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{
    "id": 1286041,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1286041/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 246,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "This is so that the people of Turkana County can appreciate the goodies that the Senate has brought to them. The work of the legislature is to set laws and provide the legislative framework upon which the Government policy – either national or county governments – can be dictated and directed upon. It is my most sincere hope that we will have concluded the two Bills that the Senate has published by the time we leave Turkana County on Thursday. I am talking about the Facilities Improvement Financing Bill and the Primary Health Care Bill, whose report has just been tabled. I hope we will have time to explain the importance of those Bills to the people of Turkana County and what it will mean when you visit a health facility in any of the far-flung villages of Turkana County. Mr. Speaker, Sir, allow me to just lay the basis of why we need the Facilities Improvement Financing Bill. I do not know how many colleague Senators take time to go through the financial records of their specific counties, especially the own source revenue collection; to see how their county utilizes those resources. I saw the sad reality in my own County of Kericho in the last term. When Members of County Assemblies (MCAs) or County Governors want to enter into an arrangement or a deal, the quickest way to reward their cronies is to direct resources to places of easy procurement. That is why if you go to any county – and I bet you check each of your 47 counties – you will find that the roads department has the highest bill. Why is it so? It is because many times, you will find that almost every MCA or friend of the governor has a tipper or a lorry and they are able to procure easily. When it comes to supply of medical equipment for example, you will find that many of the people that have the connections to those who hold the reins of power in our county governments, do not know where to source from. Sen. Oburu, allow me to use Siaya or Bondo District Hospital as an example of what I have seen happen in my County. Despite all the own source revenue that the hospital generates, do you know that, that revenue goes into one pool just as all the monies that are collected in markets, from permits and all these other sources of resources? Therefore, at the end of the day, you will find that despite the fact that your sub county and health centres have collected say Kshs300 to 400 million in a financial year, what troupes back to those facilities is hardly 10, 20, or 30 per cent. This explains the reason why many of our health centres are in the condition that they are. They cannot service suppliers, citizens are sharing beds and doctors cannot be paid. Therefore, the thinking that has informed the four Bills that are coming before the House, is that before we have a conversation on UHC, let us first ensure that we secure all the resources that are collected in our health centres in our counties; and put it in law. That is why this law is coming before you. This is an Act of Parliament to provide for public health facility improvement financing and management and administration of the improvement financing, and for connected purposes. It ensures that atleast for a start, before we even think about any other resources that we can get, what we have collected remains specifically and budgeted for. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard Services,Senate."
}