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{
    "id": 1127011,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1127011/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 490,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Makueni, WDM-K",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Daniel Maanzo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 2197,
        "legal_name": "Daniel Kitonga Maanzo",
        "slug": "daniel-kitonga-maanzo"
    },
    "content": "are by the European Union and many other organisations. The Action-Aid has done a milk plant in a place called Kanthonzweni for Kshs84 million. It was my initiative that eventually went to the county government. It is not only this, but many projects have been done there even by NGOs and foundations. If it is a water project, it is eventually given to the management of the county and it will eventually be run down. There is something terribly wrong with counties in Kenya. There is a lot of wastage, lack of consultation and no proper public participation. In many occasions, county assemblies are just at the behest of the executive, namely, the governor’s office. It is in such a situation that you find this mess. First of all, how would this have been done differently? It looks like a supplementary budget. It should have been in the original budget. In these conditional grants and even when you see the meaning of “grant” here, it also includes loans. That means it is a loan which the national Government will eventually pay. If they have not utilised the 15 per cent properly and it has not worked properly, why would you add more money to the counties while there is no proper mechanism of overseeing the sort of situation? I have seen some of it is about headquarters. Some counties like Makueni have done their headquarters, but that is an installation of the county. It becomes part of the county. It means that it should be part of the county budget. Where they have not yet done their county headquarters, it is deserving that money should be released. I believe this must be amended. We must countercheck and scrutinise the projects. What belongs to the normal budgeting of a county should go through that normal budgeting of a county, so that local assemblies participate and the Senate eventually oversees. What is happening here is a real breach of the Constitution and the expectation on devolution. Therefore, most of the money we are going to give through this Bill is just going to waste. It will never be accounted for because most governors have served their second terms and others will not be back. It means most of this will go to waste within this financial year or end up being converted and processed to be money for some governors to run again and become governors, or be used for them to come and compete in the Senate or in the National Assembly. That is for those governors that are exiting. There is no law barring them from doing that. If you look at it, it is not guided specifically for every county on what has been put in and what is left. I think there is a serious mischief in this law or amendment. We, as the National Assembly, have a duty to remove this mischief and make sure that money belonging to Kenyans is not wasted further. There has been a lot of waste of public funds in this country. In fact, the only successful thing in this country has been the NG-CDF. That is why the model of the NG-CDF is being followed even with the new classrooms being constructed. We need to instill a model of the NG-CDF within the counties so that we can make sure that projects are completed and done in the way we work with the wananchi, so that people’s money is used properly. It has not been used properly in the past. There is a lot of outcry. The audit is not yet complete. The Senate is behind by some years. Every other time governors are called to the Senate to account, they have every manner of excuse to postpone and delay. Some of them are waiting to exit. But the truth of the matter is that governors must be held accountable over this money. Even if this money is lost, whoever in whose hands the money gets lost, must be brought to book even if it takes 10 or 20 years. Otherwise, we have started devolution in the wrong footing. We are actually, as a country, limping. We need to improve devolution. Although this money is being allocated as extra money, the question is: What has been happening with those other grants which have been given before? Have they been illegal? Have they been used properly? Have they been monitored properly? You know the international community is very keen. I know that the USAID was very keen to complete 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."
}