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{
    "id": 1161572,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1161572/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 168,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Eng.) Hargura",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 827,
        "legal_name": "Godana Hargura",
        "slug": "godana-hargura"
    },
    "content": "recommendations considered before Parliament passes any Bill appropriating money out of the Equalization Fund. This means, the fund will still be there; monies will still be going into that fund since the promulgation of this Constitution. It is only the usage which will require that CRA recommendation. The first CRA recommendation which was adopted by this House in the last Parliament was the funds going to 14 counties. If you look at what has been allocated to date, in the first three years since the promulgation of the Constitution 2010 that is from financial year 2011/2012 to 2013/2014, there was no allocation to the Equalization Fund. The Fund was there, created by the Constitution but there was no allocation. If you look at the argument being used, it is that, there was no recommendation from CRA as to how the funds shall be shared. The Constitution is very clear; the Fund is supposed to be 0.5 per cent of the most recent audited account from the first year of the Fund being created that is 2011/2012 after the Constitution. Then from there onwards, there should have been monies allocated to the Fund. The funds were not allocated for the first three years, then there was allocation for the next three years that is from, Fy2014/2015 up to Fy2016/2017. There was then still no allocation in Fy2017/2018 and Fy2018/2019. Somebody was not following the Constitution. Up to now, we are told, there was only Kshs12.4 billion allocated to the Equalization Fund up to Fy2019/2020. Going by the Constitution, if the allocation was done from Fy2011/2012 to Fy2019/2020, then it should be having Kshs34 billion. Which means already because of not following the law, the fund has lost Kshs22 billion not being deducted for six years. That is already an issue. If you add the last two years, then you are talking about another extra Kshs13 billion, which should be Kshs48 billion by now. However, if you add now, then you would just be having Kshs25 billion. We have lost close to Kshs23 billion because somebody was not doing the deduction during budgeting. That Fund had not yet been utilised. It is only this year when the Advisory Board has been established. We therefore would like to know how that Fund will be utilized. Taking into account that this is a Fund, which has a sunset close, it is supposed to be 20 years from 2010. By 2030, the Fund should have lapsed and we only have eight years to go but we have not utilised any of that money. That shows how serious we are as Kenyans when it comes to tackling marginalisation. There is very little seriousness in terms of trying to tackle marginalisation in parts of this country. That is why even funds which are in the Constitution, are not being set aside as required by law and even when they are set aside, they are not being utilised. If the problem was having a board, then the National Treasury should have seen this from the beginning and in the first Senate, that is the 11th Parliament, the issue should have been handled."
}