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{
    "id": 1068972,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1068972/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 190,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Ndwiga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 278,
        "legal_name": "Peter Njeru Ndwiga",
        "slug": "peter-ndwiga"
    },
    "content": "suffered in the earlier days. Without devolution, there is no way funding and development will reach the grassroots. It is impossible. This Bill proposes to devolve funds all the way to the wards. This is a great step for this country. This is because ordinary Kenyans at the ward level will decide on their development priorities with the amount of money that they will get. Mr. Speaker, Sir, a house cannot be built from the top. We have to develop from the grassroots. In many counties, there are some wards which have not seen any development despite the fact that we are devolving funds every year. This is because the governor may not like the ward representatives and Kenyans end up suffering. In some cases, the governor may be unhappy with people of a certain region and refuse to send funds to the region. However, if this Bill passes, we will have equitable distribution of funds for development in all our wards. Therefore, Kenyans will benefit in that respect. Mr. Speaker, Sir, on the issue of the new constituencies, in Embu, we will get one additional constituency. This means that we will get an additional Kshs100 million every year for development. This is on top of what we are currently devolving to the counties. The most important thing is that for a long time, in our Parliament, there was no equitable representation. This Bill proposes equality amongst the constituencies. That is what the Constitution requires so that Kenyans are treated equally. A vote from any Member of Parliament (MP) is equal. However, today, it is unequitable. A vote from a Senator from a populous county is equal to a Senator who represents 100,000 people. What this Bill proposes is what Kenyans want and fought for. It is what the struggle for independence was all about. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is a lot of debate about where the funding will come from. There are people who have talked about the 35 per cent which will go to the constituencies. However, there is no county that is owed money by the Government. By end of June, all counties will have received all the funding that the Senate allocated to them. There is a lot of money that remains in Nairobi. For example, as you are aware, I am the Chairperson of the Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries. Agriculture is a devolved function. However, there are many functions which the Ministry pretends to perform at its level yet they ought to be done by the counties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the Maputo Declaration decreed that agriculture should be funded by 10 per cent of the budget. My Committee had a meeting with governors on agricultural issues. They told us that they have no problem with allocating 10 per cent of their resources to agriculture but the funds were not enough. With the 35 per cent increment, will these funds be available?"
}