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{
    "id": 1419765,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1419765/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 138,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13599,
        "legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
        "slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
    },
    "content": "I withdraw, Mr. Speaker, Sir. The point that I was making on the question of disaster is that many of our counties are overwhelmed. We have about Kshs900 million for disaster response in Nairobi. What most people do not understand is that disasters in Nairobi is a daily occurrence. We need to enhance the capacity of county governments to be able to undertake this function. That is why this year, I beg our colleagues to vote for the higher amount as proposed of Kshs415 billion by our own Ccommittee. Counties are also facing very difficult times because of high cost of living and, of course, the introduction of new taxation, which is something that if you look at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) survey of market perceptions of January, 2024, I have that document here with me, it is very grim that because of the high cost of living, especially the inflationary trends, increased taxation and increased cost of goods, many of these counties are struggling. It needs to be factored in in the final amount that goes to our counties. Of course, there is the question of pending bills. As this House knows, out of the Kshs160 billion plus of pending bills owed by all the 47 counties, Nairobi City County alone owes Kshs107 billion in pending bills, which is 66 per cent of all the pending bills owed by county governments. Our own Parliamentary Budget Office (PBO), in their 15th edition report of February, 2024, one of the proposals that have been made here is that we need to provide and ring-fence money for payment of pending bills. I want to thank Dr. Masinde for making some of his recommendations because many of the suppliers in these counties are 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."
}