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{
    "id": 1161541,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1161541/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 137,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 407,
        "legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
        "slug": "ledama-olekina"
    },
    "content": "Madam Temporary Speaker, when the drafters of this Bill were allocating revenue to be shared among the two levels of government, which are national and county governments, I am quite happy that they put the repayment of our debt as a priority. They put the national loans interest of our country as a priority. The national Government will remain with about Kshs160 billion to fund most of its activities. Of importance is that out of a budget of about Kshs2.4 trillion, about Kshs930 billion will be set aside to pay for the national debt. So, the Division of Revenue Bill is crucial. I hope that all Members will support it and follow through to ensure that their counties get money. When we got to this Parliament, my county of Narok was receiving about Kshs4.2 billion. Because of the good work we have done by remaining adamant, Narok County will at least get Kshs8.8 billion, which is almost double the amount of money the previous Senator pushed to go to there. When you look at the content of this Bill, it is drafted in a way that money sent to the county governments will enable them to perform their duties. However, there is a big challenge. When you sit in the County Public Accounts and Investments Committee (CPAIC) and get a chance to go through the Auditor-General’s reports, you will realise that we still have a big problem when it comes to the wage bill. This is as a result of the defunct local authorities’ staff who were seconded to county governments. When drafting the Division of Revenue Bill, I would have hoped that the Committees on Budget and Finance in the National Assembly and the Senate would have considered a onetime honorarium or rather sendoff package for the staff who are yet to reach retirement age but are rendered useless in the workforce. In some counties, you will find the establishment is supposed to be about 10 people but they have about 200 people, where 190 of them were from the defunct local authorities and are not doing anything. Instead of allocating a lot of money to the Managed Equipment Services (MES), which has not worked, money would have been allocated to county governments to retire staff who are increasing the wage bill but not helping, so that at least counties can become efficient. If you go to Narok County, you will find about 300 staff in the payroll but their productivity level is low because they do not qualify, even if it is in administration or any other category, because their work is not defined in the current county government"
}