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{
"id": 1545882,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545882/?format=api",
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"speaker": null,
"content": "(Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale spoke off record)"
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{
"id": 1545883,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545883/?format=api",
"text_counter": 188,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Sen. Boni, allow Sen. Dullo to proceed. Sen. Dullo, I would like to warn you that, you should confine your comments and contributions to the Bill that is before the House. Be guided by Standing Order 120 on the relevance of this. The Chair has directed as much. Proceed to contribute to this Bill."
},
{
"id": 1545884,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545884/?format=api",
"text_counter": 189,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Mr. Speaker, much obliged. As far as the Bill is concerned, in the First Schedule of RMLF, Isiolo County has been allocated Kshs190 million, which is a lot of money. In my opinion, as a country we are going wrong, because you will see that the budget for roads is within the constituency, the county government, and the National Government. If this budget is consolidated in one basket, it will do a wonderful job. However, as it is, this money is not helping our people on the ground. Much of this money is going to murram roads. There are no tarmacked roads. Those roads are swept away immediately after the rains, which means we are dipping into a hole that is not giving us any benefit at all. Secondly, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the county governments do not have even experience and expertise as far as roads are concerned. There are no engineers in the counties. The work of the engineers is done by County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) and Chief Officers and the contractors themselves. So, I am happy that this budget is allocated to Isiolo County. However, I hope the County Government of Isiolo will put this money in proper use. There is a bridge that collapsed yesterday in Isiolo County as a result of rains. Therefore, they should be able to utilize this money to have a solution to it. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the second point that I would like to raise is on Community Health Promoters. Our health staff in the counties are in a pathetic situation. They do not get salary and allowances. Their remittance is not remitted to National Hospital Insurance Fund (NHIF) or National Social Security Fund (NSSF). How do you 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": 1545885,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545885/?format=api",
"text_counter": 190,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": "expect a member of staff who has not gotten salary for two-three months to attend to a patient? It is not possible. Something needs to be done. We are happy that this money is going to the counties. However, when this money hits the account of the county government, this money is diverted elsewhere. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as a House, we cannot just sit here and always talk about counties doing A, B and C. Perhaps, the Chairperson of Senate Standing Committee on Public Accounts will speak to the reports of Public Accounts Committee. When these governors are asked to come and appear before the Public Accounts Committee or any other committee of oversight, do not appear. They always give excuse. Some will say, “I have travelled sijui to where”, “I am sick”--- Accountability is a big problem as far as budget allocated to those counties are concerned. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, on the headquarters, I remember I sat in a committee that allocated budget to the five counties that are financed by the National Government. This was 2015. Up to date, if I could speak for Isiolo County, that building is a shell. It is an eyesore. How many years are those, down the line, from 2015 to date? We do not have offices. We are actually dipping into our pockets and paying rent to private individuals, while we should have prioritized in finishing that particular building. We always get our priorities wrong. Since I can see Isiolo County has been allocated Kshs150 million, I wish they could utilize that money to finish that building. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the other point that I would like to speak to is the County Industrial Park. As it has been indicated, there are only 19 counties that are financed. However, the governors all over now, are running around looking for land where they can fix Industrial Park. Even those who are not among the 19 are allocating budget to Industrial Park. We need to have our priorities right. If our headquarters are not fixed, why do you run around fixing Industrial Park without a budget allocation? The Senate Standing Committee on Finance and Budget should look into this and see that those who already have allocated budget for that purpose in their budget are the only ones who should be actually given the Kshs250 million from the National Government. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in reference to the projects that are pending, there are so many projects that have stalled in the country. So many. Instead of, finishing the projects that have stalled in the counties, the new governors will abandon and start theirs. Similarly, instead of the National Government finishing the projects they have started--- For example, there are so many projects and Equalization Fund that have been abandoned by the National Government. Those are the projects that should have helped our people, especially health centers. I have several projects in my county that have stalled, and up to now, almost three to five years down the line, they have not been completed. I urge the Department that is concerned with national government projects, to come up with projects that have stalled in all the counties, so that we can see how we to complete those projects. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, Kshs50.5 billion is a lot of money, and I must thank the Senate Standing Committee on finance and Budget as far as this budget and Bill is concerned. A delay by the national Government is not right because we cannot always 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": 1545886,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545886/?format=api",
"text_counter": 191,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": "keep on fighting. We need to move with speed and ensure that we have taken care of our people and provided service delivery. For instance, today, I have just received a message, that, in Isiolo County referral hospital, out of the five dialysis machines, only one is working. The other four have collapsed. They cannot be repaired, yet if you look at the budget of the county governments, health takes the chunk of the budget that is allocated to hospitals or health department. We are not assisting our people in the country. We are not holding the governors accountable as far as budget allocated to them is concerned. It is high time we stopped lamenting and took action on this budget allocated to the county governments. I thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir."
},
{
"id": 1545887,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545887/?format=api",
"text_counter": 192,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Sen. Abass, proceed."
},
{
"id": 1545888,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545888/?format=api",
"text_counter": 193,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Abass",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13587,
"legal_name": "Abass Sheikh Mohamed",
"slug": "abass-sheikh"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. In the interest of time, I will be short. I want to join my colleagues in supporting the Bill. Unfortunately, this Bill is coming when you have only two months to use the money, and so much needs to be done. This is because our colleagues in the National Assembly feel that they have the authority to appropriate Bills the way they want. Both Houses have agreed upon the Bill. Unfortunately, we send different messages because of self-interest every time. This should end. I wish to return to the main points in the Bill, including the fuel levy. It is actually also a big problem. One thing is that the counties are supposed to take care of municipalities, towns, and all these places. The money given to Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) should go to even the counties. The National Assembly is mad about RMLF, but it should go back to them. They should draw the other money meant for KURA, which is in billions. It is the responsibility of the counties to take care of the municipalities, towns, and other areas within their jurisdictions. Secondly, the additional fund contains money that is actually borrowed from our donors, the World Bank and the government of the German Development Bank. These are loans. We keep on extending the approval of this Bill, and the interest on these loans keeps on accruing. The people of Kenya will pay the extra money because of undue delays made by the National Assembly. Therefore, we will not allow this kind of business next time. These two Houses must have a conversation on how best to handle this contentious issue. One thing we have seen is that the audited accounts that we are using to base our equitable shares are 2021. Our Auditor-General has tried her best, and the audited accounts now available are for the Financial Year 2023/2024. Therefore, all equitable shares must be based on the most recently audited accounts. This House must take note of that. If I come back to my county, my county is getting about Kshs83 million for this additional fund. The one other thing is the CAIPs. Wajir has done a wonderful job there. There are big houses coming up. However, the CAIPs in Wajir have no funds allocated. What will happen? Those buildings will be stalled. 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": 1545889,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545889/?format=api",
"text_counter": 194,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Abass",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13587,
"legal_name": "Abass Sheikh Mohamed",
"slug": "abass-sheikh"
},
"content": "Therefore, next time, money should be paid according to priorities, work pending, and work done. Instead of allocating funds to a county to start a new building, it is better to finish existing buildings, so the county can finish the stalled projects. One thing I found is that there is a county with 146 stalled projects. Some of the stalled projects require only Kshs500,000 to be completed. So, you get surprised. Why are the governors not taking this kind of business seriously? As Senators, we have to agree on how best we will compel the various respective governors to be able to complete these stalled projects. I was having a conversation with some friends, and I found that the World Bank is concerned that the absorption rate for its projects in Kenya is only 8 per cent of the money that has been given out. We are not even utilising the borrowed money from the donors. We have so many reports. Today, we are laying so many reports from the County Public Accounts Committee (CPAC) and the County Public Investment and Special Funds Committee(CPIC). These reports will just be shelved. Are we following up on the issues? Every Committee has to follow up on all the concerns raised, so that we address them. Then, we can hold leaders in countries responsible. Then, we can compel institutions like the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Auditor-General, and Controller of Budget (CoB) to follow up on the issues raised by the Senate. We have only two months to use this money, and we have many pending bills. These pending bills must be cleared using these funds. With those few remarks, I want to give my friend time. Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, and I support you."
},
{
"id": 1545890,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545890/?format=api",
"text_counter": 195,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Wakili Sigei",
"speaker_title": "The Temporary Speaker",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Sen. Olekina, proceed."
},
{
"id": 1545891,
"url": "http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1545891/?format=api",
"text_counter": 196,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 407,
"legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
"slug": "ledama-olekina"
},
"content": "Thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir. I wish all senators were here to help us unfold this crisis. Listening to my colleagues, I am afraid that most of them do not understand that we have a serious problem. We are talking about the funds in this Additional Allocation Bill, yet the National Assembly has also come up with their version of the Bill. This is a crisis. There was a famous movie, Apollo 13, a space mission in 1970, in which Jim Lowell came up with the phrase, \"Houston, we have a problem”. Kenya, we have a problem. Right now, our counties will not be receiving the money because of the bickering between the two Houses, the National Assembly and the Senate. We are discussing this Bill for the 2024/2025 Financial Year. What has stopped these loans and grants? Kenyans need to understand that we are discussing today a Bill that will allow money to be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund and deposited into County Revenue Funds. This is an additional allocation from the share of revenue from the national Government. It comes from grants, loans, and funds, and where we have a serious problem is nothing but the RMLF. I am of the opinion that, we should just remove that fund from this Bill so that we can deal with it separately and the rest of the money can go to counties. We have money that is supposed to go to counties from court fines. I am surprised to note that only a handful of counties have been allocated this money. Are you telling me that the Judiciary 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."
}
]
}