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{
    "id": 1110252,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1110252/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 238,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wetangula",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 210,
        "legal_name": "Moses Masika Wetangula",
        "slug": "moses-wetangula"
    },
    "content": "that the governments at the national and county levels are distinct and inter-dependent and shall conduct their mutual relationships on the basis of consultation and cooperation. This is what this Bill seeks to enhance; they are distinct, but interdependent and must act in the spirit of cooperation in executing the mandates of the two levels of government. It counts on the foundation in the Constitution that Kenya is a unitary State only divided in two levels of government. However, it will remain a unitary State with legitimate expectations of Kenyans in every corner of this country to receive equitably the benefits of being citizens of Kenya. Under our Constitution, the most devolved functions are health and agriculture. Water is equally devolved, but still when you see accidents happening in Kimwarer Dam, Arror Dam and others you see that there is so much that is held at the national level in the water sector. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, the arrival of COVID-19 and the ravaging effects on our population has shown us that if there is no cooperation and inter-dependence between the two levels of government our people will suffer. There is no county which on its own can resist, manage and check a pandemic like COVID-19. That is why the national Government came in and sent out money to counties so that they could work together in containing this pandemic. Issues of accountability and management of those resources remain big questions in almost all the counties because money sent to counties was misappropriated due to poor governance structures. I hope that the Auditor-General, the DPP, DCI and EACC will interrogate each and every county to find out how they have expended these monies. When we talk of health and the expectations of Kenyans and equity for the people of Kenya one expects that a Kenyan living in Turkana, in Vanda, Kwale, in Sibiloi in Marsabit, in Malakisi in Bungoma or wherever, is entitled to access good healthcare as provided for in the Constitution. All those aspirational provisions on health and nutrition, education and all these social amenities were put in the Constitution. However, you cannot bail out by just leaving it to the counties or the goodwill of the counties and the national Government without proper regulation. I agree with the Senator for Kitui that this Bill enhances the authority and the operations of what is already in place. For example, we would want when this Bill is passed and assented to, through this Kenya Health Human Resource Advisory Council, the Government ensure that at least all our counties have some consultants in medical health. There is no point having all consultants in every health sector in Nairobi or in the big cities of Mombasa or Eldoret because they have referral hospitals while those counties that are in far flung areas do not have anything. This council must ensure, as is being proposed, that there is absolute equity in the distribution of human resource capacity in the whole of our Republic. It must ensure that a good dentist available in Nairobi is equal to a good dentist available in Wajir. A good dentist available in Elgeyo-Marakwet must be a good dentist"
}