our 10-point policy agenda, which is a guide map for political leaders to centralize industrialization in their economic agenda, points out the creation of an enabling business environment as the number one priority that will guarantee job creation and economic growth. The portal will play a key role in doing this for county governments,” added Mr. Okendo.