Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1382965,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1382965/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 219,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Kisang’",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "economic challenges that we have had for the last one year - it continues to be there - there is some improvement. There is a proposed increase of 7 per cent from Kshs385 billion to Kshs415 billion, which is more than the growth rate. The growth rate was around 5.7 per cent. We are proposing to add counties Kshs415 billion, which is over 7 per cent. We would have liked, as champions and protectors of devolution to give more resources to the counties. However, because of the economic situation, we should live this at Kshs415 billion. If the economy improves in the next Financial Year 2024/ 2025, we will propose to give more to the counties. The main reason I am saying this is because even if we increase and give the counties more money, the biggest problem they have is recurrent expenditure. The month of July, every financial year, there is an increase of salaries and wages across the board, both at the national and county governments. When we add resources that are not meaningful, it means, what we add to the counties goes to salaries. We now have the Social Health Insurance Fund (SHIF), which we will be contributing 2.75 per cent and the employers will also contribute the same. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, more of these resources will go to SHIF and the Affordable Housing Levy at 2.75 and 1.5 per cent, respectively. It means the counties will be contributing what we are giving them as additional resources to fund these levies. It is also important to challenge the governors. They are not doing enough. When we were in Turkana for Senate Mashinani, you saw children along the streets begging for water because we were there. Why can the governors not use these resources to do boreholes for the people, especially the semi-arid and arid counties? Turkana County gets over Kshs12 billion. With that, they should have close to around Kshs7 billion going to development. We need to do more oversight as Senators so that this money does not go to waste, but to the right work that is intended. The reason for devolution was because people perceived that if you are not part of the Government of the day, you do not get development. That is why there was agitation for devolution. We want to see that the resources going to the counties benefit our people and not a few governors who are looting. My colleague has talked about pending bills. There are many businesses that are closed because of pending bills. Many people have also passed on. This is because when there is a change of regime in the counties, the new governors have the tendency of not paying for services that were delivered to their colleagues who were there before them. We want to tell the governors to audit those pending bills and pay them so long as services were delivered."
}