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{
    "id": 1483760,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1483760/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 118,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Oburu",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 194,
        "legal_name": "Oburu Ngona Odinga",
        "slug": "oburu-odinga"
    },
    "content": "Mandera County, Sen. Ali Roba. This is a very important Bill. I think it is one of the cardinal functions of our Senate because our Senate is there to protect devolution. I was a Member of Parliament when there was no Constituencies Development Fund (CDF). At that time, we had the Local Government Fund (LGF). Later on, we had something called the Rural Development Fund (RDF), which was very small amount of money and it was mainly from donors. We used to sit long hours as Members of Parliament in the District Development Committees to determine where the money would go. We were the ones who brought the CDF. Hon. Sen. (Eng.) Muriuki Karue brought the proposals and we all supported and created the CDF. It appears to me that the CDF has made our Members of the National Assembly to think that devolution does not matter. To them, whatever goes to the devolved units does not matter as long as they are getting access to that money. They forget that they are getting access to that money illegally. This is because the courts have determined, severally, that the CDF is illegal but they always arm twist things and find a way to bring it back. There is also the Rural Roads Funds (RRF). I do not know how the Members of the National Assembly managed to twist it in order for them to control that Fund. I think that those funds are the reason they forget the allocation to the counties. They have recklessly reduced the county allocation as if they do not live in the counties. There is no Member of Parliament who does dwell in a particular county. They know what the counties are supposed to do. Apart from protecting the counties, we do oversight but we cannot oversight what is not there. We can only oversight monies which are there. So, the first thing that has to be done is to allocate money. You will remember that the Commission on Revenue Allocation (CRA) recommended that the counties should get Kshs412 billion and we approved it, but when it went to the National Assembly, they reduced it to Kshs398 billion and said that they had increased it. The truth is that they did not increase anything because an increase from Kshs396 billion to Kshs398 only gives us Kshs2 billion increment. That little increment only covers a little more or a little less than the inflation, which is more than 8 to 9 per cent. The deductions they have made are part of what they are calling austerity measures. These deductions are done arbitrarily without thinking of how they will affect the people at home. Think of the Community Health Promoters who were not being paid anything at the beginning. They were at the mercy of the governors who would give them some little allowance at will yet they performed the most important function at the grassroots. They are the ones who treat people before they go to any dispensary when they fall sick at home. They have been working tirelessly with the communities at the grassroots without being paid or even being given a token. This was a God-sent opportunity and the Members of Parliament should appreciate the work that these people do. For the first time, there is an official allocation in the budget to cater for their pay yet the Members of the National Assembly do not see its importance. When they want to reduce monies due to austerity measures, they should 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."
}