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{
    "id": 1193443,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1193443/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 168,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Dagoretti North, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Beatrice Elachi",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "fully participating in the county governments affairs, especially when they start preparing County Integrated Development Programmes (CIDPs) Paper up to when they get to budgeting and implementing projects. The Senator will always only find the document that the Controller of Budget has finalised. It is only after implementation of the programmes that the Senator will be calling his Governor to question him why resources were spent inappropriately or mismanaged. Therefore, the Senate Oversight Fund is going to support them. It is not a matter of just supporting them for the sake of it or giving them a token. It is like we look at these Funds in that poor light. Even on the NGAAF, I remember how all of you fought to have it. At one point in time, you were losing it but many people have now realised that money from this Fund has been used to build markets and women have been able to do trade with it. They have even been able to find themselves with grants in their merry-go-rounds. If we entrench this Fund in the Constitution, we will remove the barriers of having to regularly deal with court cases. The economic stimulus package or empowerment Fund is critical. It will support the Government in many of the challenges they have been facing after Covid-19. Members will remember the time we had a serious economic stimulus package that supported many people. Women in trade and the youth will need such economic stimulus and economic empowerment program. Even as we ensure that we come together and support this Motion – We will certainly ensure pass it with the numbers needed – one of the things we must be worried about is the lapse of time. Many Kenyans are confused. We have many people who are wondering where the NG-CDF is within Dagoretti North—Why is it that we are not seeing projects? Why is it that we are not seeing programmes running? Why is it that they have not been sensitised even on the new Act? One of the things we have to do is to go back to our electoral areas and sensitise our constituents so they understand that the Act has changed, and that the NG-CDF is not for the Hon. Member. The Fund is now supporting the national Government to ensure that development goes on in the constituencies. We should also tell them that the NG-CDF has been ringfenced to ensure that we deal with security, schools, bursaries and education. It is important for the citizens to have this information. Most of our constituents out there are only aware of the old CDF way of doing things, where the Member of Parliament would just pick a committee and decides how things should run. It is important for them to know that we have Fund Managers from different constituencies, and that a Member of Parliament cannot have a Fund Manager from his own constituency. So, as we move forward in all the 290 constituencies, the Fund Managers will be reshuffled and taken to different constituencies. Let us have clear regional balance so that we do not find one constituency with 10 Fund managers and another one with none. Let us try and balance. Therefore, as members of that committee, we will look at everything and ensure that our constituents get what they need. I hope the Senate Oversight Fund will change the way Senators look at things. They will now be able to go to the ground and do public participation. Also, they will enlighten Kenyans to understand the role of the Senate properly. For those within the NGAAF, it is important that we sensitise the citizenry to understand all these Funds. Hon. Deputy Speaker, this is a good way for us to go. During the 13th Parliament, we were bipartisan in most things. So, we should work together to ensure that we dot polarise many things. I hope the media will also not polarise things and make us lose focus. With those remarks, I beg to support."
}