County governments are now slightly over two years old since coming to effect in March 2013. The Constitution of Kenya 2010, that heralded onset of devolution and creation of a two-tier system of government, accords county government substantive, administrative, fiscal, and political responsibilities. As a result, this has heightened expectations that bringing the government closer to the people will address existing resource allocation and service delivery challenges. In the same breath, there are fears that devolution may actually exacerbate inequalities and corruption.
On this basis, the IEA, during June-August 2014, implemented a Sub-National Open Budget Survey (SNOBS). Since this survey allows for cross-county comparison, it serves as a useful tool to assess progress of counties in terms of budget transparency, and will in turn be useful in informing policy reform processes.
