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{
    "id": 1157832,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1157832/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 212,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Funyula, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. (Dr.) Wilberforce Oundo",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13331,
        "legal_name": "Wilberforce Ojiambo Oundo",
        "slug": "wilberforce-ojiambo-oundo-2"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Speaker. Hon. Sankok is exceptionally quiet today; something must be seriously wrong with his system. I actually noticed this in the morning when I saw him; he did not look like the vibrant Sankok we know. Indeed, it is a good thing that the mediation process between the National Assembly and the Senate has ended amicably. I attended one and I felt sorry because of the rigidity and animosity that was exhibited by the Senators towards the Members of the National Assembly. It was uncomfortable and uncalled for. I am happy to know that this time round, there was unanimity on many issues, and that the two parties have agreed. The issue of the running of county governments, equitable share, conditional grants and its impact on the ground is a debate that seems not to go away. That is a debate that we need to find a way of mainstreaming into our discussions anytime we are dealing with the Division of Revenue Bill. As we pass this special grants Bill, we need to put into place measures to ensure that there is value for money. The national Government shares revenue to county governments each year, but if you go to the ground, what you see is a depressing state of affairs. In many counties, the health services have collapsed, people travel long distances to look for water and support towards the agricultural sector, and food production is minimal. So, we keep asking many questions. Where does the money go to? Who oversees the money? Each year other than this year, there have been conditional grants to the counties to fund polytechnics or vocational training centres, build county headquarters and upgrade municipal roads and services, yet the lot and type of services being rendered remain the same and are of no value to the people of Kenya. We need to ask several institutions in this country to take their work seriously. County assemblies are supposed to oversee county governments. It is sad that the High Court declared as unconstitutional the mandatory basic academic qualifications for one to be a Member of the County Assembly (MCA). As long as we continue to have no minimum academic requirements for MCAs, we are not going to achieve the objectives of devolution that were envisaged by the fathers of devolution like the Rt. Hon. Raila Amollo Odinga. In the fullness of time, we need to ask the courts of law to descend from their ivory towers, go to the ground and sit in the county assemblies to see the damage that is being done to devolution because of not having a serious body to oversee the activities of county governments. Another level that is supposed to oversee the county governments so that there is value for money is the Senate. We know that the Senate is at the national level and only deals with audited 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."
}