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{
    "id": 1489938,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1489938/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 83,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Wambua",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 13199,
        "legal_name": "Enoch Kiio Wambua",
        "slug": "enoch-kiio-wambua"
    },
    "content": "grown-up man at that time – the best way of killing devolution was to starve the Majimbo of funding. This is being repeated now. It seems like there is a concerted effort to deny funds to the devolved units of Government, so that we can kill devolution. Giving a dog a bad name so that you can kill it. It is clear in our statutes that if there is any disparity or deficit in the national budget, you do not touch the allocation to county governments. The national Government takes care of the shortfall in revenue, and you do not touch the allocation to county governments. I want to go to the specifics of our Committee's Report and begin from the onset to say that I am in total support of this Report in rejecting the proposed amendments by the National Assembly. I will begin with the construction of the county headquarters. We had this conversation even during the original debate for the Division of Revenue Bill (DORB). What will happen is that this Financial Year, 2024-2025, the money that has been allocated of Kshs525 million was supposed to be the final allocation to the five counties that were given some preferential treatment for the construction of county headquarters. If there was going to be a shortfall and they were unable to complete those headquarters, then they were supposed to look for other sources of completing the county headquarters. That allocation of Kshs528 million has been reduced to zero. The net effect is that the construction of the county headquarters in the five counties, including Isiolo, Nyandarua, Lamu, and Tharaka-Nithi, will continue to be a white elephant since a lot of money has been sunk into them. The most worrying thing about the proposal by the National Assembly to reduce allocations to county governments is the area of the share of mineral royalties. I want this House to remember, and Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale would benefit from this because I believe that some mineral resources are extracted from Kakamega County. There is gold, he says. This revenue is already realised. It has been collected, and there is money. Then we are saying that the royalties of the gold that Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale is talking about Kakamega County, which is supposed to be allocated to Kakamega County, and then they get zero out of it. If you ask me, and I do not know which better word I would use, this is actually a proposal that is inviting us to participate in the theft of resources from county governments to the national Government. Whatever happens, the mineral royalties that are shared with the counties where these mines are, at the very least, that amount should remain in the counties, even if for anything else, to ensure that they are utilised for the development of infrastructure around the mines. Construction of hospitals or roads leading to the mines, that money should not be touched. The other area is the Road Maintenance Levy Fund (RMLF). A whopping Kshs10.5 billion is being reduced to zero. This fund was established by an Act of Parliament, which stipulates how it will be rolled out. The Act of Parliament dictates that both county governments and the national Government take responsibility for the maintenance of roads assigned to them. If you take away Kshs10.5 billion from RMLF allocated to counties, what funds will the counties use to maintain the roads in their respective jurisdiction? 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."
}