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{
    "id": 1408672,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1408672/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 120,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Cherarkey",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13217,
        "legal_name": "Cherarkey K Samson",
        "slug": "cherarkey-k-samson"
    },
    "content": "Senate, we have taken a position that we are going to demand Kshs415 billion from counties. We were stuck at Kshs385 billion in the last session, which we agreed with the National Assembly. I support the position of our Committee that led us to stick with Kshs415.9 billion for counties. Mr. Speaker, Sir, we are having challenges. Some of our governors are becoming aviators. My governor cannot account for Kshs1 billion for stalled projects like the newborn mother unit in Kapsabet and Creameries Kabiyet. As governors become aviators, as the young people on the streets refer to them, we must ensure that every coin is accounted for. For the first time in this session, the Senate is speaking with one voice. County governors want Kshs450 billion. I saw the chairperson of Council of Governors (CoGs) speaking to the press instead of the Senate to explain why they need Kshs450 billion. With the reality on the ground, as they say, ‘ Vitu kwa ground ni different’. We agree that Kshs415 billion would be enough. I heard one of us say that we cannot call out the National Assembly. However, we must call them out for their laziness, larceny, ineffectiveness, and being moribund. How can we consider the latest audited accounts as the Financial Year 2019/2020 when the budget was not more than Kshs1 trillion? The National Assembly must be called out because it is becoming dangerous and cancerous against the growth of devolution. The national Government is getting an allocation of Kshs2.5 trillion, while counties are getting partly Kshs391 billion. This is like the budget for one Ministry. The National Assembly must be called out. They must ensure that the last audited account is the Financial Year 2022/2023. I hope they are taking notes even if they are proceeding to recess. The second point I wanted to make is on the proposed shareable allocation of Kshs415 billion. I would like to advise the governors; I know the chairperson and the Committee on Finance and Budget is aware of this. The governor should be careful about merging. We have seen it on Community Health Promoters (CHPs) and industrial parks. It will always affect their governments. Even as we discuss this elusive cake that cannot satisfy everybody, as the County Public Accounts Committee has observed, most of the county government's Own Source Revenue (OSR) is falling back. For example, Nandi County has a potential of Kshs630 million. However, they are collecting Kshs300 million. A county like Nairobi should be collecting up to Kshs50 billion but is collecting way below because it is not doing justice to its people. There is another elephant in the room. I know the Cabinet Secretary, Hon. Moses Kuria, has said that civil servants should be given contracts. The wage bill in counties is eating the development money. In the development expenditures of the Controller of Budget, I saw Kisii County being down the list. Nandi County is also struggling in terms of development expenditures. The biggest threat to development in counties is the wage bill. In Nandi County 50 per cent of the budgetary allocation is to the wage bill. The only county with 34.5 per cent is Isiolo County, which we were informed yesterday. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and AudioServices, Senate."
}