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{
    "id": 1370423,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1370423/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 167,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cheruiyot",
    "speaker_title": "The Senate Majority Leader",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13165,
        "legal_name": "Aaron Kipkirui Cheruiyot",
        "slug": "aaron-cheruiyot"
    },
    "content": "Of course, Sen. Oketch Gicheru is a good example. I must tell the people of Migori County that I have seen many Migori Senators and they are as fine as they come. Sen. Oketch Gicheru, I celebrate you because of your diligence and industry in this House. You are among the very last people every afternoon to leave this House. I wish that many of our colleagues could take you for that and appreciate that this is a rare opportunity and privilege. Thousands others wish to sit in this House and speak on behalf of residents, yet on many afternoons, we find ourselves less than 10 or 15 people in the House. Mr Speaker, Sir, it is my sincere hope that we take our job a bit more seriously. I hope we shall hold governors to account. Citizens are crying because many counties are in very embarrassing situations. We have discussed the current system of accountability, where the Auditor-General sends a report to a particular committee. A report that we never discuss individually comes and sometimes they are just lumped together and that becomes business as usual. We need to do better. Each of us must look at each other and speak to one another as colleague Senators if there are problems in our counties because of what governors are doing. We should seek help from colleague Senators on behalf of the people in terms of health, Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) centres, leakage of revenue et cetera . I propose to you colleagues. Just in the same way the national Government is going cashless on revenue collection, we need to push governors to install systems that are cashless. There are many revenue leakage processes in our counties. Money is just being collected in sacks and it is never banked, yet we preside over the same. My dear brothers and sisters, if there is a year that the Senate of this Republic must hold governors to account if we want to keep devolution alive in this country, then it is 2024. If we do not do it, Kenyans will give up and say we are all children of the same mother. We may call ourselves Senators or Governors, but we are the same. I do not believe that is what is expected of us. I hope that, as a House, we shall rise to the occasion and ensure that Kenyans enjoy the fruits of devolution as they had hoped in 2010 when they voted for this Constitution. With those many remarks, Mr. Speaker, Sir, I beg to reply."
}