Local communities will now have a big influence in development projects being implemented by county Governments.

This is after the establishment of community led project management committees, an initiative spearheaded by the State Department of Devolution under the Second Kenya Devolution Support Program.

Speaking during the closure of Training for Trainers Workshop held at Acacia Resort in Makueni County, Principal Secretary, State Department of Devolution, Michael Loikenu Lenasalon termed the community led committee as transformative in “restructuring how communities are involved and engaged” in county led development projects.

“The PMCs are established to ensure wananchi priorities inform projects to be implemented by counties. This will strengthen public participation across the counties”

“In the formation of PMCs, factors to consider include the project designers, the complexity of the system, the nature of the project including technical complexity, the number of users, and diff erent activities and stakeholders to be coordinated.”

The Project Management Committee is composed of local community members elected or nominated by communities to oversight development projects initiated by counties. Through them, county governments engage communities beyond project prioritization and selection to actual oversight during the implementation phase of the budget.

“Counties that have pioneered community-led oversight structures have made a positive impact on the ground because county projects reflect community priorities and are worth emulating.” Said the PS.

“The community-led PMC is furnished with all relevant information on the project including Bills of Quantities (BQs), contract agreements and other documentation to enable them to perform their oversight role effectively” The PS further added.

The PS challenged the county Officers to “localize the Committee in line with your realities on the ground’ and ensure members of communities are fully involved from project inception to official handover to communities.

“Now that the training has come to an end, I implore you to apply the knowledge learnt; reflect on how the PMC concept can be contextualized and implemented back home. Your role as PMC champions is central to cascading this vision, ensuring that every PMC established is grounded on legitimacy, clarity of mandate, and a shared purpose of serving the community.” The PS added.

The PS identified Makueni and Homabay Counties as model counties who have excelled in establishing effective project Management committees.

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