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{
    "id": 1012535,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1012535/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 214,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Bill with a memorandum. Therefore, I really want to ask the Senators to, please, read the law, especially Article 218 of the Constitution. This is the only Bill that originates from the Senate. It is their Bill, but they are the ones who delayed and made Kenyans working in the counties not to earn their salaries for three months. Hon. Speaker, I am happy the Budget and Appropriations Committee stuck to the Ksh316.5 billion that we passed in the Division of Revenue Bill. All the other monies that were being said outside there were just stories. They were not based on law including the Kshs56 billion. This is because Article 135 of the Constitution is very clear that if the President makes a decision, he must do it in writing and he must sign it and he must put his seal. Therefore, all the other proposals including the one on the Kshs56 billion was just political gimmick Senate was playing. Hon. Speaker, Ksh316 billion is an equitable share and Kenyans must know the amount of money.... Those of us who voted for a devolved system of government wanted devolution to be felt in terms of the health sector, agriculture, livestock, water, Early Childhood Education (ECD), the Ksh9.4 billion road maintenance levy fund and so on. I do not think where I come from the fruits of devolution have been felt. In fact, if you go to counties they are violating the Public Finance Management (PFM) Act. There is more allocation on salaries and personal emoluments than development. Development Expenditure and Recurrent Expenditure are stipulated. However, if you go to counties, you will find there are those spending less than 15 per cent on development. The rest go into Recurrent Expenditure. Hon. Speaker, there are additional allocations from the share of national government revenue amounting to Kshs13.7 billion. There are very clear things that the Jubilee Government believed in, for example, Level 5 hospitals. There were 11 Level 5 hospitals including the one in my constituency that every year receives between Ksh300 million and Ksh500 million depending on the location. Today, if you go to Level 5 hospitals in Garissa County that have been receiving this conditional grant for the last eight years, you will be shocked. Look at the money going to the health facilities for free maternity, rehabilitation of youth polytechnics, the construction of the headquarters, and the road maintenance levy. The elephant in the room, and this morning even the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) was grappling with the matter, is this conditional finance in the form of loans and grants from our development partners. You know, this money is close to Kshs30.2 billion. This money comes to the National Treasury and then it goes straight to the governors. In fact, it does not pass through the State departments. This morning the State Department for Devolution said it is we who are not aware of these programmes. We only do policy. We only go and inspect. In addition, the bone of contention was a project in Migori. Therefore, we were asking ourselves: Who is the Authority to Incur Expenditure (AIE) holder?' The AIE holder happens to be the governor. Furthermore, that is why you see people have eaten the Ksh316.5 billion. They have eaten the conditional grant from the national government and now they are eating the donor fund. Therefore, Hon. Speaker, I think we should just concur but I am sure the Senate and the county assemblies..."
}