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{
    "id": 1065702,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1065702/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 169,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Tongaren, FORD-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Eseli Simiyu",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 141,
        "legal_name": "David Eseli Simiyu",
        "slug": "david-eseli"
    },
    "content": "now start talking about inclusivity, such that whichever political party wins an election might be compelled or convinced to include more people in their governance. They might be compelled to include more communities in their system. That way, we will have more inclusivity than we have had before. It is very important, especially in this Bill. I find the devolution of 35 per cent of the resources most encouraging. I find that most encouraging because the constituency I come from in Tongaren did not have a single kilometre of tarmacked road. The only tarmacked road in Tongaren Constituency was done by the county government through devolution. If they had 35 per cent of the resources, they probably would have done a better job. That is what I have. When we say that we should allocate 35 per cent of the resources to the counties, I understand how those who want to hold money at the centre feel. It is a very welcome improvement in the sense that the county government will be empowered enough to construct tarmacked roads where the national Government has failed. On the part of constituencies, for the last five years, Bungoma County has lost over Kshs2 billion that would have come as the National Government-Constituencies Development Fund (NG- CDF) because the boundaries review after the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution definitely gave Bungoma a raw deal. While the populations of Bungoma, Kakamega and Kiambu only differed by about 50,000, Kiambu and Kakamega got 12 constituencies while Bungoma got nine. We lost four constituencies. Since we amended the NG-CDF Act in this House to ensure that NG- CDF is shared equally, if we had those four constituencies, we would have had an additional Kshs2.6 billion. That unfair distribution of constituencies has led to Bungoma losing Kshs2.6 billion. However, when you look at the records at the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS), you will find that Bungoma is one of the counties with the highest poverty indices in this country and yet, we were losing money every year. Currently, we have lost Kshs2.6 billion. The creation of constituencies is righting a wrong that was done to my county. In fact, giving Bungoma three constituencies is inadequate. We should have been given four constituencies so that we fully recover what we have lost. I heard that the formula used was based on the populations in the counties. However, I think they forgot something. They should also have looked at the fact that there are some counties that are benefitting from protected constituencies. They should have been made to pay for holding those protected constituencies, so that some of them go elsewhere. For instance, in Bungoma, I still demand one more to make four constituencies. When you look at the issue of the hybrid system, it has some dangers in the sense that some people are now positioning themselves as tribal kings to come and occupy those positions. I would like to warn them that those positions are not being created for tribal kings. Those positions are being created for men and women who can serve this country with dedication. Anybody positioning themselves as a tribal king to take those positions should forget about it. We are not creating those positions for tribal kings. We are creating those positions for men and women of goodwill who will come and serve this country with dedication. For those who want tribal kingdoms, they should come up with a popular initiative amendment Bill, so that we convert the Senate into a house of elders where they can sit, but not here. They need to know that. I must say that this is not the last time we are amending the Constitution. We might have to amend it again. As I said from the beginning, we are a country of many nations. We call them tribes but they are actually nations. Those nations have to live together. We have to craft a system for them to live together. A human being is basically a selfish person. They will do things for themselves and then for their nation. You keep on hearing people talk about patriotism. I can assure 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."
}