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{
    "id": 1123822,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1123822/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 239,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. M. Kajwang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13162,
        "legal_name": "Moses Otieno Kajwang'",
        "slug": "moses-otieno-kajwang"
    },
    "content": "We expect a situation where when you talk of a marginalization policy, equalization policy or a Fund, when we stand here, we speak on the authority of our county governments. This is because our mandate number one is to represent the counties. I think we have said that the counties are made of people. We have extended and said that 0.1 represents the people and 1 represents the counties but in truth, what the Constitution says is that we represent counties. If we represented the people in the counties, then there would be a constitutional provision for us to everyday go and sit with the people in the counties under the trees to get their views. However, we represent the counties. This will be the forum to the counties and understand what they are doing. Transfer of functions is another example. You cannot spring a surprise on the people of Nairobi, that you want to transfer functions from an elected governor to the national Government without involving the elected representatives in that county. It was shameful. Sen. Sakaja told me that he was consulted in private informally. Even though in private, he also said he is the one who recommended the drink that the governor should have been given to enable him sign the deed of transfer. That was informal but it came as a surprise. What kind of a leader are you! You are an elected MP in Nairobi and it surprises you also just like it surprises everybody! Things like those should be discussed in that forum. The third agenda is to consider the views of the county governments on the Budget Policy Statement (BPS). It is at the BPS that what goes to the counties and what remains at the national level is proposed. We come here and make very grand proposals on the BPS. I remember last time we fought so hard and said that the RMLF should remain as a conditional grant and not comingled with the equitable share. It was a lonely fight. We said that the conditional grants to Level 5 hospitals should not be discontinued because some counties had already made plans to utilize those funds to upgrade the infrastructure and health systems. However, we were alone because we did not get that brief from our governors. We used our own intuition and concern. So, when the BPS comes and we have such proposals that certain conditional grants be converted into equitable share, the Senators coming from those respective regions must understand the rationale. Credit should go to the Governor of Kisii, Hon. Ongwae. He is the only governor who attempted to lobby the Senators to reject that proposal which originated from the BPS, that funding for Level 5 hospitals be stopped and made a conditional grant because in the Nyanza Region, Kisii is emerging as the leader when it comes to health services provision. It was because of that allocation which has now been discontinued. The amendment also says that the forum shall consider the views of county governments on the formula for revenue allocation. We said that the formula was unfair but our governors decided to bury their heads in the sand. That is why it took so long. This is because in the Council of Governors (CoGs), there were gainers and losers and so they did not want to take a position."
}