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{
    "id": 1015358,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1015358/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 173,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Nambale, ANC",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Sakwa Bunyasi",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2511,
        "legal_name": "John Sakwa Bunyasi",
        "slug": "john-sakwa-bunyasi"
    },
    "content": " Thank you very much, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I rise to contribute to this fascinating discussion. This issue has afforded us a great opportunity to discuss important public policy questions and the relationship between county governments and the national Government as devolution matures. I will start from where the President left. First and foremost, I thank him for offering Kshs53.5 billion that will bring the total allocation to county governments to Kshs370 billion. I am fully aware of the fiscal implications of this, but let us take his word. A year or two ago, he said he had no extra shilling to add to the package that goes to the county governments. Now he has agreed to add Kshs53.5 billion. We must thank him for that. Where will that money come from? It will come from the portion of resources meant for the national government. In the next presentation, we expect to see this figure embedded in the Division of Revenue Bill. After all, we have money. Look at what has happened with Covid-19 financing. About Kshs40 billion has been stolen. There is money in the system. The President is committing to switch that money from the national Government to the county governments fund. I thank him. We hold him at his word. Moreover, I do not think the President will go back on his word. Two, let us remember that, last year, we were told that in the allocation to the counties, a total of Kshs30 billion was not released from the Treasury. A sum of Kshs30 billion was not released last year. Therefore, the counties have had to do with that shortfall. That shortfall also ought to be corrected. There are many corrections that need to be made. Next, on the formula, we must be faithful to data, especially official data that comes from the Kenya Bureau of Statistics or from any other centres– the Huduma numbers - for which they spent so much money and the census numbers that have just come out, for example… In addition, in applying that formula just for updating population the base - which is now the one from which we are starting - would have changed. That must be done. If we do not do that, we begin to lie to ourselves, to the people and if you lie there, why not lie anywhere else? We shall have no confidence in these numbers. The data must be applied faithfully, but there are policy options you can use. We were told that if they had used the correct population numbers of 2019, 12 counties would lose. We ask ourselves how you can cushion them as a special mechanism. It would be fine. But you cannot hide it. You cannot gloss over it. I think that is going to be something that will come and haunt us one of these days. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}