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{
    "id": 1286955,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1286955/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 180,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wamatinga",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13582,
        "legal_name": "Wahome Wamatinga",
        "slug": "wahome-wamatinga"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Mr. Speaker, Sir. I also rise to support this Bill, but with amendments. I am persuaded to do a parallel clause in some instances, especially in Clause 14. As much as this Bill is moving in the right direction to ensure we strengthen the basic health structures that promote indigenous or local-based knowledge harvested from the village level. It is important that we put the right structures in place. As we were trying to reform the agricultural sector, somebody came up with the idea of having an agriculture food authority. Previously we had various boards that were responsible for streamlining various crops across the country. Clause 15 of this Bill is important. As it has been said before, health is a devolved function. Therefore, we need to reinforce it. We should do everything possible to ensure that we reinforce it at the grassroots level. As we are doing so, it is important that we avoid the overlap by forming another national body as is referred to in Clause 14, which will only see to it that we are incurring a lot of expenditure. We know one of the biggest problems we have in this country is recurrent expenditure. Would it make any sense that we form such an important law with a move to UHC, but impede the same by forming a national controlling body in a devolved function? Aligning the national and county governments through policies and formulas that have been put in place has been hampered a lot by some of the bodies that we have put in place in the name of streamlining or giving policy direction. Mr. Speaker, Sir, what we have managed to do is create another bottleneck. This Bill is one that is important in the achievement of UHC. It will be important to us, as Senators, to ensure we do not create another bottleneck that will hamper the already disadvantaged health sector. Leaving the money to the national Government and making a body that will oversight primary healthcare will not be doing this country any service. We will be creating another bottleneck, cost centre and institutions that will be at loggerheads with the county administration. We should be talking about reinforcing the county structures in order to define what and how to implement policies. As much as they are formulated at the national level, we must get local interpretations. It is not lost to us that every county suffers a particular kind of ailment, which is defined by the diets that are produced within that county. It is very important. I would want to give an example of my county; Nyeri. Most of the people there suffer from non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. It will be very important that we enforce policies that will specifically address these issues at the grassroots level. Having a national body do that will make us lose the same magic we want to achieve of making sure that health services come closer to the people. It will create technocrats who will sit in offices, draw allowances and huge budgets. However, that money can be used well if it is devolved and be given to county governments by creating mechanisms for oversight in an effective way to ensure that the"
}