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Now in it’s third year, the annual Legislative Summit is a forum that brings together Senators, Members of the 47 County Assemblies, national government ministries and institutions, constitutional commissions and independent offices, the civil society, and other devolution stakeholders in Kenya. The Senate, in collaboration with the County Assemblies Forum, established the Legislative Summit in 2016.

This year, the theme of the Summit is “The Devolution Debate, Legislating for Sustainable System of Devolved Government.” Part of AFIDEP’s mandate is to strengthen the capacity of African governments to use evidence in decision-making and engage policymakers on the value of evidence in decision-making processes. AFIDEP’s Communications Officer, Diana Warira, who will speak on the role of evidence-informed decision-making in legislative processes on 23 May 2018, will represent the Institute at the Summit.

The Summit seeks to: enhance understanding of the role of legislatures, specifically County Assemblies and the Senate, in Kenya’s development; deliberate the prospects, opportunities and challenges on financial management for improved accountability and legislative oversight for effective performance and service delivery; to interrogate approaches of meaningful engagement and public participation for entrenched representative and participatory democracy; and to unpack the role of the Senate in relation to representing the interests of counties as constituent units and county governments.

The official opening of the Summit takes place on 22 May 2018, with a keynote address from Kenya’s Deputy President William S. Ruto. The Summit is taking place at the PrideInn Paradise Beach Resort, Mombasa County.