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{
    "id": 1050039,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1050039/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 245,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, allow me to commend the former Chairman, Sen. (Prof.) Ongeri. He is a former Chairman because the Committee needs to be reconstituted. I hope he comes back as the Chairman because he has shown extraordinary energy, passion, and zeal to deal with these matters. I hear from your Members that, indeed, you have been able to spur some of them who are much younger than you, your grandchildren, to actually step up and pull up their socks. That is extremely commendable. Financial years 2015/2016, 2016/2017 and 2017/2018 were formative years of devolution. This was the time when many systems were still being put in place. If you remember the fiduciary risk report that was done by the CPAIC, we were able to see some areas of concern that we should be aware of. Those areas are not just even on accountability, but budget implementation. If you look at matters of absorption, budget implementation based on what has been passed by the assemblies and then the risks in the systems, the accounts that counties are operating, multiple commercial bank accounts, many of them had issues with project accounts. I hope that in the last report, we will see a trend of some form of improvement from when we started. Madam Temporary Speaker, devolution is the biggest gift we have given to our counties and bequeath to our people in this country. It is the biggest gift in our Constitution. I am glad that is even it is even being strengthened more through the BBI; we will have a stronger devolution based on proper allocation of resources at 35 per cent. That is why many of us fought when there was BBI two. I think it was the second document of BBI which proposed to do away with Nairobi City County. I put up a spirited fight because we wondered why 10 per cent of the population of this country would be denied the greatest gift that comes to Kenyans. That lady in Mutuini, that young man in Mathare or that citizen of Kenya in Soweto and Pipeline has the same right to that gift of the Constitution as Article One says, “To exercise their sovereignty at both the national level and at the county level.” I am very pleased that that was changed. Nairobi City retains its full county status in 2022 after the mandate of the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) expires. The next governor who comes in can decide to get into a similar arrangement with a similar entity or by that time to use the systems that we will have already established. Madam Temporary Speaker, the amounts have been going steadily up. If you look at 2014/2015 Financial Year, we were able to give counties Kshs226 billion. Many people have been asking, “If you have not been able to do 15 per cent, how will you do 35 per cent?” That is what people are asking about BBI. That needs to be debunked. Since the advent of devolution, the Government has never done 15 per cent. It does way above 15 per cent. In the Financial Year 2014/2015, the Kshs226 billion of the last audited revenue was 43 per cent. That last audited revenue in that year was Kshs529 billion. In the following year, Kshs259 billion was actually coming to 33 per cent. In 2016/2017, Kshs280 billion, out of a total revenue of Kshs935 billion was actually 30 per cent. In the last few years when the amount has not changed, if you look at 2019/2020, Kshs316.5 billion was 30 per cent and the last year was 23 per cent. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}