HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1057147,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1057147/?format=api",
"text_counter": 207,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13131,
"legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
"slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
},
"content": "If you look at our public debt at the national level, the biggest project today in Kenya is debt. We are paying thrice the amount of money we are giving to counties. It is not because we do not need to spend, but it is because we are not creating those resources. Many of our county governments - if you look at these reports and go back to county councils - there has been very little change from what the councils were collecting to what the county governments have been collecting starting from 2013. One wonders with new efficiencies and better ability, automation, we now have all of these smart solutions on the phones, we should be getting more money. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, in Nairobi, we have more than 134 revenue streams. A few of them were automated, but the revenue collection in Nairobi has gone down even below the last county government. I dare say that Nairobi City County has a potential of raising between Kshs50 to Kshs70 billion a year as it is, especially since we passed the Sectional Properties Law. Sen. Kasanga will tell you from her perspective that we are redoing the valuation role of rates in Nairobi. Right now, it is at the Assembly. Nairobi can even be listed. Look at what is happening in Johannesburg. If we add that Kshs70 billion plus Kshs25 billion that we will receive courtesy of the formula and BBI, we will be talking about an amount of more than Kshs100 billion. Since we are auditing the expenditure of that, which will transform lives in this city, we need to strengthen oversight. Otherwise, it will be an avenue for pilferage where governors can collect money and spend at it source. We have known many cases where vehicles of Wells Fargo in our counties - I will not mention which counties - have been seen going to governors’ houses or their aids carrying cash to their houses. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, we must have a standard. There was supposed to be a national payment gateway that was to be effected by Posta in conjunction with the national Government. That payment gateway must make it uniform for all counties in terms of how they collect revenue. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, if you look at Chapter 12 of the Constitution, we have a form of fiscal decentralization that limits the revenue raising capabilities of counties. The four principles of devolution include expenditure allocation, revenue raising ability, intergovernmental transfer and sub-national borrowing. In our experience of devolution, we have jumped number one and two and moved to number three. This is because if you look at number one, it is what we allocate. It is the Fourth Schedule. These are expenditure responsibilities. Once you have known those functions, then you cost them. When you cost them, then you say what are the revenue raising opportunities. I wrote a book on fiscal decentralization in 2009 within our context of this new Constitution 2010. If you look at all the jurisdictions, I looked at like India, South Africa, those with a form of devolution like ours, and not federalism, the intergovernmental transfer is normally to feel the gap between the work you have been given to do by the Constitution and what you are able to raise. However, today in Kenya, no governor is going out of his way to think of how to raise more money. This is because they are sure Sen. Mutula Kilonzo Jnr. will come up with “Team Kenya” and Sen. (Dr.) Milgo will be on the other side, they will battle and they will get their money. That is why when we were having that debate, they were very proud saying The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}