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{
    "id": 1300199,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1300199/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 297,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": " Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I join the rest of my colleagues in supporting this Bill; The Equalisation Fund Appropriation Bill (Senate Bills No.30 of 2023). This is a great step in the right direction, especially if you know the fight that existed before this fund was operationalised. We almost concluded the sun set years of this fund without a shilling ever having gone to the counties. As the Senate, we now have the opportunity to begin the Bill and devolve funds to counties each year. That is a step in the right direction and one of the things that the Senate needs to be hailed for. Over the years, while it was clear that our colleagues from our sister House were not as keen on this particular issue, we stood firm and steadfast on compliance with Article 204 of our Constitution. If you read the Budget Policy Statement (BPS) reports of each of our Committees over the years from 2013 all the way, this is one of the issues that the House sent back to the National Treasury. There was need to establish the basis upon which these funds are divided. Madam Temporary Speaker, further to that, you would understand the fight that would ensue immediately after. This is Kenya and everybody feels marginalised in one way or the other. You know the conversations that we always have about one man, one vote, one shilling and one kilometre. Recently, at the National Dialogue Committee (NDC), I heard of something else. I have come to appreciate that Kenyans are increasingly becoming ‘woke’ so to speak; if I may use that colloquial used by our young people. It means to reveal or to be socially conscious. They are conscious of such Government operations and things that need to be done. Madam Temporary Speaker, we must also hail the CRA for the study that they undertook. Back in the day, the thinking in most Government circles was that marginalisation was limited to specific broader areas. It was either certain provinces – even after we moved from provinces - people continued to refer to them as certain areas of the North, Coastal Region and so on although they are not necessarily geographically present in our Constitution. The CRA studied and came up with the second policy of marginalisation, different from the Sessional Paper No.10 of 1965 that was referred to by Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale a few minutes ago. They guided us and said that the least or the smallest electoral unit, which is the ward, is the best place to place these funds and guide the discussion. They undertook a study and returned a figure of 1,424. This is the figure I was looking for earlier on when I was welcoming the Kapkwen boda boda Group that was here. A total of 1,424 wards have been identified as marginalised areas and are spread across 34 counties in the second policy on marginalisation. Madam Temporary Speaker, it will be known for a fact that in counties that are extremely advanced, perhaps you will find better connectivity. This is because this fund, let us not fool ourselves, is limited to only about three or four functions if in strict"
}