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{
    "id": 1236501,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1236501/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 170,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Okiya Omtatah",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Secondly, if you have to go as matters stand now, whereby, through political machinations, clinical medical care was devolved. Then, we should ask ourselves, why is the big budget for medicine still with the national Government? When the Statement will be answered, the Committee should provide us information on what percentage of devolved functions are not funded and how much of the money left in national Government should be in the county governments. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we should stop being a talking shop through making Statements and Motions then feeling we have achieved anything. We must bite. We must demand that if health is devolved, then the budget should not be in Nairobi but in the counties. This is because even if you fix the Panadol issues, you will find that there is hardly enough money to run our medical facilities on the ground. Therefore, the national Government must step up to the plate or we must hold its feet to the fire and make sure that money follows functions that have been taken to the counties. I plead that the Committee expands its scope and interrogates audits and ferrets out corruption in the budget of the national Government’s Ministry of health where counties are being starved of resources and monies left in Nairobi to be stolen. It is not long ago that we heard of the Kenya Medical Supplies Authority (KEMSA) scandals and what have you. The KEMSA billionaires are bullying us around with their money and trying to look in the wrong direction. I pray that the Committee goes as far as interrogating, auditing, and ferreting out corruption in the national Governments Ministry of Health’s budget and telling this House how much of the money left in Nairobi should be in the counties. This House should then act to ensure that that money is taken to the counties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, I ask the Government’s side not to go to bed with the Executive. You are part of Parliament and it is independent of the Executive. Our work is to oversight. When a Motion comes here, let us ensure that we push the national Government to devolve the money that is supposed to be with the counties so that we can have adequate medical care. In many hospitals, the medical record technicians are not there. If you do not have money to do records, how do you expect to track how Panadol is being used? Let the hospitals be fully equipped, manned and this problem will go away. As long as the hospitals are not fully manned and equipped, we shall keep coming here talking to ourselves and nothing will happen. In supporting the Motion---"
}