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{
    "id": 1051920,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1051920/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 157,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "In the long run, for it to make sense to the citizens of this country, and for the Kshs40 billion that they cough up each year to run both Houses of Parliament, it all ends up with the BPS. It gives us a view of the state of the nation. Perhaps, this is even more important than the State of the Nation Address. That is not to demean the stature of our President; I respect him. This gives you a better and detailed response of the things that are happening in our country; the challenges that the ordinary citizens who vote and ensure that we are comfortably provided with the resources that we need to operate as leaders, you get the report through the information that comes here. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, this is a debate which I had not thought about quite clearly, but if you reflect on the topic of a conditional grants, I do not agree with the proposed avenue that they want to deal with. You recall that at our last consideration of the BPS last year, we sent out a warning that if you are devolving Kshs316 billion, but have another separate kitty known as the conditional grant, which you have no formula for accounting--- If you recall when conditional grants came into place around 2015 or 2016, I think the first one was around Kshs14 billion, we are now at Kshs70 billion. We sent a warning at that time that the National Treasury was finding a route through which they were sending money to counties at their preference. Therefore, they were illegally doing work that would have otherwise been done by Parliament. If you recall how some of these projects are fashioned, I think of universal healthcare. They only pick about four or five counties. What is the scientific finding that informs the decision at policy level to say, for example, you pick Kisumu over Siaya? You know how the Government traditionally thinks. I know how they do their things every time they want to launch a national programme. When you think about the Nyanza Region, it will never by any other county other than Kisumu. People in Siaya, where the Senate Minority Leader comes from, are hardly ever considered. If you come to Rift Valley, it will mostly be Nakuru, because there is still the thinking that it is the former provincial headquarters. We sent out a warning, but sorting it the way that it is being proposed in the current BPS, was not what we envisioned. We proposed to them that they come back to us with proposed regulations on how conditional grants are to be governed. That was one of the proposals that I hope they will consider because it is something that we mentioned in this report. By and large, they can also consult. The work of Parliament is to oversight. I believe that oversight includes coming before the various committees of Parliament. If it is something to do with the fuel levy that is highly mentioned in this BPS, let us hear the proposals on why they think that it would be a good idea to lump it up together with all the other funds that are being devolved. Therein lies a danger. You understand how most of our county governments operate. The minute you do not ring-fence--- In fact, one of the reasons roads are being done in many of our counties that have towns is because of this fuel levy. The minute it is no longer clear that the funds that a particular county is receiving is from the fuel levy account, I can assure you that governors will find other avenues for using this particular fund. That will be a big detriment to our roads. 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."
}