{
  "id": 14408145,
  "title": "West Pokot named Kenya’s happiest county in new devolution survey",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/west-pokot-named-kenyas-happiest-county-in-new-devolution-survey",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-14T08:28:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Capital FM Kenya",
    "slug": "capital-fm-kenya",
    "url": "https://capitalfm.africa/west-pokot-named-kenyas-happiest-county-in-new-devolution-survey/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Nyeri, Kenya — West Pokot has claimed the top spot among Kenya's happiest counties, according to a new devolution survey by Timely Kenya. The survey assessed public perceptions of county government performance in areas such as water, health, education, agriculture, and social and economic empowerment. This marks the fourth edition of the Devolution Scorecard, released on the fourth anniversary of the 2022 General Election. West Pokot's governor, Simon Kachapin, was also among the five county chiefs respondents identified as consistently visible on the ground.\n\nThe survey polled 3,303 residents across all 47 counties through Computer-Assisted Telephone Interviews (CATI) between September 21 and October 12, 2026. The findings revealed that 55.9% of respondents believed devolution was working, while 39% felt it was not delivering as expected. Corruption topped the list of concerns affecting county governments, followed by poor planning and prioritisation, wastage of public funds, inadequate oversight by county assemblies, and late fund disbursement from the national government. Despite these concerns, respondents generally viewed positive impacts of devolution across various sectors, with particular emphasis on healthcare, education, and job creation.",
  "summary": "Murang’a ranked second in the happiness index, followed by Narok, Machakos and Trans Nzoia.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Capital FM Kenya",
        "title": "Ndeti, Wamatangi top Timely Kenya’s fourth-year devolution scorecard",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/14/ndeti-wamatangi-top-timely-kenyas-fourth-year-devolution-scorecard",
        "published": "2026-10-14T08:43:09.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}