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{
"id": 1419062,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1419062/?format=api",
"text_counter": 114,
"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Olekina",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 407,
"legal_name": "Ledama Olekina",
"slug": "ledama-olekina"
},
"content": "It is about time that we ask ourselves serious questions. These are serious issues that are supported by the Constitution. The health function is devolved. Apart from issues of Level 6, all others from Level 1 to Level 5 hospitals and the community health workers’ issues are devolved. There is a problem and this is where the governors do not get it right. When the national Government decides to take on a function, which is supposed to be supervised by the county government, for example, the community health workers, it will give an ‘x’ amount of money. In the small budgets that we send to the county governments, they forget that the national Government, specifically the Ministry of Health, which is led by someone who is not even a doctor so as to understand the pain of doctors gets Kshs141 billion which is equivalent to the shareable allocation of almost 30 counties. Besides, the governors immediately say, “even us we will pay 50 per cent.” So, you will see headlines that the national Government has released Kshs3 billion. It will also affect the county budgets and they will also release an additional Kshs3 billion. Where is that money coming from? You will then hear the governor saying - which is what they said in the meeting - that the Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) which was negotiated was not fair. It is discriminatory because other interns should also be getting the same amount, so we can only give them Kshs70,000. Mr. Speaker, Sir, if the Senate does not take this matter very seriously and deal with it, we will continue failing devolution and our citizens who have brought us here. When we were passing health-related Bills, I remember telling my Chair in the Committee that this is all about the Benjamins. This is all about money. That is why we are rushing to pass these Bills. These Bills are brought here. We read and literally pass them even before the committee considers them. We seriously need to start thinking. I echo the words of my brother Sen. Sifuna, when he says, “governments come and go, but institutions remain forever.” This institution of the Senate has got to remain and it has to take a futuristic position in terms of defending the rights of our people. If we cannot defend the rights of our people to fight for devolution, then what are we going to be doing here? It is about time, that we now asked ourselves what devolution means in Kenya. In other countries, when it is devolution it is fully devolved. It is devolution. We keep on saying funds follow functions, but yet it does not. I keep on saying and I want to repeat this that what the doctors are asking for is very basic. It is what had been agreed upon. The doctors are simply saying, “give us our Kshs15,000 which you were supposed to give us.” That is issue number one. Issue number two, the doctors are saying, “pay the interns Kshs206,000.” Majority Whip, you are a doctor. “When you fall sick, I am the one taking care of you and I do not even have a medical cover. Please, provide me with the medical cover so that I can easily take care of you.” These are very basic things. The doctors are saying that the national Government, the Ministry of Health, must respect court orders. However, when we have meetings they say we have agreed on 13"
}