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{
"id": 1394734,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1394734/?format=api",
"text_counter": 452,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Dagoretti North, ODM",
"speaker_title": "Hon. Beatrice Elachi",
"speaker": null,
"content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I also rise to support the Division of Revenue Bill. We have just concluded the BPS. The memorandum of this Bill is very clear: based on Article 218 of the Constitution, we should divide resources vertically, both at the national and county levels. This year, the chairperson took us through a well itemised BPS. Then, we agreed to come and look at the Division of Revenue Bill. We should ask ourselves as a country... As we look at this bill, I know it will go to the Senate. Then, we will find ourselves in the crisis we normally do in terms of resources. This is based on what the CRA has given us and what we propose as a House. This Bill is important because it ensures money is efficiently utilised. In the BPS, we indicated very well what the Auditor-General will do. She is now going around various sectors to ensure they prudently spend the money given to them. We are having crises, for example, in the education sector, where capitation has decreased. As we debate this Bill, I want counties to tell us what they have been doing for the last ten years. Each county should give us a blueprint that shows... So, as a country, we can align ourselves based on Vision 2030. They should show us what they have done with the resources given to them. Therefore, I plead and ask the Senate that, as they push for more resources, it is time we see growth in our counties. This is not just about the accountability aspect, where sectors appear before committees. We have to know how counties utilise money given to them. Hon. Temporary Speaker, if we do not push for this, our country will have a lot of wealth, but the poverty levels will be high, and so the youth, women, and hustlers will continue to struggle. As we debate the Division of Revenue Bill 2024, it is important for us, as a country, to look in the mirror and ask ourselves, even as we put measures in place to ensure we are paying debt, how is the revenue given to our constituencies utilised? Even as we divide resources among ourselves, can we account for them? The same resources are so overstretched that Kenyans are left wondering. Something else we must be clear about as we appropriate this money is the new funds being created. The word 'fund' worries me because we are creating a fund for everything. We are a capitalist country, and we have to be very wary of this. If we continue with these funds, we shall find ourselves slowly slipping into a socialist country and in a confused situation. This is because we are creating a fund for everything we come up with. Yes, as we create them in Parliament, our intentions are good, but questions about their implementation will come back to bite this House. We shall be asked about a certain fund, and our answer shall be, 'We do not The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"
}