Entry Instance

HTTP 200 OK
Allow: GET, PUT, PATCH, DELETE, HEAD, OPTIONS
Content-Type: application/json
Vary: Accept

{
    "id": 1483730,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1483730/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 88,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Ali Roba",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "years. Counties are not getting revenue and there is no additional allocation. The inflation rate in county governments is very high. What they are getting as additional allocation every year in DORA is not even able to cater for the inflationary percentage of about six per cent that comes automatically without anything being done. The National Assembly has now gone ahead to remove the entire RMLF of Kshs10.5 billion. They have again moved further in reducing funds for a project initiated by the national Government. That is the Community Health Promoters (CHP), which was allocated Kshs3.2 billion. Staff have already been recruited and have a payroll number. The Kshs3.2 billion has been reduced to Kshs2.58 billion. That will be able to only cater for 86,133 CHP as opposed to 107,831 that are already working in our county governments. Mr. Speaker, Sir, and hon. Senators, there are funds that have already been realised like funds for the transfer of museum function, where funds follow functions. The functions have been transferred, but the funds are left. The Kshs30.1 million has been removed. Even more absurd is the court fines. A collection has already taken place. It has realised money and not projected revenue. The courts have already collected fines as a result of county legislation. However, these funds have been removed from the County Governments Additional Allocation Bill. What logical reason can we give as a Senate to rationalise the fact that money already collected on behalf of the county government by the courts has been removed? How can we start talking about austerity measures and such other issues? It cannot work. There are issues to do with mineral royalties, which are realised funds collected on behalf of county governments amounting to Kshs1.1 billion. That money has also been removed. This is supposed to be appropriated in percentages in line with the law, but it has been removed. Hon. Senators, this Senate has worked extremely hard over the last one year in consultation with every critical stakeholder on the issue of supplementary budget for county headquarters for five counties. Eventually, in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, we were able to arbitrate the situation. The five counties were promised that the national Government will finance them to construct their county headquarters. This project has stalled for over eight years. The five governors wrote to the Senate and requested if they can get a little allocation from the national Government transferred to them, and then they top up and finish their county headquarters. That process took us eight months. Eventually, the National Treasury, the Intergovernmental Relations Technical Committee (IGRTC), the State Department of Public Works, the governors and the Senate agreed and the transfer was done to enable these five counties to complete their county headquarters. There is an allocation of Kshs528 million that was in the previous and the current County Governments Additional Allocation Bill that the governors had already signed and accepted they will top up whatever is missing for them to finish their county headquarters. That has now been insensitively removed, so that that project remains stalled for additional years without any consideration. 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."
}