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{
    "id": 1406062,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1406062/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 390,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wambua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13199,
        "legal_name": "Enoch Kiio Wambua",
        "slug": "enoch-kiio-wambua"
    },
    "content": "can never serve to protect and defend devolution, if you do not give counties the revenue to carry out their functions.’ Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, I am praying that this time round, the Senate will speak in one voice and determine that we are going to allocate Kshs415.9 billion to our counties. If the skies must fall, let the skies fall. We all know what happened in the last Division of Revenue Act (DORA) debate and right now, we are bound by that decision because it is a vote that was carried on the Floor. Those of us who wanted more money for the counties and those who wanted less money are all bound by the decision of the Senate; that we gave a raw deal to our people in the counties. We gave our counties less money than was recommended by the Commission on Revenue Authority (CRA). Our governors made petitions and lobbied a lot of us to push these allocations to at least Kshs390 billion that time, but we were unable to do it. This time around, let us remember that our biggest role is to defend and protect devolution. We have a duty of care to our counties to push for additional revenues. As I conclude, it is now 6.05 p.m. There are Senators in this House lining up to contribute to this Bill, to push forward the agenda of more funds and more revenue to our counties. Perhaps, our governors are watching because this is important to them. We are doing a good job so late in the day to push more money to counties, including Kakamega, Busia, Nandi, Marsabit and Elgeyo/Marakwet. Once we are done with this, we begin to oversight the expenditure of this money. We should continue being the darlings of our governors. It cannot be that we are useful to governors when we are pushing money to counties, and then we become enemies when we ask how the money is being spent. It is ridiculous. I conclude by saying that maybe I want to pick a cue from what the Senate Majority Leader said. Colleagues, I want to challenge us. This business of county governments deciding whatever system they are going to use to collect their revenue and they keep changing it year in, year out, the time has come that this Senate now must prescribe a revenue collection system that applies to all counties. This is so that we do not have a situation where some counties are collecting money using receipts and others are collecting money using systems that are developed, I do not know where. Let us have a uniform system of revenue collection for counties for purposes of proper accountability. With those many remarks, I support the report, but reject the proposal for Kshs391 billion from the National Assembly and stand for Kshs415.9 billion to counties. I thank you, Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir."
}