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{
"id": 1475994,
"url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1475994/?format=api",
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"type": "speech",
"speaker_name": "Sen. Sifuna",
"speaker_title": "",
"speaker": {
"id": 13599,
"legal_name": "Sifuna Edwin Watenya",
"slug": "sifuna-edwin-watenya"
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"content": "It is on record that last year, even after the Commission on Revenue Allocation had proposed that we, in this Senate, give counties Kshs415 billion, we only gave Kshs385 billion for the last financial year. This Bill proposes a figure of Kshs380 billion, which is Kshs5 billion less than the amount sent to the counties last year. As the Democrats in the U.S. are now saying, we are not going back. We must push this journey of devolution forward. We cannot go back to Kshs380 billion because to do so. Next year, we will give them Kshs370 billion to counties because the enemies of devolution continue to gather. At some point, Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale, if we are not careful, we will be told it is Kshs300 billion, then Kshs250 billion, then Kshs200 billion. Then, we will be told all these functions will be transferred back to the national Government. As people sworn in to defend devolution; it is my view that as the pocket of devolution shrinks, even so, the role of this Senate and the role of Senators. If we expand the pocket of devolution, we, as Senators, will get a greater mandate because we are overseeing or oversighting greater resources. Before I go to the disbursement schedule, this Kshs400 billion mark, those of you who have been in this House before me, know that it is a psychological mark that has been difficult to break. Since the advent of devolution, this fourth Senate has breached that target of Kshs400 billion. We all took pride in the fact that we were the first Senators to be able to push the envelope of devolution beyond Kshs400 billion. For us to then sit again and reduce it is something that I believe we cannot allow. In my view, the law already anticipates how to deal with shortfalls. I do not refuse that because of the Finance Act and the fact that the President had to return it; it has resulted in a shortfall in the provisions for the budget that we had this year. Mr. Deputy Speaker, Sir, how do you justify going below the amount allocated in the previous financial year? We all know that with the collapse of Finance Bill 2024 or the Finance Act of 2024, we reverted to tax-raising measures of 2023, which supported the Kshs385 million. I want to hear a justification for why we would fall below the figure of Kshs385 to Kshs380 billion. This morning, because I am a Member of the Senate Business Committee together with the Senate Majority Leader, we discussed the cuts in the Senate budgets. We did not complain. Even Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale did not complain when we were told that the budgets of the Senate were being cut by 20 per cent because of the revenue shortfalls in the projections in the Finance Act. It is okay. We do not have a problem with cuts to the Senate or Parliament as an institution. Parliament as an institution has been told we have to cut Kshs3 billion. The figure is slightly over Kshs3.5 billion in our budget, which is okay. We can make do with that. However, we cannot afford to take a step back for the people waiting for services at the grassroots, in the counties. I will give you an example. As the Senator of Nairobi City County, I was proud that, for the first time, the county would receive above Kshs20 billion in its shareable revenue. We have a programme in Nairobi City County called a school feeding programme, which gobbles up almost 10 per cent of the entire amount we receive as equitable The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only.A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Director, Hansard and Audio Services,Senate."
}