HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept
{
"id": 1268205,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1268205/?format=api",
"text_counter": 162,
"type": "other",
"speaker_name": "",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": null,
"content": "committed right from the campaign period to when His Excellency the President took over as the leader of this nation last year, that this Government will be deliberate and intentional in ensuring that we create new avenues of raising revenue or revenue-raising measures. It is not just the taxation on digital markets, VAT, and other taxes, but also in the National Rating Bill (National Assembly Bill No.55 of 2022). Hon. Temporary Speaker, we are seeking to create new avenues for our county governments across the county, even Marsabit County where my sister Hon. Naomi Waqo comes from. I know she is working very hard, hopefully, to be the next Governor of Marsabit County. Should that happen, we want to ensure that her and other Members of Parliament here who intend to run for gubernatorial positions have very good sources of revenue. For instance, Nandi County, where Hon. Melly comes from, is one such area. I mentioned Hon. Melly deliberately because I also know that he intends to run for governor. However, he must be here to ensure that the levying on properties and the tea estates in his Nandi County is fair so that he can collect adequate rates on land in Nandi County. We want to ensure that the counties have revenue when he becomes the Governor of Nandi County, and Hon. Naomi Waqo becomes the Governor of Marsabit County, or someone else becomes the Governor of Busia County, and they will not be “crying” for money from the national Government. All the county governors have a big opportunity. I must take this opportunity to thank the governors of Kirinyaga, Tharaka-Nithi and Murang’a counties, who have embarked on shoring up their own sources of revenues within a very short time. We must encourage the governors so that when those of us sitting here with the intent of becoming governors get those positions, they do not start crying out loud about money they have not received from the national Government. By the time governors get money from the national Government, they should have generated adequate own-source revenue to pay their workers so that the money they get from the national Government goes to development. It is not feasible for 90 per cent of our governors to cry for money from the national Government to pay salaries. As Members of Parliament, we have an obligation to make laws that will ensure that governors have systems for collection of revenue, be it from property rates or levies from massive infrastructural development that we have seen across the counties. On water and sanitation, many people assume that because sewer is part of sewerage system that is filled, it is free. It can only be free when you are excreting waste from your body and flushing it out of your toilet. However, when it gets to the national Government or county government funded sewer systems, you must pay. County governments must ensure that they have metered ways of collecting revenue from sewer waste so that the more one dispenses to their sewer system, the more one pays. You pay to eat. You must also pay for where what you dispense after eating ends up. I say this because I have seen many communities cheer when the Government creates sewer and water systems in their villages, but they do not want to pay for those systems. They forget that the sewerage systems are being put in place to safeguard their own health. Dr Nyikal, who is a former Director of Medical Services in the Ministry of Health, will tell you. He is a very good doctor. In the estates, the gated communities that I was talking about drill boreholes yet they have between 20 and 30 septic tanks. The water that percolates into the aquifers is polluted and it is the same water that is pumped into their homesteads from those boreholes without being treated. It is always assumed that borehole water is clean water. However, half of it is dangerous to our health, but property developers will never let you know this. As legislators, we have a duty to ensure that the water that our people drink is safe. We also have a duty to ensure that we secure the county governments’ sources of revenue so that they can provide sewer systems, clean and safe drinking water and a secure environment through provision of street lighting in our estates and neighbourhoods. As I move, I want to encourage all of us to support this Bill and to think about all our neighbourhoods. Those who come from the cities have in mind the housing agenda and being The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}