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{
    "id": 1286866,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1286866/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 91,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Mungatana MGH",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "We have therefore given her or him the excuse to withhold funds at the national level to the disadvantage of counties. Counties have the delegated responsibility for health. We must not give the national Government excuses by law through this Senate to withhold funds that are supposed to be managed by the county governments. The quarrel we have had with the national Government is that they are still holding onto monies at the national level when they could go down to the counties and be utilized. Clause 13 of this Bill states that the Ministry is responsible for health in the management of primary health care. This is now at the national level. We are giving the CS of Health the management of primary health care services. In the proposed Clause 14, we are allowing the CS to set up the primary Health Care Advisory Council which is being appointed there. He is supposed to appoint the Principal Secretary for Health, the Director General for Health, the Chairperson of the Council of Governors or their representative, the Principal Secretary for the National Treasury, the Chairperson of the County Executive Health Committee and even the Chairperson of Vice Chancellors. When you look at this list, it creates a perfect excuse to withhold more funds at the national level. Look at the functions that we have created for them, they are supposed, according to Clause 14, to sit and advise the CS and the county governments on matters related to the delivery of primary health care yet at the county level, we still have the same. The proposed Clause 14 says that, “each county government shall in the management of primary health care services---.” It creates the same powers at the county level. In proposed Clause 14 of this Bill, again, you will see that each county government is supposed to establish a County Primary Health Care Advisory Committee. We heard the Senate Majority Leader, when moving the Bill, say that there will be 47 County Primary Health Care Advisory Committees. So, for us in Tana River, we might have different requirements from those in Nairobi, for example. They will be advising us in a different way on how we are supposed to deal with primary health care at our level. The ones from Nairobi City County will be dealing with their issues in Nairobi in a different manner. The ones in Lodwar, Turkana County, might have a different approach. We are creating on top of this another bureaucracy at the national level. I think we must come out strongly here and remove those roles that have been assigned to the CS. I want someone to convince me that I need a County Health Care Advisory Board and then at the same time, I need a national one. In the national one, it is not the guy from Tana River who is sitting there but the Chairperson of CoG. Even if you put the Caucus of Health Ministers across, how many times do they sit or meet to create consensus on that?"
}