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{
    "id": 1477475,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1477475/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 160,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Ali Roba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. I rise pursuant to Standing Order No.56(1)(a) of the Standing Orders of the Senate to make a statement on the realization of Article 204 of the Constitution and the Status of the Equalization Fund. As you are aware, the Equalisation Fund is established under Article 204(1) of the Constitution, which requires that 0.5 per cent of all the revenue collected by the National government each year be paid into the Fund. The amount is calculated based on the most recent audited accounts of revenue received, as approved by the National Assembly. The primary object of the Fund is to provide basic services, including water, roads, health facilities and electricity to the marginalised areas to the extent necessary to bring the quality of those services in those areas to the level generally enjoyed by the rest of the nation, so far, as possible. Madam Temporary Speaker, while this Fund is established under Article 204(1) of the Constitution, its premise can be found in the principles that underpin public finance and in particular, Article 201(b) of the Constitution, which provides that: The public finance system shall promote an equitable society, and in particular, expenditure shall promote the equitable development of the country, including by making special provision for marginalised groups and areas. Indeed, the Equalisation Fund is one of four Funds established by the Constitution. This speaks to the central role of the Fund which was intended to play in ensuring that no person is left behind in the building of a nation whose values include equity, social justice and protection of the marginalised. Sadly, this aspiration to equity in development remains as elusive now as it was before the coming into force of the Constitution 2010. The Equalisation Fund has faced numerous implementation challenges since its inception, which have hindered effective operationalisation of the Fund. One of these delays was occasioned by the inordinate delay in the approval of the regulations for the administration of the Equalization Fund. Whereas the Fund started receiving statutory allocations from financial year 2011/2012, the first Equalization Fund Appropriation Act was enacted six years later in the financial year 2017/18. This is attributed to the delays in the approval of the guidelines for the administration of the Fund, which were approved in 2016. Madam Temporary Speaker, in 2019, these guidelines were nullified by the High Court in Petition No.272 of 2016, which led to a further delay in the operationalisation of the Fund. It is notable to note that the regulations currently in place were approved in 2021, 10 years after the inception of the Fund. 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."
}