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{
    "id": 1274120,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1274120/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 568,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Ogola",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "can have money – the Governor hon. Gladys Wanga is willing and has shown real interest and effort in offering good services to the people of Homa Bay County. As I speak, the governor is upscaling the health system. She has also finished the project that was left half way by the predecessor. This is a good indication to us as leaders to the people of Homa Bay. We have Senators who have indicated that they have governors who do not finish projects that their predecessors initiated. Nonetheless, completion of these services, which my governor has been struggling to, needs money. Other than this Disbursement Schedule being provided by the Committee on Finance and Budget, I pray that disbursement by the National Treasury is timely. In the last few months, we saw counties lack funds. I was surprised that Senators were excited on the Floor of this House that all the pending monies were sent to the counties at the end of the Financial Year in the month of July. This is not a new phenomenon. In the last years I have worked in the county, this has been the practice by the National Treasury. Every Financial Year, counties are starved of money throughout the months. National Treasury has the habit of waiting until the end of the financial year to send all the monies to the counties. If this cash disbursement is followed as the Schedule shows, it means the counties will follow their budgets, procurement plans will be in place and projects will be done in time. They will also pay suppliers and business people who do business with counties will be happy. It is not news to say that in our counties there are people who have fallen sick, are depressed and others have died. In my county I have an example of business people who have closed because they did business with the counties and were not paid in time. This is why I support this Cash Disbursement Schedule. If it can enhance the disbursement of funds to the counties, then we will have devolution running as expected. However, I must mention some of the challenges we have noticed or continue to notice with disbursement of funds. One of the major challenges the counties have is with the Controller of Budget (CoB). There is something we mention about counties flying to Nairobi to get approval of the CoB. The CoB has devolved her offices in each county. We wonder why counties have to line up in Nairobi. Some of the counties stay up to one week following up on approvals by the CoB. This is an area the Committee must look into. The next challenge which I have mentioned is with the National Treasury. It is that National Treasury must live within the Constitutional requirements that counties are entitled to 15 per cent of all revenues. National Treasury does not need to wait until all these monies are collected. Whatever they get, 15 per cent should go to counties so that county Government are able to operate. Another challenge that has been noticed in the counties is that costing of the functions that counties have was not done rightly by the Transitional Authority. A function such as health, even when money is disbursed, continues to lack adequate funds to offer services. If health lacks fund then it means it is our people that continue to suffer."
}