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{
    "id": 1127049,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1127049/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 528,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Saku, JP",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Ali Rasso",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13473,
        "legal_name": "Dido Ali Raso",
        "slug": "dido-ali-raso"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker. I want to add my voice to the debate on this very important Bill from the Senate. Article 96 of our Constitution is very clear that the Senate has a role to superintend and oversee the counties. Article 175 of our Constitution is also very clear that the counties must have reliable sources of revenue for them to be governed and provide services to their people. Unlike the National Government that looks at the broad canvass of Kenya, if you are from the counties of Kisumu, Kitui, Marsabit or Turkana, you address the specific needs and issues that pertain to the people that occupy that geographical region. Once resources go to a county such as Narok, they are not national resources. They are resources for the people of Narok County. Article 174 of the Constitution is about public participation, and resources and governance going close to the people so that at the end of the day people in any given county, almost to a man or woman, decide how their resources will be used. In this case, the grants that are given to our counties cannot be used willy-nilly by the Executives in those counties. They have to be properly utilised to provide public services, social amenities and development for our people. Some of my colleagues who spoke before me talked about there being no visible development in the counties. In the region I come from, devolution is like a second Independence for us. Where there were no offices, today there are offices. Where people were not working, today some of them are working and earning wages. This House must insist that the resources that go to the counties must not be wasted. They must be properly utilised for the well-being of our communities. Hon. Temporary Deputy Speaker, before the advent of devolution, some of our counties used to receive less than Kshs200 million per year for development. We had District Commissioners (DCs), under the previous Provincial Administration, sitting with chiefs to decide what small developments could take place. Today every county receives billions of shillings annually. This aspect of devolution is what can change the face of this country. If you travel across our counties today, you will see spendthrift county official elements with total disregard of the things that can turn around this country’s economy. That is why some of us have joined the “ Hustlers” . Investing in the rural economy where agriculture, livestock rearing and mining take place is what can turn this country around. If counties are going to spur development within their areas, then they must invest in what is likely to generate growth within their geographical spaces. Whereas we are just talking about the counties in the face of this Bill, we must also talk about the National Government that retains almost 85 per cent of the National Budget. When that Budget is used, it has to correlate with the development taking place in the counties. We should not be blaming the 15 per cent and forget to ask about the 85 per cent. There are only three areas that we may have very little to question in terms of what goes on in the National Government: The Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the National Treasury and Planning. All other functions, including agriculture, water, health and other Ministries and Departments, have been devolved. Are the resources associated with these devolved functions going to the counties? Is there proper oversight of those resources to ensure that they are used for the wellbeing of the people of this country? 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."
}