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{
    "id": 1161579,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1161579/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 175,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sakaja",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13131,
        "legal_name": "Johnson Arthur Sakaja",
        "slug": "johnson-arthur-sakaja"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker, for this opportunity. I rise to support The Division of Revenue Bill (National Assembly Bills No.8 of 2022). I thank the Senate Majority Leader for moving this important Bill. This is the most important function of both the Senate and the National Assembly because it underpins the most important part of our Constitution, which is devolution and our county governments. In terms of the philosophy around devolution, we must get it right that devolution is not about the national Government supporting county governments. Devolution is a relationship between two levels of Government. Division of Revenue is not the national Government’s money being given to counties. It is revenue raised throughout the country and then we say that since as Kenyans we have raised this amount, this particular amount goes to the national Government and this amount goes to the county governments. Madam Temporary Speaker, this is going to be the last year of the second term of devolution. As we pass this Bill, it is important for us to stock-take and see how successful we have been and what needs to be refined. In the last Parliament, I was pleased when the Hon. Mutava Musyimi led Budget Committee, came up with an audit of devolution of the new structures of the Government. It was a constitutional audit. That would have informed a lot of provisions in any attempt to change our laws because they looked at the practicality of the provisions and the challenges the county governments were facing. I am happy that when I became the Senator for Nairobi City County – contrary to what some people are saying out there – Nairobi City County was getting Kshs15 billion. We have fought and pushed. We had a fight here in the Senate when Nairobi City County was going to get an increase of Kshs135 million, but the outcome of that was that we got an increase of Kshs3.3 billion. Currently, we are at Kshs19 billion. Madam Temporary Speaker, if you look at the increases from 2013, it would have taken another 20 years to get that kind of an increase. The increase has been Kshs50 million and Kshs100 million. To move Nairobi City County from Kshs15 billion to Kshs19 billion is something I am proud of as the Senator. I am proud of the Senate because everyone was able to score. We said we could have a win-win situation if we got more money. That is why we have Kshs370 billion, which I think is a good amount. I like what Sen. (Eng.) Hargura said, that it is very important for us to look at this money in terms of what it ends up doing. Earlier on, Sen. Olekina spoke of the same. Counties were not designed to be competitive especially because of the formula used. Madam Temporary Speaker, if a formula is focussing a lot on population or poverty, there is no index or an indicator of how well a county is doing. In their formula,"
}