HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, POST, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"count": 1608389,
"next": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=139229",
"previous": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=api&page=139227",
"results": [
{
"id": 1408691,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408691/?format=api",
"text_counter": 139,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13599,
"legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
"slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
},
"content": "absolutely devastated. People have not been paid for years. Their businesses have been closed, people have been auctioned, and yet we continue to talk about pending bills. That is why I supported the Motion that was brought to this Floor by the Senator for Narok County, that we need to ring-fence money, and once money is sent to the counties, the county governments must make sure that they pay all those pending bills. Mr. Speaker, Sir, finally, I want to speak on the question of overlap of functions. Again, I refer you to this report of our own Parliamentary Budget Office. If you go to page 58 of that report, the budget office has highlighted areas where there are overlaps. We will continue to tell the national Government to, please, get out of the business of county governments. I was very happy when for the first time, the Cabinet Secretary for Gender, Culture, Arts and Heritage came here and told us that, “this is not the business of national Government. We have no business staying in it.” Mr. Speaker, Sir, one of the areas that have been identified is library services. If you read the report of the committee, the National Treasury is deducting library services money from county government’s shareable revenue. The Cabinet Secretary herself confirmed here that the national library at Milimani in Nairobi is still in the hands of the national Government. They insist on sticking with the functions, yet they deduct money that is meant for library services from the shareable revenue of county governments and national Government. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this overlap has also been seen in places such as the energy sector where power transmission---"
},
{
"id": 1408692,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408692/?format=api",
"text_counter": 140,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Kingi",
"speaker_title": "The Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Your time is up, Sen. Sifuna. Sen. Wakili Sigei, proceed."
},
{
"id": 1408693,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408693/?format=api",
"text_counter": 141,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I also rise to support the Report by the Committee on Finance and Budget on this particular Bill. The Report in itself signifies the importance of this House in ensuring that we protect devolution. As we do so, there is the headache that cuts across everyone’s mind in terms of additional resources, which we are pushing to our county governments, their utilisation and implementation of projects within county governments for the benefit of the people in the counties. This division of nationally raised revenue is aimed at ensuring that there is a possible utilisation of those resources to ensure that inequalities, which are normally expressed by various county governments at various levels are achieved. The Committee has gone out of its way to encourage Members and also seek support to ensure that this revenue is added to county governments, so as to ensure that services are provided to the people at all levels. As we propose additional revenue to county governments, we also expect that abuse of these resources is going to be minimised. Over time, we have been talking about governors who are reluctant to appear before various committees of this House in order to justify utilisation of resources. We hope that even as this House gives county governments additional resources, when they are called upon to come and account for, they are going to honour, in order to make sure that resources are used for the purpose that is expected. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1408694,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408694/?format=api",
"text_counter": 142,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "In terms of services and functions, which have been devolved, the national Government has devised means and ways within which such resources and services are followed with funds. This is the basis upon which these resources are enhanced to go to counties. As it has been said, we also appreciate the work of the committee that is seeking to ensure that this House supports devolution and enhances the mandate that the Constitution expects it to do."
},
{
"id": 1408695,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408695/?format=api",
"text_counter": 143,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Kingi",
"speaker_title": "The Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Proceed, Sen. M. Kajwang’."
},
{
"id": 1408696,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408696/?format=api",
"text_counter": 144,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13162,
"legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
"slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
},
"content": "Mr. Speaker, Sir, I rise to support the Bill, but with amendments as proposed by the Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Budget. One of the most important duties of any Senator is to divide revenue, allocate it and follow up its implementation or utilisation. At this point, allow me to join hundreds and thousands of Kenyans who have been affected by the raging floods, particularly in my home county of Homa Bay. The residents of Sindo Township, one of the most beautiful locations in this country, where the rolling hills of Gwasi and Kak-Sikri come down to meet the lake. We have lost lives. Tens or hundreds of people have been displaced, but that is not the biggest tragedy because we have seen greater tragedy in places like Mai Mahiu. On behalf of the people of Homa Bay County, allow me to extend my condolences to all those who have been affected. There is a relationship with what we are doing today because whatever shall be allocated to counties, at least two per cent should be set aside for an Emergency Fund that will offer the first line of response in situations like the ones we find ourselves in today. Mr. Speaker, Sir, today, we are talking about revenue. Of course, many of us in various committees spend a lot of time looking at the utilization and accountability of that revenue. I support the Committee on Finance and Budget for proposing that we allocate to counties Kshs415 billion. I would have welcomed even a higher allocation to county governments because some of the non-discretionary financial obligations that have been cited as a reason for the increased allocation are things that have been introduced by Parliament. They include new payroll deductions in the forms of housing levy, NSSF, SHIF, and the general increase in inflation that has put pressure on wages of employees. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the national Government should have no problem with this position of the Committee on Finance and Budget because some of the other reasons that have been attributed to the demand on counties are projects that have been initiated by the Executive. We brought the County Industrial Aggregation Parks (CAIPs), which if implemented, will require county governments to put in place close to Kshs11 billion, over and above their initial plans. With some of these initiatives, you can never have a one-size-fits-all approach to development in a country like Kenya. We need to go back to history and learn from failed industrial policies. For example, in Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah, driven by the then Pan- African dream of import substitution, decided that he was going to do one factory per district and he tried that. Perhaps, out of the many districts, there are few factories that thrived. However, many of those factories became white elephants. That is what is going to happen with our The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1408697,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408697/?format=api",
"text_counter": 145,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13162,
"legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
"slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
},
"content": "CAIPs because we have used one model and set one common budget for the 47 counties without differentiation. We must differentiate because our counties have got different comparative advantages. However, counties are still required to make matching contributions for the establishment of those aggregation parks. Mr. Speaker, Sir, beside Kshs415 billion that we are dealing with today, let us be alive that the revenues of counties do not necessarily come from the Consolidated Fund. Counties have got revenue raising ability. The law allows them to impose certain taxes that do not conflict with the national Government. The Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) has estimated the own source revenue potential of counties to be at Kshs260 billion. If counties were to optimize their revenue collection systems, procedures and processes, then counties would have at least an additional Kshs200 billion available to them to carry out development. That would bring the money available to counties to close to Kshs600 billion. That is not a bad amount. Sometimes, we might need to get to the point where we are saying we should not be throwing more money at the problem. We should be throwing more quality, more professionalism, more integrity and more transparency in counties. There are counties where money is not a problem. I can cite a few counties where when some governors left office, they did so with a wage bill, which was less than 20 per cent. Three or four years later, when these governors are succeeded, you find the wage bills have climbed to 35 per cent overnight. Many a time, it is not a problem of money. It is just a problem of diligence, professionalism and integrity. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this Bill also addresses the Equalization Fund. I wish Sen. Faki was present. I have seen him around. I want to remind him and the House that when we endorsed the Regulations of the Equalization Fund, there was a commitment by the National Treasury that they would revise the Regulations, bring them back here and ensure they were fit for purpose. The Regulations were brought in a rush to respond to political pressure. If you go back and look at the Regulations on the Equalization Fund, you will find that it is controlled by County Commissioners. It has representatives Members of the National Assembly and other elected cadres, yet the Senate, which is a critical part, has been left out. Mr. Speaker, Sir, when we come to look at the conditional grants, which is also another financing line for county Governments, we need to tighten the accountability mechanisms on that. Just this afternoon, I know there is a Member who sought a statement on the National Agricultural and Rural Inclusive Growth Project (NAGRIP), a conditional grant that was utterly mismanaged in counties. We have raised that with the Office of the Auditor General (OAG), who has committed to carry out value for money audit. Just the other day, the Senate Finance and Budget Committee, led by Sen. Ali Roba and the Senate Climate Caucus, retreated to review the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLOCA) conditional grants. All this is money available to counties but ring-fenced to specific purposes. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
},
{
"id": 1408698,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408698/?format=api",
"text_counter": 146,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13162,
"legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
"slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
},
"content": "I have noted that the national Government seeks to again ring-fence the Road Maintenance Level Fund (RMLF). We need a Government that is genuine and honest to its citizens. When we comingled RMLF with equitable share, we were fooling the country. We were fooling counties that we were giving them more money. Now---"
},
{
"id": 1408699,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408699/?format=api",
"text_counter": 147,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Hon. Kingi",
"speaker_title": "The Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Your time is up. Sen. Orwoba, you may have the Floor."
},
{
"id": 1408700,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408700/?format=api",
"text_counter": 148,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Orwoba",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir."
}
]
}