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{
    "id": 1102358,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1102358/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 242,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Prof.) Kindiki",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 1046,
        "legal_name": "Kithure Kindiki",
        "slug": "kithure-kindiki"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, from the outset, I take this opportunity to thank the Committee for tabling this report of the Disbursement Schedule for our counties. It is unfortunate we are discussing this report when we have just lost a colleague, Sen. Prengei. I take this opportunity to condole with his family and the Ogiek community from which he came and all the young people whom he represented across our country. We have lost a great leader. For the last nine years, we have been fighting consistently for proper and timely funding of county governments in our country. It is unfortunate that as years go by, we are witnessing great disinterest in devolution. I am afraid that this House almost exclusively remains the only active defender of devolution. I say so because when we started this journey in 2013, county assemblies were extremely vibrant especially through the County Assemblies Forum (CAF). The Council of Governors (CoG) was extremely vibrant especially during the leadership of the Chairperson, Hon. Isaac Rutto, the governor of Bomet County at that time and subsequently, the Governor of Meru County, my neighbour, Hon. Peter Munya. I am afraid today both county assemblies across the country and the CoG have abandoned the fights for funding of counties in an adequate and timely manner to this House. You will be surprised that the CoG Chairman may not have said anything worth talking about, about devolution for the last six months. That is shocking. In 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 each week, the devolution agenda was all over both social and mainstream media in the country. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I urge colleagues that we should not despair that many of the stakeholders and partners in this journey have abandoned us to the perils of centrists and people who hate the dispersal of power from one centre, to create 48 alternative centres of growth for this country. The funding that counties are getting is not enough to realise the kind of development we desire to see across this country yet, even that little is trickling in in painful instalments. As we speak, no county has received a penny this financial year. Shame to all those responsible and the CoG. This country continues to experience extremely difficult challenges around socio-economic inclusion. The only thing that could have helped this"
}