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{
    "id": 1165761,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1165761/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 167,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Omogeni",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13219,
        "legal_name": "Erick Okong'o Mogeni",
        "slug": "erick-okongo-mogeni"
    },
    "content": "I want to appeal to our governors to know that when we put devolution in our 2010 Constitution, the main intention was to transform the lives of the people we represent economically and socially. If we do not change the lives of people that live in the counties, then the dream of our 2010 Constitution will die in the face of Kenyans. We are charting a way forward that will help us form some economic bases and powerhouses in the counties that will come together. In 1933, in the United States of America (USA) when President Franklin Roosevelt took over power, America was in a serious economic recession. In fact, we have never reached the state that America was in 1933. People had to queue to get bread. You could not even withdraw your own savings from the banks. However, President Franklin encouraged States to be innovative and set up their own economic modules so that they could become economic powerhouses. One law that I always talk about is the Tennessee Valley Authority Act that was initially challenged in courts but was cleared by the Supreme Court. The idea that Franklin had was to ensure that they harness water from rivers that run through the Tennessee Valley and construct dams so that the issue of flooding is dealt with. Water would be harnessed to be of economic benefit to the people of Tennessee Valley. Madam Temporary Speaker, as I speak, that authority that was formed in 1933 remains one of the most profitable enterprises in the USA. That Authority that was formed in 1933 remains one of the most profitable enterprises in the USA. Not only does it provide the cheapest power in America but it has also formed a very serious tourism circuit in America. Where we used to have floods, now we have beautiful hotels where tourists visit. Therefore, the Tennessee Valley State is rich. Other than being famed for music like what Kenyans have enjoyed for many years, music from Dolly Parton, it also now forms a base for economic tourism in the USA. That is where want these counties to go. Our governors must really wake up and think innovatively about how they are going to transform the lives of the people who reside in the counties. It can be done. If you have taken a walk in Nairobi, you will see what Gen. Badi has done in Nairobi through the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS). Look at the beautification that is taking place in Nairobi. Look at the walking pathways he has repaired in Nairobi. Look at his efforts in ensuring that the city is clean. It can be done. The question I normally ask is, for the last six years before we had NMS, where was money that was allocated to Nairobi County going to? We can now see something is happening in the County of Nairobi. Therefore, when Sen. Nyamunga proposes that we should have more responsibilities being taken by our County Executive Committee Members (CECMs) in the counties, we want them to be more accountable to the people. We want them to be more prudent in the way they utilise resources. Those who are in charge of collection of revenue at the counties must ensure that leakages on revenues are mitigated. If you read the Public Accounts and Investments Committee, reports that are tabled on the Floor of this House year in, year out, you will note that there are many leakages on the revenue that is collected by counties. This is the case in almost all our counties. Most of our counties are still analogue."
}